Quick tool handle finish

[ohiofarmer 3,480]

   I for one can't stand the peeling varnish that passes for tool handle finishes,so here is a quick how to for an oil like finish very quickly 

    The process starts with a utility knife to scrape off the gunk that is brittle to start with. I just stroke the knife in a scraping fashion and if grain digestion is felt, just peel from the other end and so forth. The before and after is obvious. 

    The black handle has two uses. The first is the singed wood has the color under the finish. I actually turned it black,then hit it again just enough that a bit of flame showed up and sanded it while still very warm with a cheap foam block. 

     If you are in a super hurry you can apply tung oil while still hot to the touch and it will drink on several thin coats. You can hit it after an hour is so with more tung oil wet sanded into the wood. 

     After some time just buff it with a paper towel

.  The handle will be slick and feel dry. The next day you can start a linseed oil routine by rubbing slight amounts hard into the surface. Linseed a few days and then once a week.The blackened handle shown has some spots sanded thinly enough to make parts of it brown as I enjoy that type of appearance.

    Blackened wood makes a much better finish of the softer woods and lets you sand off the raised grain . The tung oil soaked in very deeply and actually hardens and lays down the fuzzy grain. Think of tung oil as faster drying primer for the linseed oil. 

     You can skip the burning step if you like, but it will take days and days for the tung oil to sink in fully. A SKS took at least twenty coats before it fully sealed.

[Beap52 2,493]

I agree the varnish finish on wooden handles lacks being desirable.   Good idea and process.  Thanks

 

Will probably want to use boiled linseed oil instead of raw linseed oil?   We used to coat wooden extension ladders every winter with boiled linseed oil.

 

Boiled will dry in a day or two whereas raw may take as couple of weeks.  As I understand, boiled cannot be used on food surfaces whereas raw is safe for food contact surfaces--Or, I suppose, if a fellow wants to gnaw on his hammer handle.