Best oil for wood?

[bb07]

I'm talking about a food grade oil for spoons, bowls etc.
I can't find a food grade linseed oil here, unless ordinary raw linseed oil can be considered as such. The thing is, the raw linseed is right alongside the double boiled stuff in the hardware/paint stores and so I'm not sure, especially as there's nothing on the container specifying it's uses (on the raw).
I understand that olive oil can turn rancid, but what about corn oil or peanut oil? Or is there something else I should be looking for?

 

[robin wood]

if you want lots of detail and to understand why oils differ it is mostly here http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-best-oil-for-treating-wood.html
If you want a simple alternative then if you don't have nut allergy then walnut oil is perfect. I am pretty sure (but not 100%) that neither corn or peanut oil cure.
Ordinary raw linseed is probably far less toxic than most things in our modern lives and I would happily use it. Not being a food product in the UK the makers do not have to disclose if they chose to use any additives to speed drying, this may be different in Canada, I use food grade cold pressed because I have experienced the difference and prefer it, I wouldn't bother if I was not using fairly large quantities. I also love a good walnut oil which cures and smells gorgeous.

 

[Tiley]

Holland and Barratt sell flaxseed oil (linseed oil in an edible guise) in 500ml bottles. It's a lovely, light, first-cold-pressed stuff that brings out the grain nicely and, if you soak your work in it, will provide a wonderful, deep-seated finish.

As Robin says, walnut oil is lovely too and is probably a good deal easier to get hold of.

 

[Chambers]

Ive seen people mention walnut oil before. What would you recommend if you had a nut allergy?

 

[robin wood]

Ive seen people mention walnut oil before. What would you recommend if you had a nut allergy?

I'd recommend you check the link in post 2 but if you don't feel like it then raw linseed ideally cold pressed food grade (also sold as flax seed but normally lots more money)

 

[milius2]

I have a mill near me where they cold press the raw linseed oil. But what they say that you should use it up in a weeks time, that's for food I mean. You can keep it in freezer up to a few months. I keep it for months in a plastic bottle in a dark cabinet and could not say that I saw any changes other than darkening a bit... Smells the same, but I would not eat it of course Any comments on that? Thanks, Andy.

And oops, I forgot. Do you use your hands too to treat the wood with oil? I mean this stuff is great for your hands!!! Smels awesome and releaves any stess in a sec !

 

[spandit]

Tung oil is food safe and smells nice

 

[21st century pict]

I am getting a new axe and I was looking in to Danish oil for the shaft,but some one mentioned linseed oil so an interesting thing is some years ago my pal gave me some linseed oil that had been lying in his shed for years, but when he pulled out the cork the bottom half of the cork had rotted away, he said linseed will rotted wood over time, so I was just looking on the web and sure enough there are reports of BLO rotting wood ,coincidently right next to stories of how to preserve wood with BLO.
The thing is i did see the rotted cork so its Danish oil for me.
However I wouldn’t use Linseed oil for food utensils it stinks my pal at the archery club used it on a home made bow i had a quick shot and gave it back to him but afterwards my hands were stinking all night.
Iwould listen to Robin wood and go for the walnut oil.

 

[bb07]

Thanks for the replies all. The reason I mentioned the oils above is because I'm quite limited here with what's available. The walnut oil sounds great but I've never seen or heard of such an oil here. Tung is available, but again only in hardware stores alongside paint etc so I'm not sure if it's the same tung oil you folks get or if it's something different with unwanted additives.
I'll have to check it out and see.

 

[Teepee]

I was made some tool handles by a friend whos a genius with turning wood. He's spent all his life as a joiner and turner and swears that tool handles are best done with Lemon oil. The ones he made are 10 years old now and sure to his word, there the only handles that don't give me blisters when hacking away at work all day.

Its a very light, smooth finish that amazingly smells of lemons.

For work, I stick to one product for oiling wooden worktops, trims and other parts around clients kitchens that need to be food safe and thats Liberon finishing oil.

 

[Teepee]

BB, be careful with Tung oil. Lots is just thinned varnish-make sure you track down the real stuff. Theres a few links on the net with some american brands which show the decent ones to get, I can't remember the links now for them though-its been a whle since I checked.

 

[bb07]

BB, be careful with Tung oil. Lots is just thinned varnish-make sure you track down the real stuff. Theres a few links on the net with some american brands which show the decent ones to get, I can't remember the links now for them though-its been a whle since I checked.

Thanks very much for that!

 

[Teepee]

Here you go BB;

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes-their-history-and-use

 

[Harvestman]

You can use almost any food grade oil on sale in a supermarket. Olive, sunflower, walnut, pumpkin, rapeseed, sesame, red palm, etc. I've used all of those without any ill effects on myself or the wood.

 

[robin wood]

You can use almost any food grade oil on sale in a supermarket. Olive, sunflower, walnut, pumpkin, rapeseed, sesame, red palm, etc. I've used all of those without any ill effects on myself or the wood.

You can use all of these and none will do you harm obviously, however none of them are oils that cure or set in the wood as tung, walnut and linseed do. If the oil sets in the wood it protects it far more long term. None curing oils are liable to go rancid in wood, olive and sunflower particularly, this is more common on bowls where there is more oil and less air around them than on spoons. Even if the oil does not go rancid, if it stays liquid it is not doing the same job as a proper finishing oil.

 

[paul atkin]

As Robin says use an oil that cures i buy my Linseed from here http://highbarnoils.co.uk/ £24 for 5ltrs great for bowls and spoons, for drinking cups i melt in a little beeswax to aid waterproofing (only for cold drinks ) for hot drinks i would recommend pure tung oil from Liberon.

 

[bb07]

Here you go BB;

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes-their-history-and-use

Thanks, that was an interesting read

You can use almost any food grade oil on sale in a supermarket. Olive, sunflower, walnut, pumpkin, rapeseed, sesame, red palm, etc. I've used all of those without any ill effects on myself or the wood.

Our massive oil selection here in our local grocery store is limited to:
-olive
-corn
-peanut
And it wasn't very long ago that the only one available was corn oil, or oil simply labelled as 'cooking oil'

 

[Tiley]

For work, I stick to one product for oiling wooden worktops, trims and other parts around clients kitchens that need to be food safe and thats Liberon finishing oil.

I've used the Liberon Finishing Oil on a few bowls, kuksas and spoons. It certainly produces a good, durable finish but does taste a bit odd when first you use the object coated in it. I reckoned that an oil that was safe for use on kitchen work tops would be a good bet - as indeed it is - but it does need to 'settle down' a little. If your spoons/bowls/whatever are for ceremonial purposes, this is obviously less of a problem!

 

[vizsla]

what about vegitable oil?

 

[robin wood]

what about vegitable oil?

Well all of the different oils discussed so far are vegetable oils rather than mineral oils. An oil sold in a UK supermarket and labeled simply as vegetable is most likely rapeseed oil which is not a good choice.