What's been offered is OK. I'd ask, why not use something that
polymerizes, rather than something that can be extracted again from the
wood handle? Something like tung oil, alkyd varnish, even BLS will
polymerize, seal the pores in the wood handle, not leach back out, would
seem to be a longer term solution. I'd thing mineral and paraffin would
require reapplication sooner than a thinned polyurethane/mineral spirit
mix. BTW, I do use this combination on the kitchen stuff and have been
satisfied with it. I'd think (haven't tried it) that mineral oil would
deposit a little of itself on every towel you laid the knife on until
most of the mineral oil leached back out. With something that
polymerizes, once it's set, it's set.

bob g.


AAvK wrote:
Just bought a Japanese weeding knife for a friend. It's got some sort of
hardwood handle, but it's not treated with anything that I can see. When I
bought the same tool for myself 20 years ago, I had a little bottle of some
sort of oil made by Chicago Cutlery, but that's gone. I'd rather not buy a
large can of something I'll only use once in a blue moon. Is plain vegetable
oil good enough for something like this, just to make the wood a bit more
immune to moisture? It won't be exposed to LOTS of water, just dropped on
wet grass, frozen in the garage for 4 months, that sort of thing.



What I did for an untreated chef's knife handle, heated peanut oil, it's thick and
solidifies in the fridge. I heated it and the knife handle over the kitchen stove.
Got it real warm, used rolled up paper towel (thickly) and painted the hot oil
into the hot handle several times over, intermitently reheating the handle as the
oil stays hot on a medium-low flame. Works like a... well oiled handle, and no
problem has occured with water wrecking it, no rancid smells either, and no
greasiness from it.

Alex