Soap finish on hornbeam (Ironwood)

[AAAndrew]

Haven't been around much in the last few years, but I remembered y'all when I had a question.

The only woodworking I've been able to do for a few years now is make some canes and walking sticks. About the most basic woodworking you can get. But right now I'm been working on a doozy of a cane.

It's from a limb of an American Hornbeam tree, also known as ironwood. It has the twists and turns you get when that awful pest honeysuckle vine grows around it. I was cutting out the honeysuckle and found this limb. I cut it and stripped the bark right away, thank goodness. It's been drying and now I've got it shaped and sanded down to a nice surface.

I'm now looking to finish it. I love the twisted, white look of the wood. My son thinks it looks like a dragon bone, and there's definitely a bony feel to it. I'd like to keep the white color if possible. Oils, I know, will usually give at least a light yellow cast to wood, and I'm not set up for a spray booth for lacquer. I'm also kind of attracted to a simpler finish. I saw some posts about a soap finish, often used on Scandinavian furniture.

It's a pretty simple finish. Dissolve pure soap flakes in boiling water, let sit over night, then run it into the wood. Let it sit for a bit and then wipe off the excess. Supposedly it fills in the pores of the wood, prevents staining and yet looks almost like bare wood. It's easy to repair (just wipe with a hot, wet rag and reapply more soap) and it's non-toxic.

Since the hornbeam is already so hard I'm not terribly worried about bumps and dents. I'm looking more for something just to keep off stains and drips.

Has anyone ever used this finish? Anyone have another idea for a completely clear, easy-to-apply finish for something hard like hornbeam that's all twisted and gnarled?

Thanks!
Andrew

 

[Mike Davis]

I would use a rattle can of clear enamel.

 

[Jeff]

Soap finish is an interesting thought that could be fun to try. It's sure out of our usual mainstream finishing tricks.

Here's a recipe with do's and dont's; then applied to ash wood.

https://blog.lostartpress.com/2015/09/11/my-first-time-using-soap-finish-notes-warnings/

 

[Jim Wallace]

I've been trying it on some maple bowls. Not only does it not change the color of the wood, the finish is very silky feeling. I'm going to have to use one of these bowls for a while before I can comment on durability. I will say that it's cheap! A bar of Ivory makes about a quart for less than a dollar.

 

[CrealBilly]

A soap finish sounds like it would taste absolutely delicious with a bowl of cereal or a nice fresh garden salad.

 

[red]

I've read somewhere about using soap as a finish for a wood soap dish and they said it held up real well. I don't remember where I had found the article but it sounded interesting. Let us know how it goes if you go with the soap finish.

Red

 

[Steve Martin]

Chris Schwartz, who runs Lost Art Press and writes a blog for Popular Woodworking magazine, has had several items recently about soap finishing but they are mostly about furniture. After you look at his blog, you could send him a PM and I feel sure he would respond.

 

[AAAndrew]

Chris Schwartz, who runs Lost Art Press and writes a blog for Popular Woodworking magazine, has had several items recently about soap finishing but they are mostly about furniture. After you look at his blog, you could send him a PM and I feel sure he would respond.

That's where I first heard about the finish. I've looked elsewhere and found out more about it. Quite intriguing. I think I'm going to try it. I went out and bought some pure Castille soap (no fragrance or color) and grated it up tonight on the kitchen cheese grater. (hey, it's just soap!)

When I try it I'll let y'all know how it turns out. The tricky part will be getting it into and out of the grooves left by the vine.

 

[Raymond]

The tricky part will be getting it into and out of the grooves left by the vine.

Try stiff bristle dauber brushes to apply, Q-tips, mashed toothpicks, and wood shavings for removal of the excess.

 

[Jeff]

This is going to be a fun experiment and we're all awaiting the results with mandatory pics of the WIP. In addition to Christopher Schwartz there's another soap finish fan out there.

Fine Woodworking: March/April, 2015. "Lather Up" by Reed Hansuld.

I went out and bought some pure Castille soap...

