Question on using Tru Oil on handles and getting it on pins and tang.

G

GrizzlyBear

Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
1,528
Just a quick question, when applying Tru Oil, do you guys allow it to get on the pins and the tang edges? Or do you try, somehow, to keep it off of them? This current knife I'm working on is down to the last couple coats of Tru Oil, and I had been just letting it go over the pins and the tang edges, but it started making them look dull.

Now that I think about it, that may have been caused from the very-fine steel wool I used between coats.

Well anyway, those of you who use Tru Oil or similar oil finish, how do you apply it?
 
Good question. I'd like to know also. For what it's worth, I just let it get on the tang and pins but not on the blade (ricasso). Will it cause problems in the future?? I don't know.

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Well I am new to knife making but have used tru-oil before. Using steel wool will dull the mirror polish on pins and tang. My method of choice is the armor all method. Can get many coats on in just a matter of an hour with it. Use isopropanol on a paper towel or cotton swab to simply rub off the oil while still tacky. If left on the metal it is just sitting on top and will come off with use making a spotty appearance until it is completely gone.

If you aren't familiar with the "armor all" method of tru-oil application I can post more details.


-Xander
 
I don't know who came up with this but I learned about it when refinishing some rifle stocks.

ArmorAll works as a catalyst for Tru-oil. Do all your normal wood prep, im not going to cover that so I assume you know how. Apply your first coat of Tru-oil as normal allowing it to soak in to the grain. When there is no more oil sitting on top of the wood take your good ol' ArmorAll car stuff and spray some on to either the wood directly or into your hand. Rub the ArmorAll into the wood til it is no longer tacky. Something small like knife scales will only take a minute or two of rubbing while a rifle stock takes about 10 min or so of rubbing. Apply your next drop of oil and rub it in til your finger starts to drag or squeak. The previous coat of armor all has catalyzed this coat. Repeat steps above, oil and rub, ArmorAll and rub, til grain is filled or you have reached desired number of coats. This method will leave a nice satin finish but if you want gloss just skip the last ArmorAll application and do two or three coats of just oil.

I have seen rifle stocks with 15 coats applied in one day with this method and maintain all toughness of just tru-oil alone. Future touch-ups are done just like normal.

ymmv. I simply am supplying my methods as explained to me. You may wish to try it out on scraps before starting on a finished blade. I don't guarantee this works on all types of wood. I have used it on quilted maple, walnut, myrtle, mahogany, and rose wood. If Tru-oil will work by itself then you can use this method.

I will try to answer any questions you come up with but you may need to experiment a little to get your answers.


-Xander
 
very cool... thanks for posting this. I'm getting some ArmorAll. Does Pop's carry it? kidding.
 
ArmorAll makes a number of different products. I hope you mean their original protectant because that's what I bought. I was interested in seeing if it would help when trying to apply an oil finish on a tropical wood that resists oil finishes. My results were not real good. I have a knife with pao fero scales and I knew from past experience that TruOil does not want to harden when applied. I took the ArmorAll "original protectant" and sprayed in on a paper towel and wiped the scales down twice, allowing time for the ArmorAll to dry. The TrueOil I applied last knight was still sticky after several hours so I sprayed the ArmorAll directly onto the scales and gently wiped off the excess. I thought to myself, "now THIS aught to make the TruOil harden". I looked at it late this morning and if anything, it was even MORE sticky than the night before.

In for a dime, in for a dollar, right? Sooooooo, I applied some ArmorAll with my finger to the wood and then put a couple drops of TruOil on the still wet ArmorAll and worked it for a short time until it started to get tacky, then flipped the knife and did the other side the same way. A couple hours later it is still very tacky and can not be handled.

My conclusions are that maybe I have the wrong ArmorAll product, or that the anti-oxidizing properties of the tropical wood are stronger than the ArmorAll is, or that I'm just doing something wrong.

Using the ArmorAll on normal wood seemed to work fine, but I want to do more experiments with it.

CAUTION - Be careful how you handle the ArmorAll. My little bottle of TruOil was always just fine - until my first attempt at using ArmorAll. Suddenly the TruOil developed a thick skin on the surface. I suspect that by taking TrueOil from the bottle with my finger tip contaminated it with ArmorAll causing the surface skin to form. Now I use a Popsicle stick or something to get the TruOil out and never let anything that touches an ArmorAll coated surface to come in contact with my bottle of TruOil.

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
fast14riot said:
...<snip>...ymmv. I simply am supplying my methods as explained to me. You may wish to try it out on scraps before starting on a finished blade. I don't guarantee this works on all types of wood. I have used it on quilted maple, walnut, myrtle, mahogany, and rose wood. If Tru-oil will work by itself then you can use this method.

I will try to answer any questions you come up with but you may need to experiment a little to get your answers.


-Xander
Click to expand...

Paul,

Yes I was refering to the original product, it is what I use. I am sorry that it didn't work as you hoped on your species of wood, which is why I threw that little disclaimer in the end of my post. I am not a finishing expert or an expert on wood, but sounds as if your piece of wood may have to be finished with some other method, rather than oil. Have you tried "whiting" or calcium carbonite to extract the natural oils from the wood before you finish? I don't know if it will work, but am just thinking out loud here.

You are right about the bottle developing a skin from the residue on your finger, a habbit of mine is to always pour what I need into a seperate, sealable container for use on my project. Tru-oil can develop a skin in just a few hours of being open.

If some of you doubt the validity of this method feel free to look at this and maybe do a google search for some threads in other forums.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=794153


-Xander
 
Generally, wood that resists an oil finish doesn't NEED an oil finish. Most will polish nicely without any finish.
This is why stabilized woods and very hard/dense.oily woods are better for handles.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Generally, wood that resists an oil finish doesn't NEED an oil finish. Most will polish nicely without any finish.
This is why stabilized woods and very hard/dense.oily woods are better for handles.
Click to expand...

The operative words here are "generally" and "NEED". My original plan was to leave this handle naked but regardless of how fine I sanded it it never got the shine and luster that a TruOil can give. I may end up sanding the finish off but I will let it set and see if it will harden if given sufficient time. The unfinished wood polished up OK, but not good enough.

It was an experiment that didn't work the way I hoped it would and I thought I would share the results.

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Lonepine- Have you tried CA glue for a finish, since Tru Oil won't work for the kind of wood you have?
 
GrizzlyBear said:
Lonepine- Have you tried CA glue for a finish, since Tru Oil won't work for the kind of wood you have?
Click to expand...

Craig:
No I haven't tried CA, i.e. superglue. My assumption is that if CA won't stick to an oily piece of steel it wouldn't stick to an oily piece of wood. But it is certainly worth an experiment on a small piece of scrap. Thanks for the suggestion.

The only time I coated a handle with CA it looked terrible, uneven, as if it dried too fast for it to smooth itself out. Maybe there is some trick to using it that I don't know about?

WOODWORKER magazine had an article about finishing oily woods and their suggestion was to first coat it with lacquer and then apply whatever finish over that. I haven't tried this yet and wonder about the durability of lacquer as an undercoat. There's a thread somewhere on the form

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top