I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

--

Jim
"Value nothing but truth, compassion, and love"

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
. 97.142...
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind
right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks


I use walnut oil for my cherry wood kitchen countertops.
It is semi-hardening with no noticeable odor.

"Jim Willemin" wrote in message
. 97.142...
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind
right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Food contact? Are you going to tenderize the meat by beating it with the
wood block?

Any normal wood finish oil is just fine. Danish oil, varnish oil, mineral
oil, latex paint will do too.

Avoid the cooking oils.

Jim Willemin wrote:
I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese
cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around
the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II.

30 years ago, I used boiled linseed oil on a couple of knife racks.

Poured the BLO in a pot, heated it up on the stove, then dunked the
racks into it.

As this is being written, no fatalities to report.

Lew

I always wonder when this question comes up, which seems to be about
once a month.

I make treen ware for fun, and always use EVOO to finish the spatulas,
spoons, cutting boards, stirrers, tasters and beaters I make. I use
just about any wood besides red oak, or some of the more tubular
looking pieces of white.

Yet... in the last two decades I have never had any of the EVOO oiled
kitchen ware go rancid, stink, rot, or pass disease to anyone that uses
them. Cooking is my second hobby, and I use all of my pieces
frequently, as do many I have given them to as gifts.

I stir fry in vegetable oil, pan fry chicken breasts in vegetable oils,
and a mulititude of other tasks that expose my treenware to natural,
non or slow curing oils. And while the spatulas and turners absorb
vegetable oils and animal fats, no disease or pestilence to report. I
cut bloody meats (15 - 18 lb pork loins into chops, raw chickens, and
raw fish) on my cutting boards frequently with no problems. I
beat/stir concotions with raw eggs and vegetable oils in them with my
wooden beaters and haven't had foul odor one. This nonsense has been
going on for years, and EVERYTHING has been treated with plain EVOO.

I know that many of us have their own favorite finishes, but I think
that those that are afraid of vegetable finshes should use stainless
utensils. So do any of the people here realize that for many years it
was animal fats that were used to cure these utensils? Sometimes
nothing at all? I have a great maple cutting board that I have had for
years that I have never put a drop of finish on, and it is great. It
has picked up some oils somewhere though as you can see the difference
in the appearance of the wood on the front and back of the board. So
that means it has picked up animal fats and oils from food prep.
Yet... no smell.

A GOOD FIELD TEST: Take a piece of scrap from your project and treat
it with vegetable oil of some sort. Wipe off the excess oil. See how
long it takes to "go rancid". Your grandkid's grandkids will be
shaving by the that happens.

I am going with Mr. Pawlowski on this one.... just put something on
it! You'll be fine!


Robert

Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie

"Tom Nie" wrote in message
...
Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie


This a sure tell as to what we are watching in our spare time.

Tom Nie wrote:
Robert,

Rachel Raye loves you.

TomNie

And Tom, I love her right back. I have only seen a couple of shows (I
have no cable or satellite) but she is as cute as can be, and I have
seen her eat a Chicago dawg and drink beer like an old pro.

Me like.

Robert

wrote:

And Tom, I love her right back. I have only seen a couple of shows (I
have no cable or satellite) but she is as cute as can be, and I have
seen her eat a Chicago dawg and drink beer like an old pro.

And tell me you are an Emeril fan like me.

Well at least as long as he sticks to coon ass food.

Lew

In article 42,
says...
What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

I routinely use olive oil as finish on kitchen utensils. Boiled Linseed oil is
fine. I lightly cut them with vegetable turpentine for the first application,
so they soak in better - the vege turps smell goes quickly.
You may well be ok with some of the more exotic oils like Walnut or Grapeseed.
Tung oil is a slow curing natural oil that has a strong pungent smell about it
(I like it, but it may not be appropriate here).
I would avoid sunflower oil at any cost. That DOES go rancid. I personally
would also avoid canola. Don't know about the others you mention - ne'er tried.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Peter Huebner wrote:
In article 42,
says...
What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

Thanks

I routinely use olive oil as finish on kitchen utensils. Boiled Linseed oil is
fine. I lightly cut them with vegetable turpentine for the first application,
so they soak in better - the vege turps smell goes quickly.
You may well be ok with some of the more exotic oils like Walnut or Grapeseed.
Tung oil is a slow curing natural oil that has a strong pungent smell about it
(I like it, but it may not be appropriate here).
I would avoid sunflower oil at any cost. That DOES go rancid. I personally
would also avoid canola. Don't know about the others you mention - ne'er tried.

-P.

I knife block is not a "kitchen utensil". It HOLDS them. They can be
finished in shellac, lacquer, poly, whatever. They do NOT need to be
"food safe" any more so than a cabinet door.

Dave

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:14:03 -0500, Jim Willemin
wrote:

I just finished sanding a little knife block to hold a Chinese cleaver and
a small chef's knife. I used some red oak that was lying around the shop,
gluing it all together with Titebond II. Now: I think I recall that
vegetable oil is the right finish for food-contact woodwork; my questions
start with this: Wouldn't a vegetable oil finish eventually get rancid?
SWMBO has a hellishly sensitive sniffer, and I'm afraid that if the oil in
the wood starts to get a little manky two of my favorite knives will be
either banished altogether or sentenced to a life lying naked in the
silverware drawer. What *is* the right finish? We have quite a few
different oils in the pantry: peanut, olive, canola, corn, and can get
stuff like safflower, soy, sunflower and more that don't leap to mind right
now. Of course, I can also get the more traditional woodworking oil
finishes. I am blessed with choices and cursed with ignorance - help!

I don't think there is any "right" finish. However, for kitchen
woodwork, that does not get routinely immersed in water, I use
shellac, then several rubbings of soyabean oil. The old saw applies:

Once a day for a week.
Once a week for a month.
Once a month for a year.
Once a year forever.

At least I think it's something like that, I more or less follow it,
and it seems to work very well.

Barry Lennox