Hand Plane Care

[Ashwini Kaul]

Hi Guys,
This is my first post. Have been a long time lurker and it took me forever to get my access/account setup here on SMC partly, my own fault!
Anyway being somewhat new to handtools in particular and woodworking overall, I have a couple of what might seem obvious questions to you seasoned veterans:

1. How do you protect your nice/premium/shiny handplanes? I recently purchased my first premium HP - a 042 from LN. But since its all metal, and since my shop is in the basement and my house is close to a CREEK... the humidity is always high... even with a dehumidifier.
LV has Waxilit. LN sells/recommends Camellia Oil.
What do you guys use/reccommend?

2. Parrafin wax - I have seen Chris Schwarz use it in his videos and have read many ppl on this and other forums tout it. Where do I source this from as I have a major handplaning fever right now!

Thanks for reading!

[Bill Houghton]

I use regular furniture wax on the smooth surfaces - sole, sides, face of the frog, and so on. I don't much worry about the inside of the body - the japanned area - but if you've got high humidity, some wax there might be good too. I also occasionally oil the threaded parts, like the adjusters. A can of furniture wax from the hardware or big box store will last you a long time. Do NOT use automotive paste wax, which contains fine abrasives.

One of the magazines tested various rust-preventers and came down saying camellia oil wasn't much use. They tested Boeshield and some of the other products that tout rust prevention; I can't recall which product won. For reasons that are beyond me, wax wasn't on the list of products they tested; but if you don't find wax enough, you might see if you can dig up that article (Popular Woodworking swims into my brain as the likely magazine, but my brain, generally speaking, resembles the Great Pacific Garbage Patch but with fewer fish, so don't rely on that memory).

Paraffin wax: go to your grocery or hardware store and find the "canning supplies" section. You'll find the paraffin wax in big blocks; it's used to seal the tops of preserves and other canned goods that don't need to be pressure-canned.

[Jeremy Dorn]

The battle with rust is an ongoing struggle, no one thing will prevent it entirely.

In my shop I've tried coatings with Johnson's paste wax, camilla oil, WD40, and various other spray on coatings and really haven't found any one magic bullet.

I've settled on checking my tools once every 2 weeks if I'm not actively using them on project work (otherwise I check them before pulling them out of the till), if any rust is present I use a scotchbrite pad to buff off the rust, and then usally will rewax the plane with Johnsons. I also try to be very careful about wiping the planes down with an oily rag (camilla or WD40 in a pinch) after each use after which I set them on my bench for a few minutes for the oil to dry a bit. Then I wipe off the oil excess with a clean rag and put them back in the till. This process seems to work relatively well for keeping rust at bay as long as I'm diligent about checking on the planes that have been sitting for a while in the till.

I will say that I notice that older tools that have had time to develop a bit of a patina are much less likely to rust than the brand new LN/LV planes in my till, hopefully over time patina will protect them as well.

Edit: one last thing, Parrafin usually isnt used for rust protection, its purpose is more of a lubricant to reduce friction. I keep a block of parrafin canning wax laying on the bench at all times to scribble a bit onto the bottom of my planes during usage sessions. This keeps them gliding smoothly on whatever it is you're working on, but it provides little to no rust protection. You should be able to find it at your local grocery store in the canning section. I think the brand name on the box I got was Gulf Wax...4 big blocks of it, which should last the rest of my life for $3.

[Zach England]

Do not leave beverages on your bench or on the bench you rest your planes on if you have a cat who likes to climb around in your shop.

Yes, this has been a problem for me.

[Jim Koepke]

I will say that I notice that older tools that have had time to develop a bit of a patina are much less likely to rust than the brand new LN/LV planes

The original patina is what protects most of my planes.

I find the ones that have been overly sanded/cleaned to make them bright and shiny tend to rust quicker. Lesson learned over time.

jim

[Maurice Ungaro]

Rust never sleeps.
- Neil Young

[Bob Direso]

You could try the products recommended for tablesaw tops such as Boeshield T-9 or TopSaver made by Empire Mfg. I have used both with good results. bob.

[Casey Gooding]

I wipe my tools down with a rag that has whatever oil is handy on it. It's got WD-40, 3in1, camelia oil, Boeshield, Marvel Mystery Oil (you get the point). It's all on the same rag. You don't want to leave a layer of oil. Your main goal is to wipe it down and remove your fingerprints from the tool. I do this every time I use a tool. Even though my last two shops have been on the coast of South Carolina and the Florida Panhandle (two stupidly humid places) I've never had a problem with rust.

