Choice of finish for Saw Handles.

[swagman]

http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Article ... s-Interior


Wax and oils are much easier to apply, but they offer little protection over the surface of the handle wood.

As such, my personal preference is to apply a traditional shellac finish.

Stewie;

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Buff on Shellawax. Sets very hard, and rapidly, with friction heat, and looks like a "natural", hand rubbed finish. Shows off the figure wonderfully. If you wish - but not necessary - finish with wax.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[MIGNAL]

Shellac is perfectly fine, for the vast majority of people. Some seem to actually strip the finish in double quick time, supposedly due to sweat chemistry. I was always under the impression that human sweat was very mildly acidic but it's Alkalinity that destroys Shellac. Whatever the cause, the effect is real. Unfortunately such folk also seem to strip other types of finish too!
Wipe on Oil varnishes have the advantage of being very easy to renew (for the end user). It's hard to beat Oil applied directly to wood, to do with index of refraction etc. Choose your poison, they all have slight advantages and slight disadvantages. Shellac is always cited as being susceptible to alcohol damage but you'll need a strong alcohol to do it much damage. Your average Beer and Wine do nothing. Even an average strength Spirit will only have relatively minor effect providing it's carefully moped up.

 

[Klaus Kretschmar]

Hi Stewie,

it's a matter of taste IMHO. There are other finishings that are protecting the wood and are durable comparable to a French polish with shellac. As Mignal stated correctly, the French polish doesn't stay shiny all too long in many cases.

Not all wax or oil finishes are equal. Derek mentioned the Shellawax, that is a friction polish. It needs some temperature while being applied. Once cooled down, it's a very durable wax finish. Similarly is a pure carnauba wax finish. It's the hardest natural wax that needs to be heated up to about 70° Celsius before you can apply it. Being cooled down, it's very durable and keeps it's shine well. It's my favourite finish on oily woods. Note please, I'm not talking about a carnauba mix but about pure carnauba wax.

There are even oil finishes available, that are really durable and have good protecting characteristics. Typically gun stock finishes are to recommend, they're designed to protect the wooden parts of hunting weapons. Tru oil is a high quality gunstock finish with brillant characteristics concerning durability and wood protection. The downside is, that it fails at oily woods. With non oily woods it is a very good finish. Aside of the above mentioned characteristics, it keeps it's shine very reliably, IMO better than a shellac finish will do.

Klaus

 

[Trafalgar]

A little beeswax and sweat.

 

[MIGNAL]

Hard, durable and tough aren't necessarily the same thing. I certainly wouldn't call Tru Oil hard, nor is it really durable. How can it possibly be, it's just basically a highly polymerised linseed Oil. But like many wipe on finishes it's so easily applied that it can be renewed by the saw owner. If you want it to dry on Oily hardwoods you need to subject it to UV light and lots of it. Eventually it will start to dry and harden.
Most of these finishes are a balancing act, too hard and they become chippy (Nitrocellulose is noted for it), too soft and it can wear easily. Shellac is pretty hard, try scratching one of the flakes or the buttons. I think you will find that it resists the nail pretty well. Typically (as in French polishing) Shellac is put on as an extremely thin coating, which is why it gets a reputation for wearing easily.

 

[Klaus Kretschmar]

Hard, durable and tough aren't necessarily the same thing. I certainly wouldn't call Tru Oil hard, nor is it really durable.

I respectfully disagree. 3 coats of Tru Oil, the last one buffed on and it is a hard and durable finish. In no way comparable to a normal oil finish. If you want, you can get a film finish with TO depending on the number of coats you apply. So I doubt if TO just is a highly polimerised linseed oil. I was told that it contains another few ingredients that make it to perform that brilliantly. Having long time experience with TO, I have a few saws with handles that have been TO finished a few years ago. I've not the smallest complaints so far.

Klaus

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

One can get a hard, clear and durable finish with True Oil. The only down side is that it requires several coats and time for each to dry. The advantage of Shellawax (an Australian product by the way!), is that it goes on with a wipe, hardens with the friction of a buffing mop on a drill press or grinder (I use the drill press), and it hard within minutes. It retains its clarity and durability for a very long time.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[CHJ]

How does a modern Microcrystalline Wax compare, in most incarnations it's a higher melting point than Canauba and stands a lot of handling.
Being in a soft paste form for application it's easy to apply and readily buffs up with a mop.

 

[Jacob]

Raw linseed oil is best. Self polishes with use. It also runs in to any cracks e.g. between handle and metal work, and stops rust.

Not sure about those super shiny finishes - they won't last if you actually use the saw. There'll be little chips and scratches. OK if they are just for display.

 

[MMUK]

Does it really matter what the handle looks like? As long as the blade is good quality steel, teeth sharp and the handle comfortable in use, aesthetics aren't really a priority.

 

[Jacob]

Does it really matter what the handle looks like? As long as the blade is good quality steel, teeth sharp and the handle comfortable in use, aesthetics aren't really a priority.

Absolutely.
It's like bog paper - doesn't really matter what colour it is as long as it does it's job - though a shade of lavender might look nice hanging on the wall. :lol:

 

[MIGNAL]

Hard, durable and tough aren't necessarily the same thing. I certainly wouldn't call Tru Oil hard, nor is it really durable.

