Need a little help/suggestions for a finish on wood knife handles.....I have tried Tru Oil, Stock Sheen, BC Walnut Stain, paste wax and a combination of them. Even after multiple coats with OOOO steel wool after each dried coat, the handles are still too dull. Would like a stain or semi gloss finish, depending on wood type. Mainly using Desert Ironwood, Zicorte, Cocobolo and Brazilian Rosewood, I did try some black walnut with Tru Oil and it worked pretty good, but the darn thing started cracking, not dried enough as I thought.

Here is one I finished today with Desert Ironwood....

http://gunner.sixshootercommunity.org/Knives/3198Iron.jpg

I'd be most thankful for any tips and suggestions.

Gunner

just need to buff it out and it'll start to take on some shine. Ironwood really shouldn't need any finish at all� There's enough natural oil in it and it's dense enough to take it's own shine without any finish. Sand it out to a very fine finish and then buff it and put on a coat of lemon oil and it'll be shiny as new money.

Gunner if the knives you are making are meant to be used,well then,I've found most guys do not like too high a gloss finish on them. I have old butcher knives with rosewood,and the like,that are 100 yrs old more or less,with no finish on them,and they are still going strong. Nothing like the feel of a natural wood handle on any hand tool.

Try 3M micron polishing cloths after your steel wool trick.

Thanks for the replies......I just started knife building last November so I have a lot to learn still. I was under the impression that knife handles needed some kind of chemical finish, didn't realize buffing would do. Right after I posted the question I found some info on buffing the handles, Jantz recommends pink scratchless rouge for Ironwood scales. Threw a tube onto my supply order last night so I can try it.

I don't plan on doing a high polish, just give the handles a little luster, especially the Zicorte, after shaping/sanding they are really dull black in color but have a nice grain pattern, just want to bring out the grain a little.

Thanks,
Gunner

Depends on the wood. Most of the ones you mentioned don't really require a finish because they're really oily dense woods. You'll have to spend a little time looking into each wood you work with to understand how to finish it.

I would think to achieve a high gloss finish that a filler would be needed on many natural materials. Of course some stabilized woods are already filled.

Super glue finish is glossy and very durable. For a less permanent fill one can use wax, wax fills the small voids and levels the surface.

Agree a high gloss finish is not ideal on a working knife. Wax is great for displaying shiny knives and being able to drop back to a handle with more grip.

Just an update......I tried out the pink rouge with a sewn 6" muslin wheel on the Desert Ironwood, wow, turned out great. Real nice luster without a slick feeling to the handles. Much nicer and quicker option than applying Tru Oil or similar chemical type finish. Added bonus that it also polished up the tang so I didn't have to go back over it with a metal polish.


41Gunner

Be careful polishing Desert Ironwood...you can very easily buff too much and "orange peel" the surface of the handle. I finish sand by hand all the way down to 2000 grit. By that time it has a very nice sheen anyway. Then I just touch it to my white rouge buffing compound and it pops. Just touch it to the wheel....that's about all you need to do.