wood finishing

[Fly Mach .86]

A question for the wood workers out there. I am making a traditional Ulu knife for my son and daughter-in-law. The handle will be maple. Butcher block maple. Very hard. The question is, how should I finish this handle? I hate to just varnish it. Is there any other finish that would be good for this kind of wood? Tung oil? linseed oil?

[slodave]

Polymerized linseed oil.

[john70t]

Try five different smooth wood scraps and wait a month.

Wood absorbs and responds to oil/coatings differently.
Some stay on the surface. Some change the color dramatically. Some retain a texture. Some will be too slick.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Fly Mach .86

Tung oil? linseed oil?

I think tung oil would be even better. The problem is that what is usually marketed as tung oil isn't really tung oil.
For instance, this stuff is not really tung oil. My understanding is that it's varnish, "boiled" linseed oil and solvent (for faster drying and better penetration).


Real tung oil is hard to come by. Real tung oil polymerizes like linseed oil. Linseed oil darkens as it ages.

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/blog/tips/tung-oil-vs-linseed-oil/

[targa911S]

try Tru oil. i use it for gun stocks.. it's tung with a little bit of poly so it dries faster.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tru+oil&hvadid=174198753521&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9006284&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1332733090387971290&hvtargid=kwd-1625685641&hydadcr=26612_9479196&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_1439m5wknv_e