Hand rubbed?

[Tom Hoffman]

I'm familiar with wet sanding building finishes (poly, varnish, lacquer, etc) to various degrees of gloss, (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=49826) but I'm confused with the term, "hand rubbed."

I've read in literature and magazines statements like, "nothing beats a hand rubbed oil finish." Does that mean sanding (wet or otherwise) with fine grits like 600, 800, 1200, etc? Am I missing anything here? Are finishes like tung oil (Seal-a-cell), BLO, and Danish oil sanded down to fine grits also?

[Joe Chritz]

Hand rubbed would normally mean finished to a polish by hand.

Hand rubbed oil finish I would take to mean any non-hardening oil finish that is applied by hand. Often rubbed in with steel wool.

Sounds like an ad sales thing to me. Whats really in a work anyway.

On a hand crafted knife blade "hand rubbed" usually means very fine scratches running the length of the blade giving a satin finish. It is usually accomplished with 1000 grit paper and a wooden stick with an eraser on it. One pass with 1000 then a new piece. Looks really cool but sorta labor intesive.

I guess that is to say it means what you want it to.

Joe