Wooden Knife Handles

[TromboneAl]

I would periodically sand and put mineral oil on my knife handles, but they would soon get waterlogged and grungy. Here's what they would look like:

Then I sanded and stained with Minwax (since the handles don't actually touch the food). Still not good.

So, against conventional advice, I sanded, Minwaxed, and then painted them with polyurethane. They look good,

and they're fine if my hand is dry. But if the handle or my hand is wet or greasy, they just feel way too slippery.

Any suggestions for an easy way to reverse this mistake?

 

[TromboneAl]

P.S. If you buy a cutting board like the above, it will be two months before you stop trying to pick up the knife image in the board.

 

[Walt34]

Sand it down a bit with fine (say, 600 grit) sandpaper? I don't know much about woodworking so someone who does may have a better idea.

 

[ducky911]

eat out

 

[MRG]

There are some chemical removers. I think you'll end up having to remove the remains of that process manually. So I'd do exactly what Walt recommended. Watch your fingers!
MRG

 

[Ronstar]

Lightly sand off the old finish and wipe on tung oil. Don't leave them to soak in dishwater when washing. Just wash the blades, trying to keep the handles dry as possible. Reapply tung oil as needed.

 

[splitwdw]

Wood handles should be sanded periodically and re-oiled. You shrub in hot water and detergent, dry with a dish cloth and lay on the drain rack to completely dry before placing in knife block or drawer. Waterlogged?? You never soak in water or run through the dishwasher.
I would think when water gets under the polyurethane that it will start to come off. Wood expands when it gets wet.

 

[FUEGO]

We are fond of the "Kiwi" brand knives that we get for a few bucks from the Asian grocery. Wooden handles, nice blade that holds an edge. We wash them in the DW (the appliance, folks) and the handles are just raw wood. So far no splitting or cracking, and they have enough texture to not slip when they are wet.

We use "high temp wash" so the interior of the DW is pretty hot after a load is done. That may help the knife handles dry quickly. I'd say sand your handles down with a very fine grit sandpaper to give them some texture.

 

[donheff]

How about leaving the polyurethane as is and adding a transparent grip surface for a surfboard? More is less

 

[eytonxav]

Lightly sand off the old finish and wipe on tung oil. Don't leave them to soak in dishwater when washing. Just wash the blades, trying to keep the handles dry as possible. Reapply tung oil as needed.

+1, although I would first apply some stripping gel, wipe off and then sand.

 

[pb4uski]

....they're fine if my hand is dry. But if the handle or my hand is wet or greasy, they just feel way too slippery.

Any suggestions for an easy way to reverse this mistake?

Keep the handle and your hands dry.

 

[TromboneAl]

How about leaving the polyurethane as is and adding a transparent grip surface for a surfboard? More is less

I was thinking of adding some sand to another layer of polyurethane, but I think I'll do the sanding or stripping + tung oil. I had expected water to bead off after the Minwax staining, but it didn't. Will tung oil make it bead?

We always wash them by holding the blade down on the edge of the sink, wiping with a soapy scrubby sponge, and rinsing, so I never figured out how the handles got so wet. But I guess they get wet during use.

I made that magnetic rack (magnets from China for a few bucks) specifically so that I wouldn't have to dry the blades. That has worked well.

It's great to be retired and have the time to overthink this stuff.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm pretty sure that water will bead on a tung oil finish. I sometimes use Watco Danish Oil - a tung oil/varnish blend and water beads on it. I've seen some recommendations for Danish oil on knife handles. Also recommendations for beeswax. Just made this ice cream scoop with a maple handle - only finish is a beeswax/carnauba wax blend that should last a long time

 

[zinger1457]

I was thinking of adding some sand to another layer of polyurethane, but I think I'll do the sanding or stripping + tung oil. I had expected water to bead off after the Minwax staining, but it didn't. Will tung oil make it bead?

Agree with others that's the way to go. Tung oil is easy to apply but does require multiple coats, should rub down with 0000 steel wool in between coats. Water should bead on it, if not add additional coats of tung oil. Don't soak the knifes in water and reapply tung oil annually.

 

[splitwdw]

If you use tung oil make sure it's food grade.

 

[haha]

Similar question aboiut my wooden salad bowl

Not about Al's knives, but a similar question. I have an attractive salad bowl. It think it is some kind of tropical wood, colored like mahogany. It's big, and some evenings I make my diner from a whole bag or Trader Joe Herb salad, and some meat or fish. Someone who was moving out of my building about a year ago gave it to me. It is not just an oil finish, there is some kind of varnish or other finish that gives it a surface coating. This has started to wear and flake off, and I would like to get it completely off and re-finish with some kind of food safe oil.(My dinner is going in this bowl.)

It is pretty big, and curved so that I would have to sand without a sanding block. Can I use some stripper that won't wreck the bowl for food preparation, and then sand and use a food grade oil? Or must I stick to only sanding for safety?

Thanks for any answers.

Ha

 

[pb4uski]

Not sure but stripper does NOT sound like a good idea to me. Nasty stuff in that liquid.

 

[ERD50]

If you use tung oil make sure it's food grade.

Good call. IIRC, some tung oils include heavy metals as part of the drying component.

Offhand, I would think non-drying oils would be best. As others have said, the knives should not get so very wet, and an occasional mineral oil wipe should keep them in shape. I would think any drying oil would eventually peel.

A quick google seemed to bring up 'mineral oil' in almost every link.

Then I recall that T-Al is in a very humid environment. Maybe extra steps are required to get those handles truly dry after use?

