Thread: Wood scale oil?

Originally Posted by outback

Oh I do like using those as well, and they do leave a nice velvety touch to the wood as well as teak oil. But as you said, their a oil that has to be maintained on occasion . and it is hard to beat the look of a well hand rubbed finish, and why I prefer the look of wood scales. Its like horn.... Each one has a different look and beauty. Plastic can easily be replicated, horn and wood is by mother nature and God.

The most beautiful pieces left by my grandpa were finished with his own mixture of linseed oil and extra virgin olive oil, from his own olive groves in northern Portugal. Each layer hand rubbed in with his own fingers, carefully following the woods' own grain and then allowed to cure for weeks (the linseed oil cures over 24-36 hours, but the olive oil takes 2wks to a month between applications. These were lovingly made for his own family, as customers weren't willing to wait months for a piece. Today, even decades later and never having been refinished, they still look beautiful and have a deep glow that can't be replicated with an "easy" finish. My dad still tears up, talking about his dad when he holds the wooden briefcase grandpa made for him when he was leaving for college in Paris (today, just a day or two days drive away, but back then, a whole world apart).