What are we using to care for our wenge handles?

Kelsey

Now that I've got my beautiful lever espresso machine, I want to maintain it in shiny, tip-top condition and that includes the wenge handles.

I was thinking perhaps some kind of wax or oil....

Any suggestions would be great - what are the rest of you doing?

James Springfield

my dad uses this on his homemade timber jobbies: http://www.howardproducts.com.au/index.php/featured-products/feed-n-wax.html

Kelsey

Nice!

Martin Fortin

I am using paraffin oil which is used in finnish sauna wood protection. It is odorless, colorless and does not leave any sticky sensation. You can get it from major sauna cie like Harvia or Tylo.

Reiss Gunson

I've heard tung oil is good, but i have not got around to getting some and trying it yet
its on the list of things to do

Frans Goddijn

I use this. It's a little bit sticky if you don't let it rest a day first, and if drops fall on the sink or kitchen top and I don't wipe it, it remains as stains of paint or finish.

Reiss Gunson

have you taken to drinking it frans? :ohmy:

Reiss Gunson

James Springfield post=1481 wrote: my dad uses this on his homemade timber jobbies: http://www.howardproducts.com.au/index.php/featured-products/feed-n-wax.html

that looks like a nice product for the job james

i presume it has a pleasant orange scent?

Frans Goddijn

Oh! I should have thought of that! Here's one with the wood oil in the cup:




(Will be fun to see if I can get the smell/taste out!)

Reiss Gunson

its vitreous porcelain - it will be fine - wash & go.

Frans Goddijn

You'e right. I wiped it, then washed, excellent.

Unknown

I have made "Treatments" for all sorts of woods that are oil based. I make a formula that changes with the number of coats applied.

Starting: 30% tung oil, 40% mineral spirits, 30% hardeners(like varnish). Apply enough coats, allow drying time, to thoroughly saturated the wood.

Next: 20% tung oil, 30% mineral spirits, 50% hardener.

Next: 10% tung oil, 20% mineral spirits, 70% hardener.

Last coats 10% mineral spirits, 90% hardener. This allows for a thinned varnish to be applied with a soft cloth.

For a "Varnish" I use Man-O-War Spar Varnish Gloss.

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Or skip the above and use wiped on epoxy.... Like a "System 3" product. Their products come in 3 different hardening times that are commonly available to the consumer.

James Springfield

Yeah totally natural and food safe, with a beautiful feel in the hand, and smells nice when you apply it, but that fades pretty quick

He also uses tung oil for a hard finish

Or polyurethane in thin coats, sand back with wet wnd dry whilst wet, apply and repeat until you have a gorgeous finish

Ian Brook

I've applied Catskill Original Butchers Block Oil to mine. It's light, easy to apply, odourless and non-sticky, and leaves the handles with a nice depth of colour. It's £7.24 for 236ml:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001F7MZY6/ref=pe_385721_37038051_TE_dp_1

IB

Chad Hanson

I do a lot of woodwork and use mineral oil found at the grocery store for anything that will touch food. Rub on, wipe off. Doesn't last as long, but it's food grade and easy.

Chad

Paul Marshall

I'm using Watco Danish Oil (Natural) on all the lovely macassar ebony handles Stephen made for me. It's easy to wipe on and dries fast. It also seems to last for a long time although it's not exactly food grade so perhaps a safer alternative would be better.

Reiss Gunson

I clicked the link to Amazon that Ian posted above and at the bottom of that page where the line up of similar products is thrown up I found this;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004V36MCC/ref=pd_aw_sims_8?pi=SS115

I bought some as like many others I'm currently using a mineral oil approved for butchers blocks and the like

Something with some with wax in would be welcome

I'll report back in due course

Paul Marshall

I'm going to ask my cousin, who is a beekeeper, if she can make up a beeswax finish that incorporates beeswax and mineral oil. It seems a bunch of people that make butcher blocks mix this up themselves because it's long-lasting and food safe.

