Jim Elbrecht wrote:

What is best to apply to wooden shovel and rake handles that stay
outside all year?

Herb, use the boiled linseed oil.

Fiberglass handle- once until the head wears out. Done.

I feel the OP's pain- and have fiberglass on many of my tools now.

This thread makes no sense.

First, if shovels and rakes are kept outside *all year*, that would
logically imply one of the following:

1) a climate that temperate or moderate year-round (ie - no winter).
Because if you want your tools outside all year, it's because you do
some work with them all year - right? Because if you lived where you
have a real winter (snow, cold, etc) you'd put your tools away in a shed
or garage, right?

2) you want your tools outside because you work with them relatively
frequently. When you work with tools on a frequent basis, they tend not
to suffer too much from weathering, the effects of sun, rain, humidity,
etc, even when kept outside.

If you don't work with the tools that frequently, one would think it
would be no skin off your back to put them in a shed when not in use.

And as well - what good is the suggestion to spend all these hours
rubbing linseed oil on these handles when that would take more effort to
keep the tools out of the weather in the first place? What takes more
effort or cost?

Do you really think that someone lazy or disinterested enough to keep
these tools outside year-round would have enough motivation to break out
the boiled linseed oil?

As for fiberglass handles, you'll pay more for tools with a fiberglass
vs wood handle, and you'll pay more for just a fiberglass handle to
retro-fit a wood handle vs just buying a new tool already with
fiberglass handle. I've never seen a rake with a fiberglass handle
anyways.

Lastly, I have some shovels and rakes with wood handles that are 10 to
15 years old, with various histories of being left outside for various
time-frames here in the great-lakes area. I see absolutely no
indication of weather-related deterioration of the handles / shafts.