Hi
I posted this on misc.consumers. frugal-living but I thought that you folks
here on rec.ww would probably have much better advice. Even thought this
topic is not pure wood working, these bowls are made of wood! Is that close
enough?

Yesterday at a yard sale, I bought a nice wooden salad bowl set (big serving
bowl, two wooden serving utensils and two smaller matching bowls). The big
bowl has a label saying that it's made of teak. The set is well used - some
of the wood looks greasy dark stained, part of the wood (especially the
outside of the smaller bowls) looks dried out, a couple of spots on the
underside feel sticky. I've been wanting a wooden salad serving bowl and
this set, despite the current splotchy surface, is very handsome (in a sleek
"Danish-Modern" style) and in good shape.

I would like to clean it (I suspect the sticky parts might be oil/salad
dressing that wasn't cleaned off) and put a new finish on it so we can use
it. So what's the best way to get this wooden set looking good and - very
important - in a way that won't poison us? I'm thinking maybe I should wash
it in hot water (should I use dish soap?) than seal it with some oil but I
can't remember what kind of oil is best for salad bowls. I seem to recall
that teak is special in some way - that it never is supposed to have oil put
on it because it's inherently an oily wood - is this right? From the looks
of the outside of these bowls I suspect they've been washed over and over in
hot soapy water and much of any oil in the wood has been stripped out.

So any advice for reviving my wooden bowl set?

Thanks for any assistance.
Chris in lovely Ithaca NY