Mineral oil on wood scales?

T

tommytman

Joined
Aug 12, 2019
Messages
303
Hello everyone,
Is it OK to use mineral oil or beeswax/mineral oil on wood scales? I was primarily thinking of using this on non-stabilized wood scales that are pinned/epoxied in place on fixed blades.

I have plenty of the beezwax/mineral oil around for use on cutting boards.

Thanks.
 
EDIT (See Below) I use a very light bit of mineral oil on all my wood knives.

My gun stocks have been getting treated with plain paste wax for decades.

Neutral shoe polish works too.
 
Last edited:
Bill DeShivs said:
Wood doesn't contain mineral oil naturally. The oil will soften and discolor the wood.
Use paste wax or neutral shoe polish.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bill. I've always used mineral oil on my cutting boards and wood utensils so just started using it on my wood handled knives. Fortunately I've only gotten into wood handles this past year. I'll make the switch!
 
Yeah, for some reason I got to wondering if mineral oil might degrade the epoxy to wood bond.
 
I was using mineral oil on a couple of knife handles for a while... some Old Hickory knives I bought. I was very unimpressed. The finish was never really all that impressive and it wore off quite quickly with kitchen use.

I ended up refinishing the handles on these blades. Well... I guess since the handles are raw unfinished wood from the factory, I guess I should say that I "finished" them. I used wipe on poly and had some nice results.

I wouldn't recommend mineral oil.

Brian.
 
I've been using Johnson's Paste Wax on my wood handled knives with good results. If anyone has a measurably better alternative, I'd love to hear it!
 
oil on wood can serve different purposes
depending on the purpose choose your oil
drying oils like tung oil or linseed oil harden the wood thru a chemical polymerization process (which takes days and weeks to complete), making it also water repellent.
i like walnut oil a bit. nice color and fantastic scent. hardening takes weeks. olive oil can be used instead but is the least favorite among practitioners.
mineral oil cannot be used for this purpose.

i have no experience with wax or treating wood with substances, except for walnut oil lol
 
I’ve used mineral oil on my knives and cutting boards for years with no problems. If you send an older knife to Buck for their spa service with an ebony handle it will come back dripping in mineral oil.
 
Mineral oil is great on stuff that you don't think you have finished, because it's not permanent, not hard to undo, and doesn't harden to the wood. It does change the color of the wood, which can be good or bad depending on what you want the wood to look like. In my limited experience, dark woods like Purpleheart and Bubinga don't get the same kind of color change as the lighter woods. Some species of Ash get a lovely, golden color that you can then set with Tung oil or wax. And then sometimes it just makes things into a dirty grey mess on wood from a different branch off the same tree. It's more like alchemy than science, so it's hard to know exactly how a piece of wood is going to take oil, stain, or wax until you actually hit it.
 
Fixall said:
I've been using Johnson's Paste Wax on my wood handled knives with good results. If anyone has a measurably better alternative, I'd love to hear it!
Click to expand...

That’s all I use for ALL my natural handle materials - stag, bone, wood, stacked leather. Works on everything, shines up great, and protects your handles. :thumbsup:
 
AntDog said:
That’s all I use for ALL my natural handle materials - stag, bone, wood, stacked leather. Works on everything, shines up great, and protects your handles. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

One nice thing about buying a 16oz can of Johnson's Paste Wax is it lasts years. I can't even remember when I bought mine and maybe halfway through it.
 
I like to shine some scales up to 5k grit and mineral oil still makes 'em look better. But I'm not looking for everyday hard use out of these either
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I like using Watco Danish oil. After several coats, I use a little carnauba floor wax. Had a knife with bird's-eye maple scales on it finished with the Watco. Held up for many years and out lasted the Gorilla glue I used to attach them (probably won't use it for knife handles or wood to metal applications). No signs of wear or water damage.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Wood doesn't contain mineral oil naturally. The oil will soften and discolor the wood.
Use paste wax or neutral shoe polish.
Click to expand...
Going the opposite way, is there a way to get wood scales back to their original color. I have a couple of knives, one with light oak scales and one with darker desert wood scales. Over time they have darkened with use, from sweat and natural oils from my hands, is there a way to try and extract some of this out of the wood and lighten them up a bit, just something close to their original color. Or is this just a natural progression that happens with use and there is nothing you can do about it.
 
cudgee said:
Going the opposite way, is there a way to get wood scales back to their original color. I have a couple of knives, one with light oak scales and one with darker desert wood scales. Over time they have darkened with use, from sweat and natural oils from my hands, is there a way to try and extract some of this out of the wood and lighten them up a bit, just something close to their original color. Or is this just a natural progression that happens with use and there is nothing you can do about it.
Click to expand...
Under those circumstances, I've had limited success with 91% rubbing alcohol, which will mix with some plant oils. However, if mineral oil has been applied, alcohol will not mix with it, and probably not do much.
 
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