wood wax for green wood

BossDog

BossDog

KnifeDogs.com & USAknifemaker.com Owner
Staff member
I went to the local lumber mill the other day and bought some burl caps. They had one massive oak burl they quartered for me but it was still very green. They mill owner painted some wood wax on the ends and told me where to get it. I had seen wood ends waxed for some time but I guess didn't really think about how it was done. This particular brand is called Bailey's End Sealant II in a 5 gallon pail for $68. I don't sell it but thought it was worth passing on where you could get it.
You can get it here..

It looks and paints on like thick milk and dries to a clear wax sealer.
There is probably other sealer out there too. Just passing on what I learned..

Here is a picture of some of the burl caps, the quarter piece cut of oak burl and the 5 gallon bucket of sealer..
 

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Anchorseal is popular too , you can get it at uccoatings.com The quicker you get the end of the log coated the better chance you have to keep it from splitting. I have only used the original but they now have anchorseal2 which is supposed to be more earth friendly I think. They also have a version for freezing temps.
 
that is going to be some beautiful knife handles for sure. It takes a long time for oak to dry enough to use it and it not crack.
Good luck with it I a lot of oak burl and it is nice.
 
You have at least a inch of thickness per year of wood to wait for these to be around 10% humidity which is then ready for stabilization and use. I have a "few" batches of different burl woods drying at any time.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Oak burl can be a tough one to dry and keep intact.
I have dried some that looked good on the outside, but when I started cutting blocks I found that it had pulled itself apart inside.
My most successful way was to cut it green into quarter sawn blocks a bit oversized. Then I only sealed the end grain.
Still moves a lot but doesn't seem to crack as much that way.

Your variety of oak may act different than what we have out here though.
 
Thanks Mark.
I may do that. I am anxious to get it cut and see what it looks like.
 
It doesn't hurt anything to go ahead and cut it while it is still green.
As long as you cut it a bit oversized to allow for movement.
That way when you true up the blocks after they are dry, they will still be large enough.
I usually allow about 20% extra for the width and thickness.
 
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