All about blade sealing

[_Bryce_]

It is not about penetration. I suspect you glued before the sealer has cured … Either this or you have used something very old.

Cheers
L-zt

Thanks for your response, @Lazer, but I didn't glue a rubber on it at all, as it is a collecters item (at least for me), and I don't intend to glue a rubber on it. I only applied the sealer for "preservation" purposes.

 

[Lazer]

Thanks for your response, @Lazer, but I didn't glue a rubber on it at all, as it is a collecters item (at least for me), and I don't intend to glue a rubber on it. I only applied the sealer for "preservation" purposes.

So the sealer is to old or contaminated. It normalt is resistent to dust within 2 hrs but it needs -24 hrs to set properly. This depends a little bit but roughly… after 24 hours it’s hard enough to paint on. After 2 hrs it should be ok to put a second layer on. In the old days we called that wet on wet. Was there anything else that was put on before? I know that laquiring on top of wet oil will have this effect…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Lazer]

Btw for your purpose I would just put a couple of layers of raw linseed oil on it. It will make it last forever… it will be protected moisture and allowed to breath at the same time. On boats you should laquer the outside and oil the inside if you want them to last…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[_Bryce_]

... Was there anything else that was put on before? I know that laquiring on top of wet oil will have this effect…

Cheers
L-zr

Nope. I sure didn't put something on it aside from this - apparently too old - sealer. I'm not sure if Darker (factory-)sealed the blade in some way, but when I got the blade, it was smooth and shiny as a babys ass...

P.S.: Thanks for the tip with the raw linseed oil. I might use it - depending a little bit on what Sergio has to further say about the situation.

 

[Lazer]

Nope. I sure didn't put something on it aside from this - apparently too old - sealer. I'm not sure if Darker (factory-)sealed the blade in some way, but when I got the blade, it was smooth and shiny as a babys ass...

P.S.: Thanks for the tip with the raw linseed oil. I might use it - depending a little bit on what Sergio has to further say about the situation.

Yes it must be old then… bad luck. Now leave it and will harden eventually then sand it with an 800 paper and do it again with a thin layer of laquer, fresh one and it will look glorious. But do NOT sand it until it has hardened. It may take months..

Cheers
L-zr

 

[_Bryce_]

Yes it must be old then… bad luck. Now leave it and will harden eventually then sand it with an 800 paper and do it again with a thin layer of laquer, fresh one and it will look glorious. But do NOT sand it until it has hardened. It may take months..

Cheers
L-zr

Thanks again...

 

[SlowPower]

Well, I did already ... What can I say, it kind of still works for me. As I said it is a trade-off between taking care of the handle and the risk of slippery.
My workaround is to dry my hand on my clothes between rallies. That lasts ca. 1 second and is manageable.

Nevertheless, I absolutely hear your point and I understand the way how I deal with that does not fit for everybody.

What about grip tape?

 

[Conehead]

Principally, no bad idea but grip tape would make the handle thicker impacting comfort/playability and would also increase the overall weight. Especially, the latter I would like to avoid.

 

[riemsesy]

Grip tape changes the balance so the blade is less head heavy. Is that an advantage for you?

 

[Conehead]

I tend to say rather no advantage. In fact I like a slight head heaviness as it gives me more punch in the strokes.

 

[SDC]

Thanks a lot for replying, @hipnotic. I just inspected the blade. The sealer on the wood is hardly "sticky" anymore, but it was semi-"sticky" for a few weeks after sealing it...
It is not an oil based sealer, it is a water based sealer by GEWO (see picture). However it is rather old as I had it in my drawer for a few years before using it. I did use it as supposed to (more or less . Back side of the bottle says to let it dry for at least 4 hours; not quite sure if I made it to the 4 hour mark before applying the next layer...could have been 3 hours).
While it is hardly "sticky" anymore, you can clearly see and feel the smears where I used the sponge to brush around and apply the sealer. The wood now feels (and looks) raw instead of smooth as it was once before.
Not sure if one can see the smears in the picture, but here are some anyway. Any suggestions?

My Gallery — Postimages

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It's really hard to see anything in the pictures, the light is shining directly on the face of the blade. Anyway, probably old sealer, and did you shake it before using it? If it's still slightly stick use the hair drier on a low temperature setting to fully dry it, then I think you have no other option but to sand it. The wood feels raw because you probably raised the grain with the sealer, hence the importance of doing it beforehand for a better result.

 

[_Bryce_]

It's really hard to see anything in the pictures, the light is shining directly on the face of the blade. Anyway, probably old sealer, and did you shake it before using it? If it's still slightly stick use the hair drier on a low temperature setting to fully dry it, then I think you have no other option but to sand it...

Hi,

yes, I did shake the bottle before using it. After several weeks, it's not sticky anymore...
I tend to agree with the notion that the sealer was likely too old to be used.

...The wood feels raw because you probably raised the grain with the sealer...

Hmm, yeah, one of my neighbors, who is a hobby craftsman, mentioned something similar. However, he recommended that I put one or two more layers of the sealer according to the instructions of the bottle in order to get the desired result. I hesitate to do that, because I think and fear that it might damage the blade even more.
My first thought was that the sticky/raw stuff were the leftovers of the sealer which didn't penetrate into the wood, given that I can clearly see and feel the brushing swipes where I used the sponge to apply the sealer...
Whether it's this (simple leftovers) or the possible issue of the raised grain, I agree with you and Lazer that I will have to sand it at some point in time. Not a great outlook since I have two left hands regarding delicate wood work and we're also talking about a 500€ blade.
Anyway, thanks a lot to you (and Lazer) for taking your time and giving me some tips...

 

[Lazer]

Would a tt blade’s handle swell up as well? I have one with a really small handle and I wouldn’t mind if it turned yellowish

You would have to soak it then. I had the glue release (after 20 years) that’s all. But the blade was unused…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[riemsesy]

Would a tt blade’s handle swell up as well? I have one with a really small handle and I wouldn’t mind if it turned yellowish

Barely, (most) handles are laminated with many layers moist hardly will have any effect on it. Just not worth it.
You can use grip tape to broaden the handle.

 

[Machi]

Sorry to wake this thread but, is it a must to sand blades after sealing?

 

[Conehead]

Sorry to wake this thread but, is it a must to sand blades after sealing?

No

 

[Machi]

No

so I can just put thin varnish on it and let it dry and be done? also the blade will be fang bo b2

 

[Conehead]

so I can just put thin varnish on it and let it dry and be done?

That's exactly how I do it and it always worked out very well.

 

[riemsesy]

Unless you notice the rubber coming loose you can sand the blade a little so the glue has more surface to attach.
Personally I go a bit further and sand the blade lightly after sealing, until the surface feels smoothly.

 

[Lazer]

Sorry to wake this thread but, is it a must to sand blades after sealing?

It depends on the surface. If it’s too smooth the glue won’t stick. I always use a fine sandpaper and rough it up just a tiny bit…

Cheers
L-zr