Reiss Gunson

Reiss Gunson post=2076 wrote: I clicked the link to Amazon that Ian posted above and at the bottom of that page where the line up of similar products is thrown up I found this;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004V36MCC/ref=pd_aw_sims_8?pi=SS115

I bought some as like many others I'm currently using a mineral oil approved for butchers blocks and the like

Something with some with wax in would be welcome

I'll report back in due course

As per my recent blog post, this stuff has exceeded my expectations
My wooden handles were quite dry (there's no euphemism there in case you were wondering) so I gave them 3 coats - I just wipe it on with my finger, but it's no doubt better to use a lint free rag to ensure you don't collect a hardwood splinter

I didn't bother to buff it off after each coat. As a result a welcome coat of wax has built up, and then over the course of say a week your hands buff a shine onto the wax which is exactly the finish I have been seeking - a soft sheen on the wood without being a highly reflective hard surface finish. The product has minimal odour and is inoffensive in any case and I can't find fault with it really

David Ross

Along the lines of handle treatment, Is anyone else having issues with their handles working loose on the portafiller?

I pulled it apart and noticed the hole in the wenge is considering bigger than the shaft off the portafiller.
On the lever, its a much closer fit but the portafiller flops around.

I'm hesitant to just crank down on the bolt as that will just crush the wood and possibly crack something.

I thought about bedding the handle with epoxy to take out the slack and use a flat washer vs the star lock washer in there now and a touch of blue thread locker on the bolt.

Thoughts?

Also, I'm going to be treating the handles with linseed oil.

Reiss Gunson

hi david

just take a 6mm hex key and tighten it up

i promise it won't split

i wouldn't really recommend linseed oil in 'food' areas - look for some butcher's block wax/conditioner

best

reiss.

Frans Goddijn

David Ross post=10883 wrote: I'm hesitant to just crank down on the bolt as that will just crush the wood and possibly crack something.

No need to use all the force you can apply to tighten the bolt. It is meant to fasten it, not to destroy it. That would also be the case if the wood had a very tight fit, actually even more so because of the different way wood and metal react to force and heat. Even a tight fitting bolt on metal must often not be tightened with all the maximum force you can apply. The couplings on copper pipes or the bolts on your boiler must be tightened with care and some mild force but if you give it a struggle with all force you can apply, you will destroy stuff.

The portafilter is not used to whack things with like an axe, so less force is needed to endure, also the lever is meant to be pulled down and gently let go, it is not like a power tool, not a wrench to whack at will. So the handles are handled carefully, gently and need to be fastened in the same gentle and normal but not over-tight way.

Reiss Gunson

david i have destruction tested the wood many times before i made the decision to use it
no need to pull with all your might, of course - i wasnt suggesting this for a moment
if you split it i'll send you a new handle - I'm very confident it won't happen - we have machines in 40 countries and not once has some contacted me and said they've split a handle
if people start epoxying/similar the handles in place then they have got a problem if they ever want to replace them
kind regards
reiss,

David Ross

Thanks for the reassurance. In the mean time, I did some reading on wenge and it is a LOT harder of a wood than I thought. A good snug with a wrench will do the trick then. With as light as it is, I was thinking it to be similar to mahogany or other pretty but softer woods.
In fact, it's harder than oak or even walnut.

David Ross

And no one mentioned destroying, beating on or using something as an axe handle so, let's not exaggerate things to the point of looking ridiculous.

My concern was over tightening and possibly cracking the wood as I'm not familiar with wenge.

I have plenty of things in the garage if I need an axe or something to beat someone about the head with.

Reiss Gunson

the only time it splits is occasionally at the factory when we are fitting the threadserts; if we don't pick it up in QC someone will open the box of their brand new machine and have a handle with a crack in it

i think its happened two or three times

Kevin Gordon

Getting back to the original posting of this thread, I have had excellent results with Clapham’s Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish. It is a food safe Canadian product - beeswax and mineral oil, and available from their website, Amazon and Lee Valley, amongst others. There are several recipes for this on the Internet for the more adventurous and those who need industrial quantities of food safe wood finish (search: beeswax mineral oil recipe). In the evening after cleanup, I smear a thin layer on with a finger and buff it off in the morning before pulling the first shot of the day.
Kevin Gordon

Reiss Gunson

good, excellent. you should be able to source things like this locally

today i have just found this source for new zealand owners - http://www.howardproducts.co.nz/products/kitchen-surfaces.html

no doubt there are others