treatment for handles

[junker]

so i was looking at different ways to treat handles for knives and found one that i like. simply soak your handle blanks in linseed oil for about 1- 1/2 weeks then let dry. i've got a few of the cheaper blanks that i am trying this out on first. (cocablo, olivewood, and cheap black and white ebony cutoffs) at the end of their soak ill post pics of how they turned out and if they seem to have any wierd side effects.

[golgotha forge & anvil]

now that sounds interesting! do u use boiled linseed oil or just linseed oil? thanks...

Gene

[Mainely,Bob]

Boiled

[junker]

yeah it's boiled. anybody else try anything like this? i heard it gives almost a stabilized durablitity to the wood (not quite but almost)

[son_of_bluegrass]

I've done some work with linseed oil. I've found it only cures to a depth of between 1/16 and 1/8 inch. The more porous the wood the deeper it cures. If your handle material has a total thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch it may cure all the way though, if it is thick enough not to cure through you are no better off than if you applied 5 or more coats of oil the traditional way.
I don't see where soaking more than a day or two will gain you anything. I think whatever depth the oil has soaked in is about how far it will cure.
Linseed oil requires oxygen to cure, by the way.
The difference between boiled and raw is that the boiled has chemical dryers added. The chemical dryers are generally heavy metal salts, they used to be lead based today the dryers are generally cobalt, manganese or zinc. The dryers speed the drying time. Raw oil will commonly take several days to a couple of weeks to dry, boiled oil generally dries in one day to a week depending on conditions such as temperature and humidity.
It is possible to "boil" raw oil at home. If you carefully heat the oil it will start the curing process and cure faster than otherwise.

ron