Saw Handle Finish

[Derek Cohen]

Another option is Ubeaut Shellawax. This is very hard and clear when finished. It is essentially a turner's finish, and cures with friction. I rub it on and the buff on a soft wheel. Wonderful finish.








Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Walkowiak]

If you want to get the most "pop" you will first have to use a dye before the finish. Orange shellac will darken more than just an oil finish. Anything more than that will need a dye.

[cputnam]

Are not garnet and ruby shellacs yet darker?

[Timberwolf]

Are not garnet and ruby shellacs yet darker?

................
I know garnet shellac is...not sure about ruby...

[Pedder]

I was hoping someone might be able to point me to a video or at least a description of the finish process a lot of the more renowned saw makers (Wenzloff, Two Lawyers, LN) use on their saw handles. I'm trying to replicate something similar to get the figure to pop better.

Thanks for the kudos! What you want to know? We are doing it simple and long way: sand from rasp trough100, 120 150 180 240 320 400 600 up to 800 on all the woods and TruOil after that than some carbnaubawax and parrafin mix to pop up. Ebony the same up tp 800 than puppy oil. than 1000 1200 up to 1500, than blacked carnauba wax.

Ask Tom and Mike for their procedure.

Cheers
Pedder

[Tony Z]

Pedder, that is one of the loveliest handles I've seen to date!

To all others: is Mike Wenzloff still in business? I have three of his saws (two half backs and a special #16 clone he made for me). Just curious, as I have not heard or seen anything about Mike in some time.

[bandit571]

Anyone remember what Geo. H. Bishop Co. used on their handles?

   


Hmmm....

[RonB1957]

I was hoping someone might be able to point me to a video or at least a description of the finish process a lot of the more renowned saw makers (Wenzloff, Two Lawyers, LN) use on their saw handles. I'm trying to replicate something similar to get the figure to pop better.

Different people like the feel of different finishes. Some prefer danish oil finished with wax. Others shellac and wax. The latter is good for oily woods like Cocobolo and Ebony,etc. I have used Arm-R-seal ( oil varnish ) as well as Truoil, ( basically a tongue oil ), with a light buffed finish. Tru Oil leaves a nice finish, grips well while finishing very smooth. They even used to offer it in the rattle cans for a last spray coat. If finishing figured maple, apply BLO let dry a few days then finish with preferred finish. You can use a dye as well. Some one once  told me Wenzloff used Waterlox original. I have used it also, but it is a bit pricey as most good finishes seem to be. Shelf time is an issue with some of these finishes as well. So pick your poison.

Best wishes

[adamcherubini]

Just my opinion

I think there's a difference between a finish that is good for selling saws and a finish that is good for using saws. I think a lot of hand saw buyers have very little experience using hand saws and therefore aren't sure what to look for. Likewise, the hand saw makers are typically not hand saw users. So I'd be hesitant to copy other makers' saws.

When I was building case furniture, I could have a DT saw in my hand for many hours a day.  Maybe 4-6. Depending on your shop conditions etc, I found some finishes to be better than others.  My favorite was linseed oil. I soaked my handles in linseed oil over night. This also changed the weight and balance of the smaller saws.

I particularly did not like very very smooth saw handles, like those everyone produces now. I rasped and wood filed out the curved parts, sometimes scraped a little and not much else.  My friends thought these were too rough to sell and maybe rougher than saw handles would have been 200 years ago. They may have been right. I guess I felt that sand paper, while available 200 years ago, would not have easily handled curved surfaces, I don't think it was cheap and I suspect many 18th c tools were what we would call partially completed tool kits!

Anyway, I think you want a little roughness for friction on the handle.  I think if you ask shooters, they would say while older pistols had very smooth grips, almost all modern pistols often have textured grips.  So I suspect many would prefer that sort of grip. If I were redesigning saws right now, I would look to the gun manufacturers' grip designs, the over molds and replaceable backstraps. These grips are important because I think its very difficult to grip something tightly without changing the point of aim.

When you are sawing, you really want a light grip on the saw but you don't really want it to move around much. Thus the textured and contoured handle. A polished dowel would be the worst thing for a saw handle. If you feel you need to hold it tightly to keep it from moving around in your hand, its going to be harder to use well.

PS- I've been teaching my boys to saw. Telling them to relax their hands is a near constant critique. Oh, and I bought some of those Stanley hard point saws based on a couple reviews I read online about how surprisingly nice they were. I guess its a comparison thing, having spent the last 20 years using custom made saws. Those Stanley saws are absolutely atrocious tools in comparison. I bought them to cut plywood, which I think quickly dulls normal saws. I struggle to get a decent cut with them. A nice saw with a good handle is really easy to use well. I wish everyone could use my saws. I think in 30 minutes, guys would be better at sawing and have very different ideas about what they want, what features make a saw good etc.

If at all possible, I would try a couple different finishes and really spend some time (hours if not days) then make your decision. Maybe every saw maker has done this and arrived at different conclusions.

[bandit571]

Sand it, ...BLO....Gunstock stain....BLO......BLO...

   

Wipe down each time.....

   
Then, put back to work..

   
K.I.S.S.

   
YMMV