How long to soak in boiled linseed oil?

A

andrew_cc

Joined
Jan 27, 2010
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21
Hello,

Really silly question, but Im too late in the project to risk ruining anything so hear goes...


Ive just finished my first full tang knife with a spalted beech hadnle, its now soaking in linseed oil, its been in there for about 4 hours now, and its gotten very dark... Ive normally heard its best to leave them soak for a day... but Im worried it might get ridicuolous dark over night if I do that...

Anybody know whether this will jsut keep getting darker or will it reach a finite darkness point, or maybe I should just take it out now? If I do that, will the oiling be enough in 4 hours?


(By the way, Im planning a beeswax finish...)



Thanks in advance all,

Andrew
 
Linseed oil will continue to darken with time, and it never really dries or seals. Beeswax finish will need constant reapplication every time the knife is used. IF, I were going to use linseed oil on a knife grip, I would soak it for a week or two. Minimum.
 
Actually soaking in Lindseed oil is counter productive and is one of the reasons folks think it won't dry properly since it will get a skin coat on it so that the oil underneath doesn't get the air it needs to oxidize/harden . ANY linseed oil based finish should be applied in thin caots and allowed to dry between coats - and yes it will dry completely when done properly. Plenty of moving air (i.e. a fan or hang outside) along with sunshine will speed the drying as will adding just a bit of Japan Drier.
 
I've always applied it to wooden farm and garden tool handles like Chuck stated above; several thin coats. Well, I'm pretty liberal with the "thin" part if the handles have been neglected and are real dry and old. The old wood soaks it up pretty good, but still just a coat at a time a day or two apart. It's not an uncommon practice to treat rustic wooden sculpture, e.g., chainsaw art, in a similar fashion. I will even sand off the slippery shellac-like finish new tools often come coated with. I find linseed oil treated tool handles "grippier" and more pleasant and effective to work with for extended periods of time. The wood will more than just darken though. It will flat out nearly turn black with time and repeated coatings at the beginning and/or end of every growing season.
 
Not in my experience with it Chuck. Maybe where you live, but not here in FL. If you need to add driers, why not just use a linseed based finish that you don't have to add anything to, and will dry?
 
ArmorAll is used by some people to force oil finishes to cure faster. I wonder what it would do to plain old linseed oil.

- Paul Meske
 
Why would knife handles be any different from gunstocks ? A number of thin coats ,letting them dry between coatings . gunstocks are usually coated thick ,let sit for about an hour , then the excess rubbed off with burlap. That's repeated maybe three to six times.Linseed oil both oxidizes and polymerizes .Exposure to air and light helps this process .
www.brownells.com should have other linseed oil type and linseed mixes if you want something faster.
 
x2
thin coasts works for me !
-i also like to wet sand right after some of the grain raises up...



Wild Rose said:
Actually soaking in Lindseed oil is counter productive and is one of the reasons folks think it won't dry properly since it will get a skin coat on it so that the oil underneath doesn't get the air it needs to oxidize/harden . ANY linseed oil based finish should be applied in thin caots and allowed to dry between coats - and yes it will dry completely when done properly. Plenty of moving air (i.e. a fan or hang outside) along with sunshine will speed the drying as will adding just a bit of Japan Drier.
Click to expand...
 
I finished some birdseye maple handle with some danish oil (Watco). After it dried for a few days, I put a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil on it to bring out the grain pattern a little more. I use a medium coat, let it soak for 15-20 minutes, then wipe down with a clean rag. Then I let it dry for a day before adding another coat.

I usually prep the wood by sanding to 320 grit. Dampen it to raise the grain, let it dry, resand. I repeat this two or three times. You can feel the popped up grain after dampening it.

After the 320 grit paper, I use 400 grit. I dampen the wood, let it dry and resand. I repeat this until I can't feel any grain pop up. Then I give a final sanding before applying the Danish oil.

Ric
 
I read that Bill Moran would rub in the oil, then expose to the heat coming out of his forge for a bit to raise the grain, sand it down smooth, oil, heat, resand etc.
 
lonepine said:
ArmorAll is used by some people to force oil finishes to cure faster. I wonder what it would do to plain old linseed oil.

- Paul Meske
Click to expand...

I remember that was discussed before, didn't someone try it and show it doesn't' work?
Edited to add, here it is on Rimfire Central

Apparently it works, but I just can't believe it.
Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil (not BLO) and ArmorAll

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=331108



Most linseed oil finishes call for thinning of the linseed oil- turpentine, or mineral spirits
The thinner it is and the hotter the solvent for the thinner, the faster it should dry.

I've used acetone as a thinner and it worked well and dried well even in very cold weather.
alcohol, no - it turned the BLO milky - cloudy and I tossed it.
 
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The old US Mil Specs required gunstocks be soaked 24 hours. The old standby instructions were to apply finish once a day for a week, one a week for a month, once a month for a year and once a year, FOREVER. Remember also, the it is photosensitive and will eventually turn black. Or...you can use Tru-Oil which has 5 times the water intrusion resistance, has some linseed oil in it and doesn't require future coats and does NOT turn black.
 
The old time furniture makers used this sequence for oiling wood:
once a day for a week
once a week for a month
once a month for a year
twice a year for life

The application is as others said: apply it, wait an hour or so and wipe down to remove excess oil. The excess can become gummy.

Initially (first week) the wood soaks up the oils, and as the wood becomes impregnated with the oils it will soak up less and less. The twice a year is to maintain the surface coat and fill any scratches. I've done this with a variety of woods in the past and achieved a great three dimensional type grain (not that you can feel it, but can see the grain move as your eyes move).

hope this helps
 
now that is an interesting tip..
i usually just apply it wait, rub, etc... then check to see if grain is up ... if it is... oil it and wet sand with 600... wipe... re-oil and rub off it hour
-after grain is down... then many oil, 1hr, rub clean application durin a week

i know.. lots of fiddlin around ..but at least you have a nice handle in the end

Lorien said:
I read that Bill Moran would rub in the oil, then expose to the heat coming out of his forge for a bit to raise the grain, sand it down smooth, oil, heat, resand etc.
Click to expand...
 
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