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Your favourite treatment for wood handles?

Tung oil, linseed oil, polyurethane.....

I have an already made up brush with an untreated wood handle. What are the best options for a treatment, and how should I go about it in an existing brush?


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Nice brush. Wipe on poly or CA works well.

CA is very quick drying, no? Especially the thin kind? Since it's a made-up brush I can't put it in a lathe so applying CA could get messy. What kind of poly has a slower drying time?

Otherwise I have some Danish oil I could use.
 
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Danish oil won't have offer enough protection for water. This stuff works well. Wrap the brush with masking tape.
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CA is very quick drying, no? Especially the thin kind? Since it's a made-up brush I can't put it in a lathe so applying CA could get messy. What kind of poly has a slower drying time?

Otherwise I have some Danish oil I could use.
I didn't realize the bristles were already fixed in the handle. Yeah, CA wouldn't work so well. The poly is a great alternative. I like to thin it and put several coats on wood.

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Graydog

Biblical Innards
I like the poly idea
Thin coats and then I would use some sort of
Polish ,wax .
Nice Handle .
 
Real tung oil or real spar varnish (for boats), There are many products that say tung oil, but not. I prefer a polymerized tung oil and after this you can consider Casey Birchwood Tru-Oil
 
Another vote for real tung oil, not the Minwax style containing urethane.

I avoid urethane finishes when water is involved. Looks great, wears well, but once water gets under it they tend to lift and peel real bad.
 
I went with Danish Oil in the end because I had some. Easy to apply and I'll try putting on some more coats. Looks fine to me.
 
I just refinished a Barbershop handle with a Tuxedo knot.
The original finish was already yellowed, cracked, and flaking when I got it in 2016, and by now I just had to sand off the last of it, a small area about the size of a fingernail.
The bottom had fairly sharp edge, which probably started the flaking, so I rounded it off slightly with some 220 sandpaper. It's still flat enough to stand up.
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The trickiest part was taping off the black part close enough to protect it, but leaving enough room to cover the wood. It helped to cut the tape (green painters' tape) into 1/4" strips that could be massaged into a curve following the conical part.
I used three coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane, letting it dry 24 hours between coats.
We'll see how it goes with regular use.
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I got this brush from Andrew Palombo's (APShaveCo) Etsy site, with the knot already in it.
 
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