Putting hardening oil over mineral oil?

L

Leon Husock

Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Messages
313
I generally give my kitchen knife handles an overnight soak in mineral oil and then buff and leave them be. But for some of the woods (unstabilized) I have where the grain is a little more open I feel like it might be nice to put a coat of something like tung or tru-oil on them, but I also like the way the mineral oil soaks through the handle and makes it a little more water resistant all the way through. Is it possible to put a hardening oil over a handle that's been soaked in mineral oil? Or would it just not stick?
 
I can't answer to whether the hardening oil would harden over mineral oil. However, if you still want to soak the handle before you finish it. Give it an overnight soak in linseed oil and let that cure. Then I know for a fact you won't have any issues with other oil finishes curing. I've also found that on non stabilized and non oily woods, ie maple/oak etc, if you thin tru-oil with mineral spirits it soaks in very well ( do 3-4 coats thinned, then move to unthinned tru-oil) and may soak deep enough for your scenario.
 
I also recommend linseed oil. A day to a week long soak, wipe off, and let dry for as long as needed (a week to a month, depending on how long it was soaked, wood, and climate). You probably will need no other finish, but if you do apply Tru-oil or another finish it will work fine ( as long as you let the linseed oil cure).
 
Last edited:
Boiled. Some folks use a mixture of BLO and turpentine. Google it or use the custom search engine here.

In all honesty, 24 hours is fine. The old timers and Nordic folks soaked for longer, but I don't know that it makes that much difference. Remove all excess well after soaking.
 
Soaking natural materials in mineral oil is not good for them. It softens wood and stag.
You should have used the hardening oil first and only.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Soaking natural materials in mineral oil is not good for them. It softens wood and stag.
You should have used the hardening oil first and only.
Click to expand...

I've never heard that before. I've treated cutting boards and many other things with it for years and never noticed any softening.
 
You aren't soaking the cutting board submerged in the oil, merely oiling it well. Mineral oil is used on wooden food items because it won't become rancid.
 
Why not just have the handle material stabilized? I do love mineral oil but I have never used it for soaking into wood. I have finished wood with tru-oil and it turns out great if you take your time and apply a bunch of light coats over a few weeks.
 
The only handles I use oil on are Nordic Puukko style ones. Almost everything else is stabilized.
 
JTknives said:
Why not just have the handle material stabilized? I do love mineral oil but I have never used it for soaking into wood. I have finished wood with tru-oil and it turns out great if you take your time and apply a bunch of light coats over a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Mostly the expense and inconvenience. For burl and spalted wood and stuff I do, but for everything else my budget isn't quite expansive enough right now to get it all stabilized. I've been using mineral oil because it's food safe and I mostly make kitchen knives (though I know it's not really so important that a knife handle be food safe compared to something like a cutting board), but I guess if it really does soften the wood up I'll switch to boiled linseed.
 
I do like Boiled Linseed Oil - Thinned with solvent from acetone to mineral spirits.
But what I use it for is hammer handles.

New handles sanded to get rid of that awful blister making varnish/urethane

I dunk them head first in a quart of the BLO mixture for a week.

It seems to keep the handles smooth, supple and tight on the wedges.
 
IIRC, epoxy isn't affected by gas and oil once fully cured. They repair gas tanks with it.
 
Knife handles are not cutting boards.
I see them every day-oil-soaked and softened to the point they are useless. Most are pocket knife handles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top