Ironwood tips ... My woman has excellent taste

James Terrio

James Terrio

Well-Known Member
My gal's Daddy picked out his favorite from a batch I recently got back from HT... he's mostly a carbon-steel slip-joint guy but he couldn't put down one of my CPM-154 swept-point FT's... so the little woman and I decided I should finish it up for him as a gift. (SHHH! Don't tell! :))

Anyway, I let her go through my stash and pick handle material she thought he'd like, and she chose the most expensive stuff I got, a nice pair of ironwood scales.

I know to work it gently and wear a respirator. I don't own a buffer. Any tips for letting the natural beauty shine through?
 
Sand it down to 1000 or 1200 grit and then go over it 0000 steel wool. That will give it a pretty good gloss. A bufffer really helps but you can hand rub some good paste wax with a soft cotton cloth. Ironwood is some of the most naturally beautiful wood there is and it doesn't take much for the beautiful grain to shine through.
 
Thanks, Mike, that makes sense. AFAIK it does't really need any other sealer since the wood itself is so waxy/oily, just a final wax/burnish like you said. It sure is pretty, there's no doubt about that. I flattened the insides of the scales last night with a 320 belt and it already looks really nice.

Do I need to moisten it a bit between sanding steps like I do with maple and walnut, to raise the grain and get that nice smooth finish?
 
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I sometimes do a little wet sanding on it but ironwood is so dense and tightly grained that it doesn't pop up much.

I am assuming that we are talking about desert ironwood. There are many varieties of ironwood and they are not the same. Desert ironwood is the only one I have much experience with.
 
I you have a hand drill, you have a buffer. Just get an arbor and the wheels and hold the knife in a vice (pad the blade) and buff the handle.

Doug Lester
 
Mike, yes, desert ironwood from Arizona.

Doug, I see your point. Sure cheaper than a new buffer!

Thanks for your tips, gentlemen. :)
 
Don't get it hot,sand up to 1800-2000,hand buff with wax,or a very,very light machine buff with wax.
Stan
 
I sand all the way up to 2000 grit. It's such a hard wood, it really benefits from the higher grits vs. other softer woods. It really comes alive after 1000 grit. Make sure you get all the previous scratch marks out prior to moving up to the next grit. After sanding, I use Danish oil with multiple coats until it stops absorbing. Then I buff the excess oil off with a cloth after letting it set up all night. If you hit it with a power buffer, be careful not to over buff. I only buff for a few seconds with white rouge on a sewn wheel to bring out the shine. Over-buffing will tend to smear the surface of the wood and decrease the luster/chatoyance.

--nathan
 
SBuzek said:
I won't comment on your ladys taste,she chose you.:biggrin::biggrin:
Stan
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Anyone can make a mistake :p

silver_pilate said:
After sanding, I use Danish oil with multiple coats until it stops absorbing. Then I buff the excess oil off with a cloth after letting it set up all night.--nathan
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Cool, I'm familiar with that from working with other woods and have plenty on hand. (swore I lost a nearly full can in the move last year, went out and got a new one, guess what I found when I got home?)

wdtorque said:
Your pics didn't show up though? must be my browser?
Dozier
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I'll post some tomorrow if I can remember/figure out how.
 
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I use lots of Ironwood and its one of my favorites. I sand to 1000 grit and buff with brown wax then use a clean buffing wheel to shoe shine like no tommorrow. Like some one said if you have a drill get a arbor and buffer this type of wood shines with depth when buffed it has alot of natural oil so this allows the beauty of the wood to really show off.
 
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