# finishing Bocote wood?



## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

i know this is random as shit, but i think i have read some posts on here that lead me to believe some of yall are fellow woodworkers.

I work with wood as a neccesity, my primary creative hobby is making knives. i wouldn't say im a true "woodworker" as much as i am a "knife maker who frequently works with wood"

A good friend/former coworker/ knife buyer gave me an old school forged Sabatier chefs knife to rehandle for him. It is an amazing blade....pre 1960s french high carbon steel, integral bolsters. a truly impressive blade. it was given to him by the chef that trained him in Nice, France. 

He wants it handled in Bocote. i have not worked with it before, but i do work with alot of dense oily tropical hardwoods woods. 

I got the wood in last week ( a really niceley figured 3/8" think peice) and shaped and dry fit the handle scales. It appears to have a bunch of open pores on the surface like cocobolo or the various south american rosewoods can get on them.

for these woods i usualy backfill the pores with w/ a CA filler before finish sanding and finishing with somekind of polymerizing oil finish, i been liking the Watco Teak oil stuff for rosewood and cocobolo recently. it holds up really well on serious working knives. 

have any of ya'll worked with Bocote ? do any of ya'll have any ideas for finishing Bocote?

my buddy has taught me a great deal about cooking and butchering and i have sold him many knives, but this is a very special blade for him so i want to turn out really great.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Being a knife maker, can you tell me what the numbers 5996 mean in terms of hardness or type of steel ?


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

maybe. 

what kind of knife is it? do you about where/when/by whom it was made? are there any other markings on the blade?

even if we can ID the steel the actual heat treatment process has a whole lot to do with the end result


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

I have a picture.


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

Gerry,
that looks like a serial number marking to me. every maker marks their knives differently but usually markings that indicate steel type are pretty obvious. to my knoweldge 5996 is not a knife steel, but i learn new shit everyday.

heres what i was able to find as far as contact info for Larry Durand.

Larry's Custom Knives
Contact: Larry Durand
519 Grove Street
Whitehorse, Yukon
Y1A 5J8
Phone: (403) 633-4753

*Product:* Hunting, fishing and kitchen cutlery knives, will take custom orders
*Available at:* Above address; Canadian Tire (Whitehorse)

id suggest contacting him for more info. i keep reocrds if all my knives, steel and handle material used, heat treating, etc. and i'd bet most other custom makers do to.

nice knife! looks like some wicked burl handles!


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

there are several options for finishing Bocote. As you already stated, bocote is from the rosewood family and has a natural oil of it's own. Some say bocote has more oil than cocobolo, but that's not been my experience. At any rate here are a few of the options available for finishing your knife handle.

CA 
Ployurethane (matt,semi,gloss as you prefer) 
Linseed or Tung oil 
Epoxy 
Plain or burnished 



I make a lot of pens with bocote, but I use a wax, shellac finish. I just don't think that would hold up to the frequent cleaning and moisture a knife handle would come in contact with. Personally, I'd probably use either the CA or the poly. which ever you choose, remember to do the part that will come in contact with the steel as well. you'll want to seal the whole piece of wood. Also, bocote can burn if you sand it to fast. If you create too much heat while sanding, it can also crack. Personally, I don't like tung oil. I do however like boiled linseed oil. It gives a good finish and some protection. The CA (super glue) is a good hard, clear finish that provides a lot of gloss. It's not the easiest to apply if your haven't practiced. 

DFrost


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

david,
thanks.

i think i will stick to a CA finish with a poly overcoat. i always finish my knife handle scales in three phases and learned many knives ago that selaing and finishing all sides of the scales is neccesary.

you right man wax is useless for working knives. not nearly durable enough. i have used some wax finishes on "presentation only" projects but wouldnt use it on this one. My buddy loves this knife and uses it all the time. 

