Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades BLO/TURPENTINE finish

[img]https://imgur.com/a/3enQH[/img]

This is a small knife I’m putting together for my daughter. I’m using BLO/ Turpentine 50/50.
I’m around 27 coats with the grain saturated and a nice coat building up. I’m impatient and would like to “encourage” the the finish to dry more quickly. Is this a realistic possibility or do I need to learn patience?

Best not to try to force a BLO finish to dry, I hang mine outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. Rush a BLO finish and try to apply another coat before the previous one is completely dry and you'll have a sticky mess that will not dry. As you've realized patience is the order of the day here. Good luck with your project it looks like a fine knife for a young lady.

Thanks gunwizard.
Unfortunately I passed my impatience down to my daughter. We will ride the process out together. Thanks for the feed back on this finish.

True....I do that intentionally to my axes every year or two. They eventually dry but boy are they "grippy" while it lasts.
I sure wouldn't want that on a knife though.

BLO doesn't really 'dry' in the traditional sense. It does not have solvent to evaporate. It hardens chemically by cross-linking it's structure. The reaction will take a little less time if it's warm.

The easiest way will be to add a bit of Japan Drier to the BLO. About one teaspoon of Japan drier per pint of BLO or a couple drops JD/oz of BLO. Only mix what you will use.