I respectfully disagree. 3 coats of Tru Oil, the last one buffed on and it is a hard and durable finish. In no way comparable to a normal oil finish. If you want, you can get a film finish with TO depending on the number of coats you apply. So I doubt if TO just is a highly polimerised linseed oil. I was told that it contains another few ingredients that make it to perform that brilliantly. Having long time experience with TO, I have a few saws with handles that have been TO finished a few years ago. I've not the smallest complaints so far.

Klaus

I also have a lot of experience with Tru Oil. It is sometimes used on Guitars and their Necks that see a lot of wear, much, much more than any saw handle. Even if Tru Oil contains a resin it cannot perform any better than your average Oil varnish and there is no way that Tru Oil is a short Oil varnish. It acts/feels more like a long Oil varnish. You can tell by examining the excess that collects on the outside of the bottle - after it has dried for a year or so.
Mr Dominelli agrees with me:

http://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/v ... l&start=15

Tru Oil is fine for a finish but it's not a miracle worker. All of the finishes thus far cited are relatively fast wearing.
No one in the Guitar making world actually calls Tru Oil a hard and durable finish. In fact it's often seen as a finish that is too soft. Just to give you an indication of my personal experience with Tru Oil I finished a Guitar to a very high gloss finish. It had some 20 coats of Tru Oil. That was back in around 2,000, long before Tru Oil had really hit the UK market. I've used the stuff on clients Guitars many times since but I wouldn't use it on high wear areas like the Neck, unless people were prepared to renew it. Of course renewing it is extremely simple. Be careful of confusing wood that has been effectively burnished (through use) with the finish being still present. Most of the time the finish has long since worn off.

 

[MMUK]

Does it really matter what the handle looks like? As long as the blade is good quality steel, teeth sharp and the handle comfortable in use, aesthetics aren't really a priority.

Absolutely.
It's like bog paper - doesn't really matter what colour it is as long as it does it's job - though a shade of lavender might look nice hanging on the wall. :lol:

Nah, I prefer the Shea Butter. Smells nice :mrgreen:

 

[Jacob]

Wos dat then? Is shea butter an alternative to tru oil, whatever that is?

 

[Trafalgar]

Minwax Antique Oil is basically a Danish Oil but with more varnish resins. You get noticeable build in a couple or three applications. Four to five applications and you're basically dealing with a varnish.

Some of you fine fellows might want to give it a try.

 

[RogerP]

How does a modern Microcrystalline Wax compare, in most incarnations it's a higher melting point than Canauba and stands a lot of handling.
Being in a soft paste form for application it's easy to apply and readily buffs up with a mop.

I use the Chestnut product on most stuff. Quick, easy, looks good and gives good protection. Seems quite expensive but in fact it goes a long way so works out reasonably economic.

 

[MIGNAL]

Minwax Antique Oil is basically a Danish Oil but with more varnish resins. You get noticeable build in a couple or three applications. Four to five applications and you're basically dealing with a varnish.

Some of you fine fellows might want to give it a try.

Many Danish Oils are Oil Varnishes. They are just laced with lots of solvents to obtain a wipe on/wipe off finish. It might take 5 or 6 coats to get the equivalent of one single brushed coat but you have less problems with dust, less rubbing down to do.
The proportion of resin to Oil content gives the hardness of the finished film. Short Oil varnishes (more than 50% resin) give a harder but less flexible film. Too much resin and they become hard, brittle and chippy.
Long Oil varnishes (less than 50% resin) tend to be more flexible. Marine varnishes tend to be long Oil varnishes because they have to put up with the weather/greater temperature variation and intense UV.
Liberon finishing Oil seems to be no different than a Danish Oil that contains resins. Coloron 'Danish Oil' certainly contains resins. As far as I know there is no one definition of 'Danish Oil'. Some may contain resin, some not.

If you want a hard wearing finish look to the floor finishes, especially those that are intended to be recoated relatively infrequently. Hard wearing virtually always means that there is something hard involved. That usually means something that looks (and feels) a bit plastic like. Most folk don't like the look or feel of such finishes on tool handles, so apply something that feels a bit more organic.
BTW. Anyone know what Stanley and Record were using on their Plane handles? My vote goes for Nitrocellulose. It's hard but cracks/chips like crazy, as anyone who has refurbed such Planes will attest. It's a clear example of a finish that it is hard but not tough ie. it can't take the knocks.

 

[JimB]

Raw linseed oil is best. Self polishes with use. It also runs in to any cracks e.g. between handle and metal work, and stops rust.
Not sure about those super shiny finishes - they won't last if you actually use the saw. There'll be little chips and scratches. OK if they are just for display.

With you there Jacob.

 

[swagman]

Does it really matter what the handle looks like? As long as the blade is good quality steel, teeth sharp and the handle comfortable in use, aesthetics aren't really a priority.

Absolutely.
It's like bog paper - doesn't really matter what colour it is as long as it does it's job - though a shade of lavender might look nice hanging on the wall. :lol:

Your a class act Jacob.