I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

--

Jim
"Value nothing but truth, compassion, and love"

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
. 97.142...
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind
right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks


I use walnut oil for my cherry wood kitchen countertops.
It is semi-hardening with no noticeable odor.

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
. 97.142...
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind
right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Food contact? Are you going to tenderize the meat by beating it with the
wood block?

Any normal wood finish oil is just fine. Danish oil, varnish oil, mineral
oil, latex paint will do too.

Avoid the cooking oils.

Jim Willemin wrote:
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese
cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around
the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II.

30 years ago, I used boiled linseed oil on a couple of knife racks.

Poured the BLO in a pot, heated it up on the stove, then dunked the
racks into it.

As this is being written, no fatalities to report.

Lew

I always wonder when this question comes up, which seems to be about
once a month.

I make treen ware for fun, and always use EVOO to finish the spatulas,
spoons, cutting boards, stirrers, tasters and beaters I make. I use
just about any wood besides red oak, or some of the more tubular
looking pieces of white.

Yet... in the last two decades I have never had any of the EVOO oiled
kitchen ware go rancid, stink, rot, or pass disease to anyone that uses
them. Cooking is my second hobby, and I use all of my pieces
frequently, as do many I have given them to as gifts.

I stir fry in vegetable oil, pan fry chicken breasts in vegetable oils,
and a mulititude of other tasks that expose my treenware to natural,
non or slow curing oils. And while the spatulas and turners absorb
vegetable oils and animal fats, no disease or pestilence to report. I
cut bloody meats (15 - 18 lb pork loins into chops, raw chickens, and
raw fish) on my cutting boards frequently with no problems. I
beat/stir concotions with raw eggs and vegetable oils in them with my
wooden beaters and haven't had foul odor one. This nonsense has been
going on for years, and EVERYTHING has been treated with plain EVOO.

I know that many of us have their own favorite finishes, but I think
that those that are afraid of vegetable finshes should use stainless
utensils. So do any of the people here realize that for many years it
was animal fats that were used to cure these utensils? Sometimes
nothing at all? I have a great maple cutting board that I have had for
years that I have never put a drop of finish on, and it is great. It
has picked up some oils somewhere though as you can see the difference
in the appearance of the wood on the front and back of the board. So
that means it has picked up animal fats and oils from food prep.
Yet... no smell.

A GOOD FIELD TEST: Take a piece of scrap from your project and treat
it with vegetable oil of some sort. Wipe off the excess oil. See how
long it takes to "go rancid". Your grandkid's grandkids will be
shaving by the that happens.

I am going with Mr. Pawlowski on this one.... just put something on
it! You'll be fine!


Robert

Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie

In article 42,
says...
What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

I routinely use olive oil as finish on kitchen utensils. Boiled Linseed oil is
fine. I lightly cut them with vegetable turpentine for the first application,
so they soak in better - the vege turps smell goes quickly.
You may well be ok with some of the more exotic oils like Walnut or Grapeseed.
Tung oil is a slow curing natural oil that has a strong pungent smell about it
(I like it, but it may not be appropriate here).
I would avoid sunflower oil at any cost. That DOES go rancid. I personally
would also avoid canola. Don't know about the others you mention - ne'er tried.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

"Tom Nie" wrote in message
...
Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie


This a sure tell as to what we are watching in our spare time.

Tom Nie wrote:
Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie

And Tom, I love her right back. I have only seen a couple of shows (I
have no cable or satellite) but she is as cute as can be, and I have
seen her eat a Chicago dawg and drink beer like an old pro.

Me like.

Robert

wrote:

And Tom, I love her right back. I have only seen a couple of shows (I
have no cable or satellite) but she is as cute as can be, and I have
seen her eat a Chicago dawg and drink beer like an old pro.

And tell me you are an Emeril fan like me.

Well at least as long as he sticks to coon ass food.

Lew

Lew Hodgett wrote:

And tell me you are an Emeril fan like me.

Well at least as long as he sticks to coon ass food.

Lew

You bet. I love some of the cajun stuff, and being in S. Texas, the
spicier the better. Apparently when Emeril came here a couple of
times for shows (San Antonio) he liked it well enough to become friends
with a couple of the owners of our better Mexican cafes. He slips in
town every once and a while, and on a slow day they the new channels
try to get a few words from him.

Locals here got quite a snort out of him trying some of the hotter
sauces served with the local fare. He did it on camera, and there was
no place to hide. He was sweating like he was in a sauna.

I don't know why they laughed at him... me and my amigos set ourselves
on fire with that stuff all the time!

Robert

Gotta love Alton Brown for his factual background information IF you can get
past his nerdy, goofy delivery.

