Thread: Brian's First Blade

CA is great, but I have grown to really like Minwax Tongue Oil Finish here lately. CA will help to strengthen the wood & give a high sheen if that is what you are after.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

CA will help to strengthen the wood & give a high sheen if that is what you are after.

Yep, that is what I'm after. High gloss glass baby!

Originally Posted by medicevans

Yep, that is what I'm after. High gloss glass baby!

Than definitely CA. It takes a bit of patience to get it right, but it is worth it. These burls are fragile sometimes in the thicknesses we use it, CA helps to strenghten it a bit.

Check this out Brian.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=lO_Q-n2-LcY

I've got some of their glue and the gloss polish.

Since we don't have scales on a lathe, I attach them to a stand using rubber cement. Then I use the thin CA stuff. Apply 3 -4 layers then wet sand out the high spots. Repeat.

Finally wet sand with 220grit until all shiny spots are gone. Then move up to 500 then 1000, 1200, 2000.

I then use rubbing compound, the gloss polish then Renaissance Wax.

Thanks Tim. That is pretty cool stuff.

I'm in the process of testing a CA finish on a piece of scrap burl. I did three thin coats 20 min apart. When I came back it looked like it soaked completely in. I put another thin coat on, and I'm waiting for it to dry so I can sand it down.

Question on when to sand. Should it look like it soaked in, or should it look like poly where it looks glossy, just uneven and with dust spots? I think maybe the burl just soaks up the CA and it needs to be saturated with CA before it can form a surface.

Guess what came today??

Closed in the scales


In shaving position


Lot of things to think about now. Blue the steel or polish it? Natural wood or stained wood.

I do know I'm saying screw CA. I have used epoxy before and I'm not going to mess with an unknown. I can't get my test pieces to come out right. They aren't drying. At all. I have plenty of epoxy, and it's a one coat and done thing. Non-pinned wedge on the end, a la Brian Brown. Making it a piece of the same burled eucalyptus, to keep the patterns an colors similar.

I'm really curious about your problem getting CA to dry - that's one problem I've never had. I use medium CA from Rockler. Other members have suggested using a glue type first - Gorilla or what have you - it's usually the thick version, and then using medium or thin for all succeeding coats. I have had to wipe oily wood with some form of alcohol before finishing with other products. When I use CA on brushes, I apply it while the blank is spinning on the lathe, and it dries almost instantly.
As far as finish on the razor, I vote for satin finish, blued. It is looking amazing!

Hey Brian, looking good. I really like that Burl. I am not personally a big fan of CA in this application but if you are finding it difficult to get it to dry they do make an "instant" dry agent that you spray over the CA. ( Of course there is nothing wrong with CA either) Also, if you really want to get maximum penetration on the wood with your sealer, a vacuum can work very well. I don't have much personal experience with the vacuum but in speaking with a local member of the wood smith club, he uses this method for sealing his pen blanks. Just my two cents worth. Ken

The only issue with the epoxy is that it makes for a pretty "thick" finish that can leave your scales looking overly large. You might want to look into a product called Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes. It's an oil based sealer with urethane and it does a great job on wood. I use it on my scales and it leaves a shiny, waterproof and streak-free finish. You can get it from Woodcraft for $15 or so and have enough to last the rest of your scale making life!

I'm not sure why my glue isn't drying either. My first piece has had gorilla brand superglue on it since last night and still hasn't cured past sticky. The other has had all day to dry and is soft and opaque, almost like it has moisture in it. Puzzling for sure.