I do frequently use tung oil, but only as a sort of "color enhancer" as pure tung oil does very little for protection and sealing. i frequently use it when working with Ho wood when i make my tradtional japanese styled kitchen knives. i like to use a vacuum sealer and and pump it into the Ho Wood under vacuum and let it soak in there for a few days before using a topcoat to seal it all together.


i have also heard that Bocote can be more oily than Cocobolo but i dont think my piece of bocote has anywhere near the oil as the cocobolo. i use cocobolo alot and love it, but its hell on tools and sanding supplies. worth the trouble though.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

All the oil finishes will amber up the color. If your ok with that I'd go with polyurethane. I prefer a wipe on poly but it takes more coats to fill.
If you don't want to get the amber color then go with a water based poly. It is actually tougher then the oil base once it's dry. Looks milky when it's wet but dries crystal clear.
Tongue oil is one of the more traditional finishes but takes to long to dry between coats.
I've never used the CA as a finish.
Whatever you use I would disassemble the handle to make sure the finish gets over, under, around and through all surfaces.
The straight oil finishes will be easier to redo/touch up if needed.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Chris Haynie stated: "i use cocobolo alot and love it, but its hell on tools and sanding supplies. worth the trouble though."

I really like making pens out of cocobolo as well. It is such pretty wood. Most of the pens I make require a 7 m.m. or a 3/8 inch hole. I bought carbide drill bits just so they'd last a little longer. cocobolo is rough on tool steel drill bits. I sand my pens on the lathe. with coco bolo, I have to keep the dust collector running and wear a mask. I still get sneezing fits that last 10 to 14 sneezes. ha ha. You are right though, it's worth it.

DFrost


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

thanks bob. 

i need to get some water based poly i suppose. i have a woodcraft gift card and they carry the general poly\acrylic finishes...would these be ok? this stuff has some nice figuring and grain to it so i want to get any of that amber tinting going on.


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

David Frost said:


> . with coco bolo, I have to keep the dust collector running and wear a mask. I still get sneezing fits that last 10 to 14 sneezes. ha ha. You are right though, it's worth it.
> 
> DFrost



yeah its a nice wood to work but it gives me serious troubles with the dust. i reember the first time i was going to make a handle from some my buddy warned me to use dust collector, respirator, gloves, etc. 

needless to say i ingored these warnings and was itchy and miserable for a day afterward. i had to take a lot of benydryl and now i take full precautions with all the tropical hardwoods. they look so awesome but are soo irritating to my skin.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

General makes some good finishes. 
There are a lot of the exotics that cause skin,eye, lung reactions. Even walnut can cause problems for a lot of people.
Some of the exotics are hard on tools because of a high silicone content. That can creat glue up problems. 
I've done a few things in teak and wipe the glue surface with acetone before I glue. 
Obviously that's not a problem with a knife handle.


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

i am still planning on filling these pores with the CA 

whenever i make a working culinary knife it is very important that the handle be sanitary, therefore i have to seal the pores in any woood i use otherwise they become little microcosms of funky and disgusting baterial growth. 

I have been using CA to fill pores and voids in cocobolo and rosewoods for a long time and i figure my application should be the same for the bocote. generally i apply

do ya'll think the waterbased poly will give me any troubles over the CA? some of these pores are kind of sizeable.

I have never used a water based poly before.

I'd like to use a finish that is different from teh watco teak oil i have been using for a long time, and after reading on these waterbased polys for a bit i'd like to give it a try, but cant find any info on wiehter or will be ok with the CA used as a filler. 

i'd like to give the general finshes a try.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I really couldn't tell you how the water based poly would cover the CA. 
The water based polys are much thinner then the oil based but I don't that would be a consideration about how it covers the CA. You might try it on a scrap piece or you could even call the manufacturer. Most products have a phone# or e-mail addy o ask questions particular to their products.
I'm betting they have a web site also.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Gerry,

I think the 5996 = May 9, 1996 

Guys, I have a CNC machine and metal lathe if you need me to cut some handles and such I can probably do it for you.


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

that is awesome. cnc machines are sweet. can you work synthetic materials like Micarta and G10 with the cnc?


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

yes. I put a micarta handle on my falkniven





chris haynie said:


> that is awesome. cnc machines are sweet. can you work synthetic materials like Micarta and G10 with the cnc?


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Chris Michalek said:


> Gerry,
> 
> I think the 5996 = May 9, 1996
> 
> Guys, I have a CNC machine and metal lathe if you need me to cut some handles and such I can probably do it for you.


You are one fart smellow :lol:, I bought it at a silent auction while at a Fish and Game banquet in fall of 96.


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