Help please!

[RED BEAR]

Made wife a set of kitchen knives. Came out pretty good for my first try. My problem is that I coated the handles ( made of bocote) with polyurethane and if washed the polyurethane seems to dissolve after a short time. Contacted minwax and was told they made nothing that would withstand washing. Any ideas what I can use to coat the handles? Any help would be appreciated.

[MyFlatline]

I have found nothing that will stand up to a dishwasher, but tung oil will hold up to hand washing. I don't know what bocate is, I use cherry and oak mostly. I need a good way to seal antlers tho...

[GhostHawk]

I treat mine once a year with an equal part mix of beeswax, coconut oil and olive oil.

Its about like the old vasoline. Put a thick coat on and heat gently so it soaks in. Wipe off excess half an hour later with an old cotton towel.

That stuff they put in dishwasher soap, quite caustic, eats finishes. Wash a wood cutting board in a dishwasher once a week for a few months. Soon be back to bare wood.

It maybe possible if you have some thinner 2 part epoxy to do a dip and hang, let cure. Get a coating that would last. But I don't know how many you'd have to try to get it right.

I had never heard of Bocote before.
"Has a yellowish brown body with dramatic dark brown to almost black stripes. Color tends to darken with age. Also, the grain patterning can be quite striking, particularly on flatsawn areas. It’s not uncommon to see many “eyes” and other figuring in Bocote: though unlike knots, they do not seem to present any special challenges in machining."

Sounds pretty interesting.

Good luck with the search.

[RED BEAR]

Thanks for the input I have just been hand washing them. Bocote is quite a nice wood it is sold on exotic wood sites. Let wife pick any wood she wanted for handle's and that is what she picked. I will try to learn how to add pics and show what it looks like. I use it on grips to.

[bruce drake]

acraglass?

[country gent]

. What I would recommend as an impervious finish is the mirror coat or JB restorer clear epoxy finishes. They are a very hard finish and hold up well for me. Done right they are clear and almost in destructible.

Both are 2 part mixes and the mirror coat is an an odd mix percentage making it trickier to use. Once mixed ( I chill the 2 parts in the refridgerator for a longer working time) dip or brush on. Hang the part or set on covered surface. Lightly warm with a blow drier heat gun or torch. this evens the coating and releases the trapped air. then let cure for 24 hours. Remove drips and such will wet if possible, this finish dosnt sand well and is hard to work once cured. On parts I hang I use a popcycle stick to remove the lump from the bottom edge while wet. This finished used for bench tops or table tops can build up to 1/8" thick. I have used it to seal the inside of wood flower vases I made, bench tops, shelves, and some pen pencil sets Ive made.

Another option is a simple butcher block oil finish or peanut oil and reoil as needed. A lot of the exotic woods don't absorb oils or other finishes as good as domestics do. I have turned bocate and its a pretty wood. Did one pen set in zebra wood nice looking but the scent of it was horrible working and sanding. Olive wood was a nice turning looking wood and easily polished up wth a pleasing scent.

The only other finish I can think of is cyclamates ( super glues) wood crafters has a version for wood that's a little longer curing. Worked into the wood and finish sanded polished it might work

[RED BEAR]

Thanks for the ideas I have some scraps left over will try some of your ideas to see what works.

[NyFirefighter357]

No good knife should ever go in the dishwasher or even be left in the sink for that matter. Especially a wooden handled knife. All our good knives are placed between the back of the sink and the back splash waiting a good hand cleaning and drying. (My wife just bought a "C" style scrub brush just for this purpose) https://www.desertcart.ae/products/3...non-slip-green Then they get put away properly, either in a sheath, upside down or sideways a wooden knife block. I use a finish similar to the old Lin-speed oil stock finish which will work as well. https://www.lin-speed.com/ Mine is more of a modified oil finish. 1 parts oil based Polyurethane/1 parts tung or boiled linseed oil/1 parts mineral spirits/ You can add a little maybe 1 teaspoon at a time of dark oil based stain as well to darken it. I sometimes use the dark Old English furniture scratch cover. Mix all 3 parts together and add stain. Test color add more stain if you want it darker. The mineral spirits and oil allow the poly to penetrate deep into the grain sealing the wood completely not just building a layer of plastic on top. Several coats need to be applied, light scotch bright pad in between. This finish can be burnished by waiting about 10 mins. after applying and either hand rubbing until hot or what I did with my floor/stairs is use a lambs wool buffing pad on a high speed car buffer.

