Just being too picky?

chrisstaniar

Well-Known Member
I just finished the final tru-oil coats on this and of course I noticed the odd coloring in the grain of the A. Blackwood. The photo doesn't make it as apparent as it is when I look at it firsthand. The black zigzag lines really contrast with the rest. I've worked with African Blackwood a lot before but I haven't run into this before.

Maybe not as big of a deal as I think?


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Kinda hard to see from the photo but I have a very hard time being "picky" myself. I've redone handles for things that nobody else would have noticed but I knew where the flaw was and it drove me crazy. I'm getting a little better at fixing minor things before they become something that I can't accept. In the end, it's your knife and will be associated with your name. Only you can answer the question "Am I being too picky?"
 
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Unfortunately, I can't do much about this without trashing the entire handle. I know that it's just the different layers in the wood being exposed because of the dips in the handle contours. What caught me off guard was how dark these areas were versus other areas.
 
I’m surprised you got Aftican Blackwood to take TruOil at all. I’ve tried several times and never gotten it to cure completely. I end up taking it off with acetone and using wax instead.
 
Celebrate it as a feature of the wood

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at with it. Not a big deal, just wasn't expecting it

I’m surprised you got Aftican Blackwood to take TruOil at all. I’ve tried several times and never gotten it to cure completely. I end up taking it off with acetone and using wax instead.

I generally wipe AB down with acetone before gluing and finishing. I take my time, and do numerous coats. Letting it dry several hours between each coat. It can take a few days to get it where I like it.
 
Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at with it. Not a big deal, just wasn't expecting it



I generally wipe AB down with acetone before gluing and finishing. I take my time, and do numerous coats. Letting it dry several hours between each coat. It can take a few days to get it where I like it.

You’re doing better than me. I have tried that many times to no avail. I can get truoil to stick to just about anything except african blackwood, cocobolo, and some varieties of rosewood. When I’ve attempted to remove the surface oils with acetone to give me time to get the truoil on, all I manage to do is suck the color out of the wood.
 
You’re doing better than me. I have tried that many times to no avail. I can get truoil to stick to just about anything except african blackwood, cocobolo, and some varieties of rosewood. When I’ve attempted to remove the surface oils with acetone to give me time to get the truoil on, all I manage to do is suck the color out of the wood.

Hmm, well all I do is a quick wipe down with acetone. Not so much that it would remove the color and honestly I'm sure I've forgotten to do it a few times. The sanding generally does a good enough job.

Then I take a clean rag and wipe the tru-oil on. I immediately wipe off any excess so it just barely looks "shiny". Then I let that dry for 2 or more hours and repeat about 10 or so times. I never let any excess tru-oil sit on the handle. It just turns into a gummy mess.
 
Yes, I would believe that any excess Tru-oil would turn into a gummy mess on African Blackwood. All I do is sand the wood until it looks shiny and then buff it with a wheel. I don't even put wax on it.

Doug
 
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