And Paula's recipes, while usually delicious, weren't written with a heart
specialist in mind.

Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged for
one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.

TomNie (the one told to lose 20#)

Tom Nie wrote:
Gotta love Alton Brown for his factual background information IF you can get
past his nerdy, goofy delivery.

And Paula's recipes, while usually delicious, weren't written with a heart
specialist in mind.

Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged for
one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.

TomNie (the one told to lose 20#)

What satellite service are you using? I know there are a lot of deals
out there right now, but I also know some services are better than
others. I know what you mean about all the crap on network. There are
only (literally) a couple of shows I watch pretty regularly on network,
but then I never miss my favorite show on Fox, "24".

The good side to all of that is that I don't spend much time at all in
front of the boob tube. With 24 on hiatus, unless I find something on
PBS my TV will stay off for two to three days at a time. But on the
other hand, I do like some of the info shows that satellite has to
offer and if I had something better to watch I might.

Robert

Robert,
Sorry, I've got Charter catv.

Peter Huebner wrote:
In article 42,
says...
What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

I routinely use olive oil as finish on kitchen utensils. Boiled Linseed oil is
fine. I lightly cut them with vegetable turpentine for the first application,
so they soak in better - the vege turps smell goes quickly.
You may well be ok with some of the more exotic oils like Walnut or Grapeseed.
Tung oil is a slow curing natural oil that has a strong pungent smell about it
(I like it, but it may not be appropriate here).
I would avoid sunflower oil at any cost. That DOES go rancid. I personally
would also avoid canola. Don't know about the others you mention - ne'er tried.

-P.

I knife block is not a "kitchen utensil". It HOLDS them. They can be
finished in shellac, lacquer, poly, whatever. They do NOT need to be
"food safe" any more so than a cabinet door.

Dave

DirecTV is the only satellite associated with the Tivo brand DVR, I believe.

An Tivo is what you want, if for nothing other than the reqind/play feature
that anticipates where you meant to start playing the show you atr
fast-forwarding or reqinding and starts playing it there. You can be fast
forwarding through the 4 minute block of commercials on FoodTV and when you
see your show back on, just hit play (not play, rewind, play, fast-forward,
rewind and play) and the show starts playing just about where you want it
to.

I had a generic DVR for a year and hated it. Took the joy right out of
skipping commercials.



wrote in message
oups.com...

Tom Nie wrote:
Gotta love Alton Brown for his factual background information IF you can
get
past his nerdy, goofy delivery.

And Paula's recipes, while usually delicious, weren't written with a
heart
specialist in mind.

Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged
for
one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.

TomNie (the one told to lose 20#)

What satellite service are you using? I know there are a lot of deals
out there right now, but I also know some services are better than
others. I know what you mean about all the crap on network. There are
only (literally) a couple of shows I watch pretty regularly on network,
but then I never miss my favorite show on Fox, "24".

The good side to all of that is that I don't spend much time at all in
front of the boob tube. With 24 on hiatus, unless I find something on
PBS my TV will stay off for two to three days at a time. But on the
other hand, I do like some of the info shows that satellite has to
offer and if I had something better to watch I might.

Robert

"Tom Nie" wrote in message
news
Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged
for one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.


Hint, mute the sound and let the closed caption display when replaying.

"Hedley" wrote in message
.com...
DirecTV is the only satellite associated with the Tivo brand DVR, I
believe.

An Tivo is what you want, if for nothing other than the reqind/play
feature that anticipates where you meant to start playing the show you atr
fast-forwarding or reqinding and starts playing it there. You can be fast
forwarding through the 4 minute block of commercials on FoodTV and when
you see your show back on, just hit play (not play, rewind, play,
fast-forward, rewind and play) and the show starts playing just about
where you want it to.

I had a generic DVR for a year and hated it. Took the joy right out of
skipping commercials.

I have had the DirecTV Tivo set up for about 3 years now and love it. I was
with Dish Network for too many years. Word is however that Tivo is being
dropped by DirecTV and I could not fine any Tivo units on the DirecTV site
yesterday. They are showing a new DVR with no reference to Tivo.

Tivo by itself however can now record 2 satellite channels at one time but
not 2 HD channels. Go figure.

"Leon" wrote in message
.net...

"Hedley" wrote in message
.com...
DirecTV is the only satellite associated with the Tivo brand DVR, I
believe.

An Tivo is what you want, if for nothing other than the reqind/play
feature that anticipates where you meant to start playing the show you
atr fast-forwarding or reqinding and starts playing it there. You can be
fast forwarding through the 4 minute block of commercials on FoodTV and
when you see your show back on, just hit play (not play, rewind, play,
fast-forward, rewind and play) and the show starts playing just about
where you want it to.

