Finish for Boxwood Handles

[Bill Haumann]

I have some newly made boxwood chisel handles (London pattern), that I'm about to finally use. I haven't worked with unfinished boxwood before and was wondering what finishes work best with it (or how it reacts with them).
Thanks in advance.

- Bill

[David Barnett]

My preference is for nothing more than a microcrystalline wax, but some may prefer a light coat of oil, or oil then wax. I also prefer a matte wax. The chess pieces I most treasure have aged gracefully for decades from simply being handled. Others rub them against their noses now and then, like pipe smokers often do with unfinished briar. If used for banding or binding, whatever finish is chosen for the entire piece is fine.

[Dave Beauchesne]

While I haven't used boxwood for tool handles, I have made tool handles from Yew, African Blackwood, Cocobolo, Soft Maple burl, Madrone, Dogwood and others.
I get them warm on the lathe with a final burnish with a handful of shavings, melt pure beeswax on the handle, let it solidify a bit, buff it off with a coarse rag, repeat and that is it.
The beeswax has a bit of ' bite ' and it develops a nice patina.
Good luck!

[David Barnett]

The beeswax has a bit of ' bite ' and it develops a nice patina.

I often use beeswax on chasing, forming and planishing hammers as less force is required to grip and control—same for drawknives. Old european jeweler's and watchmaker's handles are often found with a fairly thick layer of sticky beeswax* on the handles. I don't buff handles, of course, as I hardly care about their appearance, but beeswax is obviously fine as a finish for boxwood—protects it and gives a nice satiny glow if one wishes to rub it up a bit.

I should add that beeswax can generate blisters—especially if you "throw" the hammer or mallet; that is, if you allow your hand to slide during the stroke and then grip the handle at the end of the stroke, an unproductive technique best avoided—as this may cause the outer skin layer to pull or separate from the adjacent layer, which is why it is to be avoided on axes and so on.

*Sticky wax is made by adding a small amount of olive or almond oil to beeswax, softening it, which can be helpful in colder workshops. Don't make it too sticky, though, as hands will warm it.

[Winton Applegate]

What the heck . . . I will answer with my arm chair woodworker answer. I love box wood but have never worked it. Nothing at all available here, in The Wild Wild West, though I have seen small quantities for sale on line. I want to make a small plane from the stuff one day.

The Japanese woodworkers clean off any finish that comes on the chisel handles. They consider it "packing material" to protect the handle and make it look nice in the store but prefer the bare wood in use.

I think James Krenov would have said apply a coat or two of very, very thinned shellac. Just to keep the finger prints off it. Oil may make it look nasty. That was his take on say . . . ash or hickory.

I am reading the answers here with fascination for future reference when I make my hand plane project.

[Winton Applegate]

A bit of bite

Like when the drawers I stupidly applied bees wax to that stick when not opened for a while.

I plan on making a few nut drivers using the smallest 1/4" drive break over socket wrenches and sandwiching them in wood handles with a metal pin through the hole in the wrench handle.

I need some tack on the handle and the bees wax "bite" sounds like it will do the trick.

Thanks Dave !

[Dave Beauchesne]

[QUOTE=Winton Applegate;2133564


I think James Krenov would have said apply a coat or two of very, very thinned shellac. Just to keep the finger prints off it. Oil may make it look nasty. That was his take on say . . . ash or hickory.

.[/QUOTE]
Winton: I have had the good fortune to handle and use at least a half dozen ' made by Krenov ' planes myself, as well as take some woodworking classes from one of JK's former students, including a plane making session - no finish on any of them, of any kind IIRC.

[Winton Applegate]

Not surprised there was no finish on the hand planes.
How did he handle the chisels ? So to speak.
Were there any he made handles for ? Any finish on those ?
I kind of assume he wasn't one to strip finish off a store bought handle but of course a few books was as close as I ever got.
By the way it is pretty hard to see or detect any of the very thinned shellac on the wood. I put it on drawer sides, backs etc.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Winton:

I am not a JK authority, but has taken classes from one of his students that has most of JK's tools since he passed.
One of the classes was plane making ( of course Krenov style planes ) and when the question of finish came up, the answer was ' none '.
The planes I handled were very utilitarian, and a fair amount of thought and trimming went into making it comfortable for the hand, ie: material removed where specific parts of the hand sat when the tool was being used.
Of course, on a handled tool, raw wood, sweat and skin oil have an unmistakeable, desirable ( IMHO ) result.
My grandfather ( a carpenter trained in the early 20's ) would make tool handles for axes and saws and tell me ' don't finish them or sand them smooth - you will get blisters '.

[george wilson]

I have applied a little Tru Oil to keep the nasty gray crud off boxwood handles. They would eventually turn brown and look o.k.,but that would take decades!