Hayden H.

Thanks, this stuff sounds really useful I may look into it. Thanks for the advice. I may try using some micarta handles as well as the oils you recommended.

I'm fairly new to blacksmithing and knife making and I'm still trying to kind of figure everything out. On all the knives with wood handles I've made so far I have just left the wood as is without coating it in anything since I figure a coat of normal polyurethane or something will just wear off but I'm not sure. What is the best thing to put on handles to bring out the quality of the wood and keep it looking nice without wearing off after a little use? Also is staining handles a good idea before coating it in anything?

I figured it had something to do with that but wasn’t 100% certain so thank you for the info.

So I made my mother a new kitchen knife for Christmas out of a coiled suspension spring I got from a car junkyard. I made one knife from it before and it has been good so far. No issues with the steel. But with this kitchen knife it seems to be having issues with food. She used it last night to cut onions and when I looked at it just to check and make sure nothing tried to rust or anything I found this brown staining and I have no clue what it is and was wondering if there was some way to prevent this or if I just used a bad steel for this sort of project. (Before and after of the knife. I’m still not very good at knife making so it doesn’t exactly look professional.)