I had a generic DVR for a year and hated it. Took the joy right out of
skipping commercials.

I have had the DirecTV Tivo set up for about 3 years now and love it. I
was with Dish Network for too many years. Word is however that Tivo is
being dropped by DirecTV and I could not fine any Tivo units on the
DirecTV site yesterday. They are showing a new DVR with no reference to
Tivo.

Tivo by itself however can now record 2 satellite channels at one time but
not 2 HD channels. Go figure.

Leon, do subscribe to the HD channels? The ones like tnthd, discoveryhd.
They're in the lower channel range. If so, is it worth it? I do the football
package in hd.

"Tim Taylor" wrote in message
m...

Leon, do subscribe to the HD channels? The ones like tnthd, discoveryhd.
They're in the lower channel range. If so, is it worth it? I do the
football package in hd.

No not yet. I have no HD anything yet but I am getting ready to take the
plunge. I noticed that DirecTV now offers, "In Houston" Local HD through
Satellite vs. reg antenna HD local NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX.
Additionally the HD channel package is about the cost of a premium set of
channels like HBO and ShowTime at about the same cost. IIRC about 8 to 9
HD channels in that package not including the 4 local HD channels.
IMHO those extra premium HD channels for about $10 per month seems
reasonable.

"Leon" wrote in message
.net...

"Tim Taylor" wrote in message
m...

Leon, do subscribe to the HD channels? The ones like tnthd, discoveryhd.
They're in the lower channel range. If so, is it worth it? I do the
football package in hd.

No not yet. I have no HD anything yet but I am getting ready to take the
plunge. I noticed that DirecTV now offers, "In Houston" Local HD through
Satellite vs. reg antenna HD local NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX.
Additionally the HD channel package is about the cost of a premium set of
channels like HBO and ShowTime at about the same cost. IIRC about 8 to 9
HD channels in that package not including the 4 local HD channels.
IMHO those extra premium HD channels for about $10 per month seems
reasonable.


Ok, I was trying to convince myself of it. Think I'll go ahead and do it.
Our locals broadcast primetime and sports in HD so that's no thing. I'm
going to have to check the TNT race schedule and see how many more they're
going to do. I don't do ANY of the movie channels, never home long enough to
enjoy a whole movie. About the time I get interested, the phone rings and I
got to go. Thanks I'll look into it.

Hedley,
Hey, that kickback to the start feature came with whatever DVR Charter
"gave" me. It's cool. Seems to adjust to whatever fast forward speed you're
using. What's "reqind"?

TomNie

"Hedley" wrote in message
.com...
DirecTV is the only satellite associated with the Tivo brand DVR, I
believe.

An Tivo is what you want, if for nothing other than the reqind/play
feature that anticipates where you meant to start playing the show you atr
fast-forwarding or reqinding and starts playing it there. You can be fast
forwarding through the 4 minute block of commercials on FoodTV and when
you see your show back on, just hit play (not play, rewind, play,
fast-forward, rewind and play) and the show starts playing just about
where you want it to.

I had a generic DVR for a year and hated it. Took the joy right out of
skipping commercials.



wrote in message
oups.com...

Tom Nie wrote:
Gotta love Alton Brown for his factual background information IF you can
get
past his nerdy, goofy delivery.

And Paula's recipes, while usually delicious, weren't written with a
heart
specialist in mind.

Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the
Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged
for
one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.

TomNie (the one told to lose 20#)

What satellite service are you using? I know there are a lot of deals
out there right now, but I also know some services are better than
others. I know what you mean about all the crap on network. There are
only (literally) a couple of shows I watch pretty regularly on network,
but then I never miss my favorite show on Fox, "24".

The good side to all of that is that I don't spend much time at all in
front of the boob tube. With 24 on hiatus, unless I find something on
PBS my TV will stay off for two to three days at a time. But on the
other hand, I do like some of the info shows that satellite has to
offer and if I had something better to watch I might.

Robert

OK, guys, while we're wandering OT into the outside world, a new
wide-screen, DLP, HD, etc is on my wish list (next?). And whether it's DLP
or ???, 1080 dpi or ??? is another whole world of research and opinion I've
found.

TV mfgrs definitely sell a lot sizzle with their steak - or is that BS with
the bull?

Whatever. People keep raving about being able to see the blades of grass at
a football game, etc. using HDTV. As much as I love nature programs, that's
interesting. Also, I could see Giada a little better .

I got SWMBO to go along with our woodturningburningcarving stuff - at about
$6,000 less than it actually ended up ("This IS the end isn't it?") - by
promising to sell my little old red convertible. Still got the convertible.
Now I'm trying to use that as the way to get the HDTV. She no longer trusts
me, I think.

