Handle finish?

[owlbait]

I want to finish my handle so it shows the wood grain and protects/waterproofs the handle. Any suggestions on material AND application? Did see a mention of superglue and wonder how that would work on red cedar.  Thanks Mike

[skullworks]

I ask RGK about cedar once and he said it would have to have the wood hardener used on it because it is so soft. I use lacquer or tung oil on my handles. Spray lacquer and rub in the tung oil.

[Jeremy]

Superglue would defintely work, but IMO it doesn't make the grain 'pop' as much as other finishes, especially with lighter woods.
TruOil would do a great job on the figure of the cedar (did wonders for some bird's eye maple for me recently).
A more durable finish that'll do the same is thinned down epoxy.  I use marine epoxy cut with acetone, but regular 2-ton will work - you just need more acetone.  
I also like to use the marine epoxy straight.  Just rub it on and then wipe off the excess.  Gives a more satin finish than the thinned down stuff, but doesn't penetrate and highlight the grain as much.
This is the thinned down epoxy on alligator juniper (works similar to red cedar)
   
And here is the superglue on the same juniper:
   
See the difference?  It's hard with the smaller pics, but the superglue didn't do a thing to highlight the subtle differences in the grain and slight shading variations in the wood.  I was pretty disappointed with it actually.

On really dense woods like cocobolo the superglue does a nice job of sealing the wood and bringing out the figure, but it doesn't need to penetrate deeply do it.  With softer woods like the juniper and cedar, as well as really cool figure like quilted/bird's eye maple or quilted walnut you really need something that will penetrate to bring out the best in the wood.  TruOil or thinned down epoxy work well, as does Danish Oil... pretty much all the oils really.

[Jeremy]

Forgot to mention, using the thinned down epoxy basically encases the top layer of the wood in plastic, so it hardens it up and will let you get away with the really soft woods like cedar and juniper.  Does the same for stacked leather handles too.

[owlbait]

Thanks guys. This is exactly the info I was hoping to get. Appreciate your input.
owlbait Mike Gerard

[brettlandon]

I've been using boiled linseed oil and finishing with bee's wax.  But I really like a natural finish on all of my stuff.  :D  

-Brett

[owlbait]

Here's a another couple questions. Does boiled linseed oil come already boiled? If not how long do you boil it? When thinning epoxy how thin is thin enough? Do you have a ratio of epoxy to acetone for thinning? Hope this doesn't seem to dense. I have a lot of book learning, not much shop learning!

[owlbait]

One more    I saw something called wood hardener. Any thoughts on that as far as soft woods and grain? Can a finish be applied over it?

[ber643]

Good, usefull info, guys!  

[RGK]

Yes, wood hardener works good on soft wood or even to stabilize hard woods. Soak in it or use a vacuun sealler to draw more of the hardener deeper into the grain. It is a minwax product.

I use mostly tung oil or super glue.

[Jeremy]

The marine epoxy I thin 1:1 or 1:2.  The 2-ton stuff should be somewhere between 1:6 and 1:10 (ie about that much  :D )

Most "boiled linseed oils" you buy right now are actually just raw linseed oil with solvent and metallic dryers added in.  So yup, you can buy it  

[ber643]

Uh - The smaller number/portion being the thinner? Or verse-visa?    I was just ready to try one and realized I wasn't really sure, Jeremy  

[Jeremy]

Thin it with acetone.  epoxy:acetone  :D   You want to thin it down pretty good.  Just wipe it on and let it sit.