[Michael Peet]

I use Boeshield on power machinery every so often and an oily rag for wiping down hand tools at the end of the day.

Mike

[Sam Takeuchi]

When I was still living in Japan (humidity is always on the higher side in central part, especially from spring to autumn), camellia oil worked superbly. I used parafin/beeswax (jacket waterproofing bar I happened to have) to good result before using camellia oil as well. Last summer while I was away for a month, I didn't oil them before I left. I came back with spots of rust on the soles and sides. I scraped using a utility knife blade and then gave careful rub with camellia oil. While some faint spots are visible, rust didn't grow back as long as tools were wiped clean and oiled regularly. But once rust starts, it seems those spots are very prone to further rust, so I think it's good that you are thinking of preventive measure now.

Try camellia oil. I mean there may be better products out there, but it's a tried and tested substance. At least I don't think you'd be thinking "oh what a crap. It doesn't work!".

[Zach England]

Rust never sleeps.
- Neil Young


I believe this phrase refers to wheat rust, and I highly doubt it was coined by Neil Young.

[Andrew Gibson]

I have been meaning to pick up this stuff called eezox. It is designed for firearms, but is supposed to be very good at retarding rust. As I recall it is relatively inexpensive as well. If I end up tracking some down I will give a review.

Currently I use paste wax.

[David Myers]

I believe this phrase refers to wheat rust, and I highly doubt it was coined by Neil Young.

After conferring with the old laughing lady and her daughter the cinnamon girl, Neil finally decided that its better to burn out than it is to rust.:)

[Peter Cobb]

The suggestion is on popwood and camellia oil was the least efficient (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Stop_Rust_Now/) protecting a cast iron tablesaw wing they left out over the weekend.
(It's in the "Unscientific experiment" paragraph)
Cheers,
Peter

[Sam Takeuchi]

The suggestion is on popwood and camellia oil was the least efficient (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Stop_Rust_Now/) protecting a cast iron tablesaw wing they left out over the weekend.
(It's in the "Unscientific experiment" paragraph)
Cheers,
Peter

This particular shows what works and not in a controlled manner, but I am doubtful how applicable this is to realistic situation. First, if any workshop is subjected to that kind of environment, basically nothing helps. Out of that group of products, Fluid Film may prevent rust, but you are left to deal with non-drying liquid you'd have to wipe and clean prior to use of tools every time. Second, key to keeping rust away is to keep tools clean and frequent application of such substance (like at the day's end after use) in order to prevent rust from "growing". And in every day situation (in my case relative humidity of mid 60% up to high 80%), camellia oil effortlessly provided good and clean protection, and those tools that weren't touched for several weeks stayed fine without having rust problems, too.

But my take on camellia oil is just as non-scientific as this particular experiment. It's just an opinion based on my own experience, so. But even then, unless you are looking for ultimate rust inhibitor, I don't think you'd have to deviate too far from well known stuff in order to have effective rust prevention.

[John Keeton]

For years, I have used Johnson's paste wax on my cast iron tops. Once I ventured into the handplane arena, I used it on them, as well. Did pretty well, but I have had better luck with camellia oil. I think part of that is due to 1)easier to pick up the little squirt bottle and a rag than open the can of wax, apply, then buff 2) spraying seems to get into the spots I don't reach with the wax.

Just my thoughts!

[Mark Dorman]

Welcome to the Creek Ashwini.


I am relatively new to the hand plane world myself and I and going to try Camellia oil unless this thread changes my mind. So I’m glad you asked the question.


Mark

[Larry Marshall]

There is a difference between protecting a table saw top and a handplane. The former is done by treating the top periodically whereas most will wipe down their handplanes after ever used to prevent rust.

The original post also suggests confusion over the reasons for wax and oils. Chris Schwarz (and many of us), apply paraffin wax to the sole of the plane as a lubricant PRIOR to using a handplane.

This should not be confused with protective treatments. Chris is also famous for his oil-soaked "woobie" (sp?) rag, which he uses to wipe down his handplanes AFTER use to protect them from rust.

I'll not debate the "right" method here as everyone has their preferences but it is important to distinguish the reasons people do these things. For myself, I use jojoba oil (LN sells this as well), which I don't expect would prevent rust if I leave my plane outside for a period of time. But it does a very good job of fending off the rust bunnies if I simply wipe my planes down with it at the end of each session.

Cheers --- Larry "aka Woodnbits"
http://www.woodnbits.com/blog