wooden handled knives???

[Queen Bee]

Today, I was at my favorite junk store and spotted 12 really large, nice steak knives for $2.00. The handles are wooden and they must have been washed in the dishwasher because the wood is dry and the grain is raised. In prefect condition--not chipped/broken or loose--just dry and feels rough.. I Purchased them and now need something to soak/rub the handles in..

Any suggestions, ideas, experiences??

[Miz Mary]

lemon oil .......

[Square Peg]

Years ago I bought a small jar of Clapham's Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish to keep my knife handles and cutting boards in good shape. I would think anything with oil/beeswax in it would work. I'll bet Burt's Bees Hand Salve would work :-)

[beaglebiz]

I have a 125 year old rock maple butcher block in my kitchen. When I give it a good scrubbing with salt, I rub mineral oil into it. looks beautiful every time

[CIW]

I agree, the mineral oil would work well. Stand them handle down in a can and pour in the mineral oil. Leave it for a couple of hours. Then run over them with steel wool to smooth off any grain that has come up.
You could also make a 70/30 mixture of Japan Dryer and Bees Wax to paint on the handles. Put it on warm, let cool and rub with steel wool.
On both processes finish by burnishing with a coarse fabric, like canvas, to give a sheen and seal the surface. If you have a polishing wheel, that will work faster than rubbing by hand.

[Queen Bee]

Great ideas/suggestions. Thank you.

[culpeper]

Rub in some linseed oil, which is an excellent timber-restorer.

Or, if you don't mind applying plenty of elbow-grease mixed with infinite patience, try rubbing the wood with a handful of lemon balm leaves. The essential oil makes a marvellous timber polish and preservative. Smells good, too!

[rockhound]

I'd say sand them smooth and rub in some linseed oil. I like a good full-tang wood-handled knife!

[clovis]

BTW, you want to used BOILED linseed oil, not raw.

[||Downhome||]

Id avoid the japan drier and stick with the mineral oil or linseed, and dont mistake mineral oil with mineral spirts, when I worked at the paint store I had a lot of people come in and ask for the spirits to renew there butcher blocks! not a good thing they are not the same. tung oil would work too. whatever you need to sand them smooth to remove the raised grain. I more then likely would just get a clear laquer in a spray can and seal them up with that. though with laquer you cant just through them in the sink, though my knives get a quick wash and dry much like my cast iron pans. if your prone to soaking stuff go with a refinishing oil. the difference between boiled and raw linseed is that the boiled dries and the raw well it will dry out eventualy it takes a good while. also oils dont raise grain its water that raises grain.

[agmantoo]

Tung oil .....suitable for food products as tung oil is a nut extract. It is great!

[Jenn]

I would try just olive oil, maybe with some beeswax, but I only use it on wooden spoons- our knife handles have never gotten bad enough. On our sailboat we use olive oil mixed with beeswax- get them to same temp- above melting for the wax- in separate containers to mix them, then it goes on easy at most temps and stores mostly solid.