Wood Handle Care

[beardybrewer]

My beautiful new Ebony 22/48 Shavemac has been working out great. Really nailed the balance of a compact whitetip with backbone. One lingering question I had was about care of the wood. Any long-term care recommendations other than drying and hanging the brush? I asked Bernd but I think he missed my question. Hopefully when he replies I'll post his recommendations here for the archive.

Right, off to go shave!

 

[bobfarvour]

Ebony should outlast you.

Just dry it off when your done. Don't leave it sit in water.

 

[shaverjoe]

Ebony should outlast you.

Just dry it off when your done. Don't leave it sit in water.

+1. If you wish, you could always apply some wax. But Bob mentions the most important points-don't soak the handle and dry the handle after use.

 

[beardybrewer]

As promised, the respose from Shavemac:

Gernally you just hold the wood clean and try after use.
But you can apply some drops of cooking oil, like olive oil, or gun oil from time to time.
The wood then gets a new, fresh glance again.

So it is literally dry and hang. Maybe a bit of oil now and then.

 

[celestino]

Congratulations and enjoy the brush!

 

[Deltaboy]

Enjoy that fine Brush.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I would advise against any cooking oils (vegetable oils!!), these can get rancid!! Use an oil like neatsfoot oil as it is often used on horn brushes. I also recommend to use mineral oil (paraffin oil) to be used on real ivory, and it would work on wood, too. Or a good furniture wax. Just avoid the veggie oils!!

 

[shaverjoe]

I would advise against any cooking oils (vegetable oils!!), these can get rancid!! Use an oil like neatsfoot oil as it is often used on horn brushes. I also recommend to use mineral oil (paraffin oil) to be used on real ivory, and it would work on wood, too. Or a good furniture wax. Just avoid the veggie oils!!

+1 on avoiding cooking oils. Very surprised olive oil was recommended.

 

[Invicta]

Boiled linseed oil is the normally used on wood and stocks. Just a little bit to work it in. You need the friction from the rubbing in to warm it up and work in it.

 

[TheLegalRazor]

A light coat of mineral oil works well.

 

[jkingrph]

Boiled linseed oil is the normally used on wood and stocks. Just a little bit to work it in. You need the friction from the rubbing in to warm it up and work in it.

Commercial boiled linseed oil, found at paint and hardware stores, at least on this side of the pond is not actually boiled but has chemical drying agents added.

Raw linseed oil will dry and harden, but much slower, and therefore will penetrate much deeper and may be better for use on brush handles.

 

[beardybrewer]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I've heard linseed oil before. Is linseed/flaxdees oil usually available in DIY places or where should I look locally?

Looking online, I see it sold for cricket bats but it is quite expensive. Interesting the raw linseed oil is promoted as doing a better job by their marketing.