How do you protect wooden plane bodies?

[JSpill]

Recently I've purchased several wooden planes from various sources. A few are ECE Primus planes, while others are homemade birch body planes. I don't know how the bodies were finished, but I want to keep them in good shape. How do you keep your wood planes protected?

[Aram]

Recently I've purchased several wooden planes from various sources. A few are ECE Primus planes, while others are homemade birch body planes. I don't know how the bodies were finished, but I want to keep them in good shape. How do you keep your wood planes protected?

What do you want to protect them from? 

When I started making my own wooden planes, I asked David Finck (author of Making and Mastering Wood Planes) whether they should have finish or not. He emailed me this, "I just let my planes patinate from use, but a wash coat of shellac or  thinned BLO is fine if you want -- just keep the finish off the wedge and ramp area so it doesn't cause any sticking with the iron."

I've used TruOil on planes that came out nice enough that I could indulge in a little vanity. That's all it was, though. It has zero impact on performance or longevity.

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

I would apply a light coat of Johnsons paste wax to the sides and top, being careful to avoid the wedge or anything it touches. Then I would put them on a shelf to self-patinate. Since wood moves, you might want to loosen the wedges if the planes will be idle for a few months.

[Bibliophile 13]

What Aram said: protect them from what? You can finish them with anything you like, provided you keep it off the wedge or frog. An oil finish might be helpful to prevent stray drops of glue from sticking, but otherwise I think a finish is purely cosmetic.

I do find that regularly rubbing the sole with ordinary candle wax will make the plane slide better over the wood you're planing. That's true of my iron-bodied planes, too.

[JSpill]

Perhaps protect was a poor choice of words. A light coat of wax will suffice. Thanks for reminding me to not wax the wedge.

[Aram]

Perhaps protect was a poor choice of words. A light coat of wax will suffice. Thanks for reminding me to not wax the wedge.

Quick note -- I like camellia oil to help the sole slide. Sure, wax works perfectly. But you can buy a little camellia oil bottle with a cotton blob at the end, always pre-soaked, and wipe on a coat in two seconds. I'd rather do that than buff on wax. Oh yeah, I'm lazy.

[JQuacker]

Paste Wax does the trick. I use Alfie Shine (on Amazon or Workshop Heaven).

[Woody Splinters]

Recently I've purchased several wooden planes from various sources. A few are ECE Primus planes, while others are homemade birch body planes. I don't know how the bodies were finished, but I want to keep them in good shape. How do you keep your wood planes protected?

I use TreWax (clear) based on a professional maker's recommendation.  For refinishing or protecting anything you consider raw wood, Minwax Antique Oil Finish was the same person's recommendation.  That said, nearly any wax will do, from Johnson's to Renaissance...

[johndi]

I recently used Howard's Feed and Wax on a few wooden planes and was very happy with it.
It's a mix of beeswax and orange oil.