June 30, 20215 yr I mix a quart of linseed oil and blo in a one gallon metal paint can with a lid. I add anywhere from a walnut to a golf ball sized chunk of beeswax, cut up for quicker melting. Put this on your forge fire and give it a little heat. If it flashes, remove the paint can from your forge with your poker or rake and put on the lid. Remove lid and put it back on your forge. When the beeswax is melted, pour back into the two quart cans. Done. Takes about 15 minutes and apply with a rag. Depending on your workload, it will last for months. If you want a paste, add more beeswax.
October 28, 2025Oct 28 I saw on some youtube videos they use wool like someone use bees wax Any info on that. I can show you some videos of using wool here in Balkans.
October 28, 2025Oct 28 Yes, I've used raw wool many times, especially for things I forged for spinners. Raw wool has a lot of lanolin in it which makes an excellent finish for steel you don't want to stain fiber when you card it. It's surprisingly durable. Frosty The Lucky.
October 28, 2025Oct 28 Yes, very much like wax though pick wool from a ewe, the rams have musk glands and the wool can be pretty smelly. You want it picked but NOT washed or carded. Picking wool is just like it sounds, removing twigs, sheep berries, leaves, burrs, thorns, leaves, etc. If you have access to someone with a flock of sheep they might let you pull wool when they shed in spring. Lots of farms don't go to the expense of processing wool if they don't have buyers so you might find farmers with raw wool for cheap. I'll keep for years in cool dry storage, we have I don't know how many bags of processed wool in the basement from Deb's serious spinning days. How we ended up with that giant acquisition is a story in itself and not really on topic, except maybe as an example of how finding the right farmer at the right time can really pay off. Frosty The Lucky.
October 29, 2025Oct 29 Frosty does it stink from who'll, I guess there is lots of smoke where wool meet hot steel.
October 29, 2025Oct 29 You don't apply it THAT hot. A little hotter than a fresh cup of tea works a treat. Unless you wish it to darken the work then you apply it to hotter work. I've never done it to smoking HOT steel, it really stinks and the stink sticks to a person, especially their clothes. Try it on small pieces and adjust temperature, time, etc. to what you like. Frosty The Lucky.
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