-ERD50

 

[Ronstar]

Not about Al's knives, but a similar question. I have an attractive salad bowl. It think it is some kind of tropical wood, colored like mahogany. It's big, and some evenings I make my diner from a whole bag or Trader Joe Herb salad, and some meat or fish. Someone who was moving out of my building about a year ago gave it to me. It is not just an oil finish, there is some kind of varnish or other finish that gives it a surface coating. This has started to wear and flake off, and I would like to get it completely off and re-finish with some kind of food safe oil.(My dinner is going in this bowl.)

It is pretty big, and curved so that I would have to sand without a sanding block. Can I use some stripper that won't wreck the bowl for food preparation, and then sand and use a food grade oil? Or must I stick to only sanding for safety?

Thanks for any answers.

Ha

Ha - I wouldn't trust a stripper to be food safe. Best just to sand it. And then apply a salad bowl finish like this:

Buy General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish, Pint at Woodcraft.com

 

[Ronstar]

Good call. IIRC, some tung oils include heavy metals as part of the drying component.

Offhand, I would think non-drying oils would be best. As others have said, the knives should not get so very wet, and an occasional mineral oil wipe should keep them in shape. I would think any drying oil would eventually peel.

A quick google seemed to bring up 'mineral oil' in almost every link.

Then I recall that T-Al is in a very humid environment. Maybe extra steps are required to get those handles truly dry after use?

-ERD50

Good point - From what I read, pure tung oil is food safe. If it is mixed with other ingredients, it may or may not be food safe. Pure mineral oil is food safe, as is this salad bowl finish
Buy General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish, Pint at Woodcraft.com

 

[Gumby]

I use linseed oil on wooden utensil handles.

 

[splitwdw]

Not about Al's knives, but a similar question. I have an attractive salad bowl. It think it is some kind of tropical wood, colored like mahogany. It's big, and some evenings I make my diner from a whole bag or Trader Joe Herb salad, and some meat or fish. Someone who was moving out of my building about a year ago gave it to me. It is not just an oil finish, there is some kind of varnish or other finish that gives it a surface coating. This has started to wear and flake off, and I would like to get it completely off and re-finish with some kind of food safe oil.(My dinner is going in this bowl.)

It is pretty big, and curved so that I would have to sand without a sanding block. Can I use some stripper that won't wreck the bowl for food preparation, and then sand and use a food grade oil? Or must I stick to only sanding for safety?
Ha

Ha, Do you have a electric hand drill? They sell flap sanding wheels that have a shaft for a hand drill. You should be able to use it for the inside of the bowl. Use a palm sander for the outside. Oil with mineral oil and let sit for 24 hours to let the oil sink in. If you can, try to identify the wood before continued use. Some woods shouldn't be used for food.

Use only raw linseed oil not boiled.

 

[TromboneAl]

I have done the mineral oil thing for years, and it just hasn't worked for these knives. They soon get grungy and turn black in places.

But I realized that our steak knives, which I've given the same mineral oil treatment, and which go through the dishwasher, look fine:

So I think the Chicago Cutlery knives use wood that doesn't do well.

As for food grade, remember that the knife handles don't generally contact the food any more than cabinet handles do. If they contact the food, you're using them wrong. Sure, it's probably better to be safe.

As for keeping them dry--this experience has shown me that they get wet and greasy all the time in normal use.

That fish filet knife above has a rubbery textured surface. I wish they all had that.

I'll get some non-heavy-metal tung oil today.

 

[ERD50]

We have a set of decades old (2-3?) Chicago Cutlery knives. I will say, that wood doesn't seem like the best to use, it does seem rather porous/soft/absorbent. Ours are long over-due for some oil, they look pretty bad (you made me look!). They might need a little light sanding as well.

I'm guessing the added humidity at your place aggravates the situation. We have another, newer chef's knife - that handle is mainly the same metal from the blade with some plastic/phenolic type inserts. Those look great.

You are right, it's a little overkill to worry too much about 'food grade' for something like this, but if you can you might as well. It reminds me of a beer brewing podcast I listened to recently. The geust was a toxicologist, and he spke (strictly off the record for liability concerns) about the various things that home-brewers worry about as far as non-food-grade items coming into contact with their beer during the home-brew process (various plastics, brass valves in place o commercial/$$ stainless steel valves, etc).

The common message he had, while it's prudent to be concerned and try to be safe, keep in mind our beers are ~ 5% ethanol - a known toxin! If we were to drink 10x our normal daily intake, we could have serious effects, and go much further and we are facing death. Compared to the ppm or ppb of some of these things with questionable effects - it all just gets blown out of perspective.

One particularly interesting thing was he went through the math on how much lead a batch of beer might pick up from a brass valve (which contain some lead). The amounts were very small, since the contact time was short (just while transferring the beer/wort), but beer/wort is acidic, which increases the absorption of lead. But, yeast are living things, they actually absorb much of the lead (and probably other contaminants), and a high % of the yeast settle out and are separated from the beer before we drink it! Natures own filtering system!

-ERD50

 

[crtreedude]

Depends how far you want to go. Looking at the wood, it seems to be a fairly open grain wood - I might remove the rivets and replace with a very dense wood - like cocobolo, corteza amarilla, ron ron, etc.

I live, and grow these woods, so I have lots of the stuff around, but wood for a handle of a knife, if you like the knife, isn't going to be that expensive.

I might as well think of Oswage orange up north, or some kind of iron wood. Some woods, like corteza, are so hard that they don't absorb water (I kid you not), the oil from your hands will be good enough for them.

If you could get your hands on some Guayacan Real, it would be incredible. So hard they used to make shafts for propellers out of it. With todays modern carbide tools, you can actually work it.

Probably overboard though. lol