Best oil for knife handles

[daverobson]

Can anyone please advise which is the best oil to apply to a new wooden knife handle?

I've read various items on the internet & the two most common ones being mentioned are Boiled Linseed oil or Danish oil.

Anyone got any helpful suggestions please as to the pros & cons of these?

[ducttapetech]

I don't know if one is better than the other, but I like boiled linseed oil. Makes the wood grain pop out.

That's us mobile.

[jzmtl]

BLO takes forever to dry, it doesn't really do anything other than color the wood and you can't add another finish before it completely dries. I think there are better oils if you are looking for the color. Danish oil is BLO plus varnish, I think, so it dries faster and give you some actual coating.

I used BLO on some knife handles but the nice sheen goes away pretty fast, so all you are left with is a dull color. I ended up varnish them (months) later and they look pretty good.

Here's what they look like after varnish, don't know how durable though since neither is user.



If I were to do it again I'd use Danish oil and be done with it.

[comis]

I am totally new on this, and I read from various forum that Ballistol is good as a lube as well as leather and handle.  Will it be beneficial to use it on wooden handles or other kind of oil is preferred?

[Sparky415]

I use boiled linseed oil mixed 50/50 with white spirit on most things
or mineral oil on knives that are used for food

Don't let BLO get inside your folders 

[jzmtl]

I am totally new on this, and I read from various forum that Ballistol is good as a lube as well as leather and handle.  Will it be beneficial to use it on wooden handles or other kind of oil is preferred?

I think ballistol is a lot like mineral oil.  But it won't dry/cure so if you use it you'll have to keep using it, varnish etc won't adhere anymore.

[Lichtbote]

Ballistol is mainly parrafin oil, medical grade (as in cosmetics).

[jzmtl]

Paraffin and mineral oil are pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

[Crow]

I dont use oils anymore, they dont dry, and you have to use them afterwards also. It might get sucked into sheat, and make handle look funny even if it is newly made.  But when i used it, i used cotton oil with terpentine. If i wanted darker color, i put some tar in the mix. Tar gave nice odor to the handle.

Nowdays i use floorwax, or beewax. Much better than oils...

[Sparky415]

Paraffin and mineral oil are pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

They are here in the UK 

[jzmtl]

Paraffin and mineral oil are pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

They are here in the UK 

What do you guys call naphtha (coleman fuel) and kerosene? I thought one of the two is called paraffin. 

[Lichtbote]

Isn´t mineral oil the tech grade, only? That is not as much refined and is still rated as carzinogen?

But it might be that the differencies are lost by the translation for me....

[jzmtl]

Isn´t mineral oil the tech grade, only? That is not as much refined and is still rated as carzinogen?

But it might be that the differencies are lost by the translation for me....

No mineral oil isn't limited to any grade, the ones you buy in pharmacy to use as laxative (USP grade) is also called mineral oil.

[Lichtbote]

Ah thanks  , then "mineral oil" is a generic name for the whole family, as it is generally called "Weißöl/Whiteoil" here in Germany. I need to memorise that.

[jzmtl]

Heh, white oil could mean something completely different here, very effective at killing aphids and spider mites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_oil

[Lichtbote]

There is also another meaning listed at the end of the wiki article:

"White oil" is also an alternative name for mineral oil.

Languages can be so much fun.

[jzmtl]

Yep, but I've never actually heard anyone call it white oil though.

[AimlessWanderer]

I use boiled linseed oil mixed 50/50 with white spirit on most things
or mineral oil on knives that are used for food

Don't let BLO get inside your folders 

Listen to the Rustmeister, he knows what he's talking about  The linseed mixed 50/50 with white spirit really helps penetration into the grain of the wood, though mineral oil would be better for anything used for food. Camelia oil is another wood finish which I believe is food safe

[Smashie]

I use boiled linseed oil mixed 50/50 with white spirit on most things
or mineral oil on knives that are used for food

Don't let BLO get inside your folders 

Listen to the Rustmeister, he knows what he's talking about  The linseed mixed 50/50 with white spirit really helps penetration into the grain of the wood, though mineral oil would be better for anything used for food. Camelia oil is another wood finish which I believe is food safe

After last weekend I appear to have breeding axe parts around here, the finish on his axe handles is very good so I will be trying the 50/50.

The only knife handle I ever re-finished I used what I had, Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, it's very hard wearing

[3-1-1]

I second the BC Tru-Oil recommendation.  Great results which I usually finish with a coat of wax