Staining Opinel's Beech - Success!

P

pinnah

Joined
Jul 28, 2011
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So, I'm pretty much sold on Opinels. They cut wood great, are durable and they don't offend the citezenry.

But I've struggled with trying to stain the beech handles. Stain seems to bounce off without penetrating.

I found that RIT dye an OK job. But I wasn't really pleased with the results. It didn't really highlight the grain enough and the results have been inconsistent. Here is a #8 finished with brown dye. It's OK but not enough pop.


Opinel #8 by Pinnah, on Flickr

I got talking with an old timer at the paint store and he suggested only sanding the wood with course 80 grit paper to keep the grain open, and then relying on the top coat to get the finished product smooth.

It worked!!



Opinel #8 Drop-point 1 by Pinnah, on Flickr

This is the same knife now with the point dropped and the butt end getting the canoe prow treatment. The stain is Minwax English Chestnut, one of the darker colors. It really brings out the grain. Top coat is Tung Oil Varnish.

Thanks for looking.
 
That looks really good. Thanks for posting it. I have an Opinel that I won in Hummpa's give away that I need to work on. Don't know yet exactly what I want to do, but a stain job like that would top it off nicely.

Ed J
 
Very nice!!

I had put off sanding or attempting to stain my No. 08 'carbone' with the beech handle, as I wasn't sure what might work in the end. But this post has given me some new inspiration. That really looks good. Nice work. :thumbup:


David
 
The ONLY thing I don't care for about my #6 that I use for my EDC is the light colored beech wood handle. Looks like a new project starter for the favorite EDC. My #8 has the walnut handle, and is alright except for the dull finish on it. I prefer the #6 for EDC as it is just the right size and weight for my uses. Small enough that I can drag it out in a restaurant and use it without worrying about scarring away all of their customers. :eek: Your refinish job looks fantastic on an otherwise "ho hum" looking knife. (although it certainly is anything but "ho hum" in its functionality and use.) Great job!

Blessings,

Omar
 
pinnah said:
So, I'm pretty much sold on Opinels. They cut wood great, are durable and they don't offend the citezenry.

But I've struggled with trying to stain the beech handles. Stain seems to bounce off without penetrating.

I found that RIT dye an OK job. But I wasn't really pleased with the results. It didn't really highlight the grain enough and the results have been inconsistent. Here is a #8 finished with brown dye. It's OK but not enough pop.


Opinel #8 by Pinnah, on Flickr

I got talking with an old timer at the paint store and he suggested only sanding the wood with course 80 grit paper to keep the grain open, and then relying on the top coat to get the finished product smooth.

It worked!!



Opinel #8 Drop-point 1 by Pinnah, on Flickr

This is the same knife now with the point dropped and the butt end getting the canoe prow treatment. The stain is Minwax English Chestnut, one of the darker colors. It really brings out the grain. Top coat is Tung Oil Varnish.

Thanks for looking.
Click to expand...

That looks perfect exactly what I want to do with my #7! I use it to cut an apple everyday at work and it's just so boring looking and i've been wanting to pimp it out. It's getting a great patina going on from all the apple cutting though! What is the easiest way to drop the point on the blade like you did?
 
jkulysses said:
That looks perfect exactly what I want to do with my #7! I use it to cut an apple everyday at work and it's just so boring looking and i've been wanting to pimp it out. It's getting a great patina going on from all the apple cutting though! What is the easiest way to drop the point on the blade like you did?
Click to expand...

A good file and some sandpaper is what I needed with my blades, if I did not do a total reshape. I have not tried with stainless, it might be more difficult.

That Opinel looks really nice. Personally I plan to try something a bit different, like staining the wood light grey and then varnish to resemble bone or horn.
 
I really like the look of the handle on the finished Opinel. What all did you do to it?
 
Amazing what a difference comparing the two!
Really looks great, love that grain :thumbup:
 
Thanks for kind words folks.

To answer some of the questions...

To drop the point, I put the knife in a padded vice with the handle down behind the vice head and the blade coming up straight towards me with the spine on top. From this position, it's pretty easy to go after the tip of the spine with a sharp file using a drawing motion. The Opinels actually have 2 spots that I knock down. The first, obviously, is the tip. But the other is the small raised spot on the spine just aft of the nail nick. Personally, I like a gentle curve from the joint to the tip. File to personal taste.

Once the shape is mostly there, I finish off the spine on a bench stone. I place the spine on the stone and use a back and forth motion with a fair amount of rocking. Helps to smooth out the curve. I also desharpen the edge of the spine on the stone.

Regarding the products used in refinishing the handle, the first is basic 80 grit sand paper. I use clamps to hold a sheet on my work bench and rub the butt of the handle on that to get the basic rounding of the butt end. I'll finish off the shaping by putting 80 grit paper in a sanding block and putting the the knife in a padded vice. Makes it easier to work on the end and to get things more or less evened out.

The stain is Minwax English Chestnut. I've tried ebony (too blackish), cherry (too red for my taste) and puritan pine (pretty nice actually if you like a more blond finish). But my favorite, by far, is the English chestnut. IMO, it highlights the grain and gives a nice warm brown. YMMV, obviously.

I apply the stain with a brush or rag, let stand for 5-10 minutes and then rub it in/off with a clean rag. I do this twice allowing it to dry overnight in between.

The top coat I'm currently using is Formby's Tung Oil Finish (high-gloss), which is Tung Oil plus varnish. I bought this in the hopes that the tung oil would give more warmth to the wood. Now that I feel more confident in the staining, I want to try spar poly-urethane. The finish phase is the one that takes the most patience. I give a good 8 hours of drying between coats. I'll put on 3 or 4 coats (with a clean rag) before touching the handle with sand paper. Care must be used to not put on too much, otherwise it will "drip" as it dries, leaving noticeably thick spots.

After a bit, I'll lightly sand with 400, 800 and then 2000 grit between coats. Eventually, the varnish fills in any trace of the grain that could be visible in the light. I usually don't sand the final coat.

Hope this helps.
 
Fiebings leather dye works on everything from bone to stone to wood to leather, I use that S### on Everything :D

Your opie turned out great, wonderful knives they are.

Best regards

Robin
I have added a pic of an opinel handle that I rough sanded and dyed with fiebings. All the colours are a single coat, the more you coat the deeper the colour gets, the more you play with it the better the final product.
8741453781_9226fe676a.jpg
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