Thread: What are you working on?

Got it soaking in a multitude of degreasers as of now. Next step was the thinner.

It was free from the box, no glue.
Did notice that the bottom of the stone is very light in color, compared to my other Washitas. I'm crossing my fingers for a Lilly white, for the collection.

So I decided it was time to start the restore on this 1830s-1840s W&B wedge in horn. More later on that but either I suck or the search function on my phone sucks because I did a search trying to find more info on horn dying and my dumb a$$ can't seem to find what I'm looking for. So, do I remember correctly that I dye THEN soak in Neatsfoot? I've done the bite patching and sanded as much as I intend to (more maybe) and I'm ready to dye it back dark but I want to make sure I do it in the right order.
Thanks in advance.

Dye it first has worked for me, but I haven’t the experience that outback and a few others have, I only have one horn dye job completed.

Dye...then oil

Yeah, I was pretty sure that was right. Sure enough.that I went ahead and dyed them last night.

I have a wood finishing question. Though I have been using TruOil with excellent results, I am kind of interested in Waterlox, as it apparently combines a penetrating tung oil with form-filming resin to lock out water with a durable finish. That would seem like a good application for wood-scaled razors. Has anybody used it? If so, I'd like to know your thoughts.

The downside is that a quart is seriously expensive, and word is that it gels or hardens up quickly like Tru Oil with any air exposure.

edit: They have all of their finishes in 2 oz. sample sizes. I may see if I can find some to try.

In other news, I have finished this Army Navy CSL save for the collars from our Romanian supplier. I made the scales from his cutting board cut-offs to match the brush handles he turned from the same stock for me to knot. I also backed them with G10 for structural stability. I think the redheart wedge will be a nice unifying accent to complement the same wood on the scales. It's a departure from my usual style in every way, but it will be a nice complement to his brand of similar cutting boards and pepper-mills, and a fitting thanks for all the work he has done for me lately. Here it is in mock-up:

As I was going for a more rounded profile than usual to go along with the matching round brush handle, I figured out a new technique that works a treat. I cut standard length sandpaper in strips about 3/4" wide, then secured one end of the scales in my knife-vise, and went to work over the length of the scale surface much like shining shoes, back and forth with some tension. Flip it around and repeat to even, then turn over and do the same. I did this with 400, 600, and 1k grits, and finished it in about 9 coats of TruOil. This is one of those techniques that seems so obvious once you figure it out. I will definitely repeat it for all my rounded scales.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

I have a wood finishing question. Though I have been using TruOil with excellent results, I am kind of interested in Waterlox, as it apparently combines a penetrating tung oil with form-filming resin to lock out water with a durable finish. That would seem like a good application for wood-scaled razors. Has anybody used it? If so, I'd like to know your thoughts.

The downside is that a quart is seriously expensive, and word is that it gels or hardens up quickly like Tru Oil with any air exposure.

edit: They have all of their finishes in 2 oz. sample sizes. I may see if I can find some to try.

Can you transfer the quart to smaller one or two time use containers without exposing it to much?

I just had this vision of purging a smaller sandblasting box with an Argon welding gas and then doing the transfers in there.

Maybe overkill and more expensive but I had to laugh at myself how my mind wanders sometimes!

Yeah, Tim-In doing my reading on the subject, I read about a welder who did exactly that. Some fill to the top with marbles or ball bearings. If I try it, I'll probably just get the sample size to keep things simple.