Hard/healthy finish for scratcher

[Al Launier]

I've just completed several back scratchers for Christmas. The fingers are made of Walnut, the handle of Poplar & I'm concerned the walnut isn't hard enough to stand up to wear on the tip (now wish I'd made them out of hard maple). I'm concerned about the health effect of applying polyurethane or clear epoxy to the fingers tips to help harden them for longer wear. So now i'm wondering what would be a "safe" & preferably clear material to the tios.

Any suggestions?

[Jamie Buxton]

I have a couple back scratchers I made five years ago or so. They're mystery-wood from the scrap pile -- I think phillipine mahogany maybe -- which isn't very hard. I didn't put any finish on them at all. They have no signs of wear. Think about it: is skin harder than wood?

[Art Mann]

Both polyurethane and epoxy are inert after they are dried or cured. Unfortunately, neither will do anything to strengthen the fingers of your back scratcher. Neither finish will penetrate more than a few thousandths of an inch. Walnut is a strong wood. It isn't quite as tough as hard Maple but if a design will work for Maple, it will certainly work for Walnut too.

[Al Launier]

Jamie, you're right, wood is harder than skin, but my concern was if the user scratched too hard & penetrated the skin, could the poly or epoxy possibly infect the skin.

Art, I believe you are right about poly & epoxy being inert after cured & therefore not a health risk providing the skin is not broken. And, although walnut is considered a hard wood, it's not as hard as hard maple. I was thinking the "pointy ends" of the scratcher may just round over after short usage. Guess I'll just go foward & see what happens. Heck, they might not even use them & stick them in a drawer.

Thank you both for your response.

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie, you're right, wood is harder than skin, but my concern was if the user scratched too hard & penetrated the skin, could the poly or epoxy possibly infect the skin.
...

My point is that I did not put any finish on the back scratchers. That is, there is no poly or epoxy to bother the skin.

[Lee Schierer]

Jamie, you're right, wood is harder than skin, but my concern was if the user scratched too hard & penetrated the skin, could the poly or epoxy possibly infect the skin.

Art, I believe you are right about poly & epoxy being inert after cured & therefore not a health risk providing the skin is not broken.

If they are scratching hard enough to break the skin, I think possible infection from polyurethane or epoxy is the least of their problem. I'd be more concerned about accumulated skin cells from previous use and dirt from it laying around between uses.

[Al Launier]

Kinda late to submit this, but I used wipe-on poly with a clear coat enamel spray finish to top it off. These were well received by the women at Christmas & tried out immediately. Now the husbands have a daily chore ahead of themselves. :D