[RED BEAR]

I only hand wash these knives. But the finish dissolved any way. I do not want to use any type of stain as I bought the wood for its looks. Cross cut bocote is one of the prettiest woods I have seen. Made set of grips to a cz 50 and have a couple of revolvers am going to do.

[Beerd]

I have used the super glue finish that country gent suggested with good results.
You might try it out on a scrap of bocote to see if you like how it holds up.
..

[jeepyj]

I used to use a product when I built flyrods called flexcoat. A 2 part, high gloss finish that is pretty tough although not sure that it would withstand a dishwaher but looks outstanding. I'd like to see a photo or two.

[RED BEAR]

Will give ideas a try on some scrap. I am not using a dishwasher on these knives. I do thank everyone for the ideas .

[country gent]

One of the issues with an oil type finish and cooking knives handles is most dish soaps are meant to remove oils and grease. The hot water used dosnt help either. These soaps are meant to dissolve and disapate oils into water. The soap and water used floats the finish out of wood and the water replaces it.

[RED BEAR]

Yep that's pretty much what's been happening. I am to far into this project cost and work it is a large set 22 knives I will keep going until I get it figured out. Thanks for all the help.

[Hickory]

I have made a few knives and have used epoxy to seal the handles. Most of the handles were bone and my method worked very well. It's what's called the gas-in, gas-out process.
When you heat porous material it will expel moisture and gas, but when it cools it will draw into itself anything around or on it's surface. Works on the same principle of the overflow tank on your car's radiator.

Sand the handle before heating to open up the pores.

I heat the knife in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes @ 180-200 degrees, during that time I mix the epoxy to coincide with the time the knife comes out of the oven. Wearing rubber gloves, wrap the blade with paper towels and rub the epoxy into the handle, as the handle cools it will suck in the epoxy, keep rubbing in the epoxy until it starts to become thick and about to harden.
Wipe off excess epoxy, let the epoxy harden for 24 hours or more before working it down with OO steelwool.

P.S. Mix more epoxy than you think you will need, you'll be surprised how much epoxy will disappear into the handle.

[Streetwalker]

I use two part epoxy thinned with acetone somewhat to seal wood handles on knives, especially my fish fillet and boning knives. Make sure that the handles are DRY and when applying the epoxy, rub the mix in well to fill the wood pores and allow to dry and cure. This makes for a tough finish but I do not recommend washing in a dishwasher-hand wash only.

[jeepyj]

I have made a few knives and have used epoxy to seal the handles. Most of the handles were bone and my method worked very well. It's what's called the gas-in, gas-out process.
When you heat porous material it will expel moisture and gas, but when it cools it will draw into itself anything around or on it's surface. Works on the same principle of the overflow tank on your car's radiator.

Sand the handle before heating to open up the pores.

I heat the knife in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes @ 180-200 degrees, during that time I mix the epoxy to coincide with the time the knife comes out of the oven. Wearing rubber gloves, wrap the blade with paper towels and rub the epoxy into the handle, as the handle cools it will suck in the epoxy, keep rubbing in the epoxy until it starts to become thick and about to harden.
Wipe off excess epoxy, let the epoxy harden for 24 hours or more before working it down with OO steelwool.

P.S. Mix more epoxy than you think you will need, you'll be surprised how much epoxy will disappear into the handle.

Your tip about heating is very interesting to me. I will try that method.

[archeryrob]

You could use the same mixture they use to fishing plugs for Blues and stripers before they paint them. 60/40 mixture of Linseed/Mineral spirits and just submerge the handles in the mixture for a couple minutes and then sit the point in something after wiping it off and let it dry for a few days. That will penetrate every pore and make it water proof.

[OldBearHair]

I like a product called Min-Wax Wood Hardener, especially if the piece can be submerged in it. It is highly flammable. It seems that the product soaks in a great amount, replacing the air that was in the material. As the volatiles evaporate, the hardening begins. Great for sealing. I may have to run a test on a treated knife slab by running it in the dishwasher. As for wooden handles and dishwashers. I have laid down the law in my household that no wooden handles be put through the dishwasher and have been adamant and almost threatening about it ........to no avail...I think you understand how that goes.

[M-Tecs]

Same as I use on cutting boards - Mineral oil. Dishwashers are hard on knives but I am lazy. I do have some higher end knives that will never go into the dishwasher but the are not daily use knives. My Chicago cutlery wood handle knives are daily use and they go into the dishwasher 100% of the time for the last 30 years. I mineral oil the handles 3 or 4 times a year.