So which DPI - DLP - etc is the best?

TomNie


No not yet. I have no HD anything yet but I am getting ready to take the
plunge. I noticed that DirecTV now offers, "In Houston"

Tom Nie wrote:

OK, guys, while we're wandering OT into the outside world, a new
wide-screen, DLP, HD, etc is on my wish list (next?). And whether it's DLP
or ???, 1080 dpi or ??? is another whole world of research and opinion
I've found.

TV mfgrs definitely sell a lot sizzle with their steak - or is that BS
with the bull?

Whatever. People keep raving about being able to see the blades of grass
at a football game, etc. using HDTV. As much as I love nature programs,
that's interesting. Also, I could see Giada a little better .

I got SWMBO to go along with our woodturningburningcarving stuff - at
about $6,000 less than it actually ended up ("This IS the end isn't it?")
- by promising to sell my little old red convertible. Still got the
convertible. Now I'm trying to use that as the way to get the HDTV. She no
longer trusts me, I think.

So which DPI - DLP - etc is the best?

Best thing to do is find a store that has an HD feed and look at them. None
are perfect, prices are all over the map and don't necessarily relate to
quality or performance. The 37 inch and 42 inch Sceptre, Benq, and
Westinghouse 1920x1080 models are exceptionally good value IMO.

Also, find a store that has a good (will cost $3K+, not the ones that
CompUSA and Best Buy stock) front projector--I warn you though, they'll
spoil you.

Important gotcha--make sure whatever you get has an HDCP input--that's a new
Hollywood paranoia scheme that has been mandated for new hardware and the
lack of it may break some older sets.


TomNie


No not yet. I have no HD anything yet but I am getting ready to take
the
plunge. I noticed that DirecTV now offers, "In Houston"

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:14:03 -0500, Jim Willemin
wrote:

I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

I don't think there is any "right" finish. However, for kitchen
woodwork, that does not get routinely immersed in water, I use
shellac, then several rubbings of soyabean oil. The old saw applies:

Once a day for a week.
Once a week for a month.
Once a month for a year.
Once a year forever.

At least I think it's something like that, I more or less follow it,
and it seems to work very well.

Barry Lennox

Sorry, the "w" is right beside the "q". Of course I meant rewind.

The "An" was also supposed to be "And."

I had assumed it was a Tivo patented feature, but maybe it was licensed out
to your DVR manufacturer. I know that the apartment living DVR I had with a
cable company (two-tuner model) did not have this feature, and after getting
used to it in my last house (DirecTV and Tivo), I missed it a lot.

Then I finally moved into this house from the apartment, got DirecTV and was
really ****ed that they didn't offer Tivo anymore. Luckily, the POS DVR
they gave me broke about 4 months ago and after enough belly-aching to drive
DirecTV crazy, they sent me a Tivo. There is now joy in the world.


"Tom Nie" belched in message
...
Hedley,
Hey, that kickback to the start feature came with whatever DVR Charter
"gave" me. It's cool. Seems to adjust to whatever fast forward speed
you're using. What's "reqind"?

TomNie

"Hedley" wrote in message
.com...
DirecTV is the only satellite associated with the Tivo brand DVR, I
believe.

An Tivo is what you want, if for nothing other than the reqind/play
feature that anticipates where you meant to start playing the show you
atr fast-forwarding or reqinding and starts playing it there. You can be
fast forwarding through the 4 minute block of commercials on FoodTV and
when you see your show back on, just hit play (not play, rewind, play,
fast-forward, rewind and play) and the show starts playing just about
where you want it to.

I had a generic DVR for a year and hated it. Took the joy right out of
skipping commercials.



wrote in message
oups.com...

Tom Nie wrote:
Gotta love Alton Brown for his factual background information IF you
can get
past his nerdy, goofy delivery.

And Paula's recipes, while usually delicious, weren't written with a
heart
specialist in mind.

Robert, you need a satellite. Considering the crap on broadcast, the
Food
Channel and Discovery, etc. can be interesting and fun. Finally plunged
for
one of those DVR's (TIVO kind) and that's COOL. When I can't hear what
they've said (old ears?) I just back that sucker up and replay until I
figure it out.

TomNie (the one told to lose 20#)

What satellite service are you using? I know there are a lot of deals
out there right now, but I also know some services are better than
others. I know what you mean about all the crap on network. There are
only (literally) a couple of shows I watch pretty regularly on network,
but then I never miss my favorite show on Fox, "24".

The good side to all of that is that I don't spend much time at all in
front of the boob tube. With 24 on hiatus, unless I find something on
PBS my TV will stay off for two to three days at a time. But on the
other hand, I do like some of the info shows that satellite has to
offer and if I had something better to watch I might.

Robert