A Study In Ironwood for Kitchen Knife Handles

Okay awesome! This whole thread is insanely helpful

 

Dave, happy to test one for you

 

I've made some more improvements in how I finish ironwood.

What I've come up with is that oily woods reject oil finishes yet varnishes will adhere if applied SUPER EXTRA thin for the first 3-4 coats. I use this knowledge and apply these first coats to form a base that fills the grain and begins to build on the surface.

I've played with many varnishes to get just the right one and as a side bonus it contains a UV blocker which serves to retard oxidation from UV light so as to help ironwood retain it's fresh appearance.

After the 3-4 coat varnish base is formed I layer on an oil/varnish mix to further seal and bring out the wood's color and characteristics generally bringing the number of coats I apply to 10-12 total.

Will this hold up forever? I doubt it but it's getting better and better.

See these for the last two I've done....

 

Pretty amazing pop in the grain Dave. Well done!

 

Really curious how these hold up in the long term. Inevitably they will darken. Any idea how easy is it to restore back to this color once natural oils/UV etc darken it? Maybe just a quick sand and re-finish, or is a deeper restoration required?

 

Thanks Mark

 

The ones I've re-done early on all needed sanding.