Andrew. Castile soap is a generic term nowadays so which variety are you using and why do they call it "pure Castile soap"? Of course, it's made from pure olive oil in the Castile region of Spain which would be historically correct.

 

[StephenK]

I wasn't very successful tinkering with soap finish, but I used grated, fragrance free Castile soap. I haven't had time to order the flakes Schwarz recommends.

 

[Rick M]

Did Schwartz post this on April 1st by chance?
-- Rick M

 

[StephenK]

No, it's legit and he posted it several weeks ago. It's just different than what we are used to. One thing I learned is that if you load up the wood with dry soap, it won't stain - this is good, right? The problem is how often does one need to "reload" the furniture with soap?

 

[Jeff]

I wasn't very successful tinkering with soap finish, but I used grated, fragrance free Castile soap. I haven't had time to order the flakes Schwarz recommends.

One thing I learned is that if you load up the wood with dry soap, it won't stain - this is good, right? The problem is how often does one need to "reload" the furniture with soap?

I'm confused so please explain what you're talking about. What isn't working for you? :icon_scra

 

[StephenK]

I can see why my posts are confusing. I'm sorry and I'll try to clarify. I worked in the soap on the wood and tested wine and Texas Pete. Both wiped away with a damp rag. Problem is, the wood looked unfinished - not the silky smooth cloudy look I've seen in photos. And how often can I wipe off red wine or hot sauce before I have to "resoap" the wood?

 

[AAAndrew]

Unfinished is exactly the look I'm trying for.

I found a soap that is what the instructions call for, just lye and vegetable oils. No dye, no fragrance, no essential oils. They call it Castille soap, I guess because that's traditionally what you called vegetable soap as opposed to animal fat soap. I'd love to find some of that, but no luck in my short search.

I'm going to try the technique I read about and saw on a Danish video from a furniture manufacturer. Mix up the soap and leave it overnight. I'm going to mix it up Friday night and try it out on Saturday. I'll take pictures and let you know how it comes out.

As for how often you'd wipe it off before re-soaping, I'm not sure. Re-soaping is not a big deal, so if I found myself constantly spilling stuff, I might re-soap regularly. Think old-world housewife scrubbing her table. I'm sure that's where it originally came from. Thick coating to begin with, and then regular applications of thin coatings would probably result in a pretty durable finish. I read if it starts to look dirty, just wipe with a warm, damp rag and it should look better.

The great experiment.

 

[Jeff]

Finishing and re-soaping guidelines are in this article which pre-dates the Schwartz blog and his initial foray into the idea.

Fine Woodworking: March/April, 2015. "Lather Up" by Reed Hansuld.

BTW, the soap flakes from MSO Distributing (cited by both authors) are pure vegetable oil soap, but not made from olive oil. And that's okay too.

http://www.msodistributing.com/soapflakes.html

If you really get adventuresome try making your own homemade soap; check out a few online videos. :wink_smil

 

[AAAndrew]

So, I finished the cane this evening.

First the soap finish. It was surprisingly easy and I'm quite happy with the results.

I first grated a pure Castille soap bar I got at whole foods, but later found out you can also get them at many drug store. It's just lye (sodium hydroxide) and vegetable oil.

One bar made enough finish to do a whole dining room table. I stirred in about 1 2/3 cup of boiling water, whisking as I went. I used our good kitchen whisk, which is another advantage of this finish. I can use whatever kitchen tools I need since it's just soap. I ended up with a large glass bowl of thick suds and a little bit of water on the bottom. I left it overnight and the next morning when I went to stir it, it was very thick. I added about another 1/3 cup of just very hot water and stirred, and it became like thick mayonnaise, which seems the right consistency.

I applied it rather thickly and rubbed it in and then let it "dry" for about 10 minutes. The instructions I've seen just mention "a few minutes". I then wiped the cane down with a dry cloth and rubbed it again. I did this three times and was able to put three coats on in less than an hour. I needed no gloves, no mask, no "good ventilation" (could have done it over the bathtub) and clean up was just rinsing my hands in the sink.

The final finish is smooth, and practically not there. The wood went from a rather flat white to having a subtle bit of a glow in good light. It went from raw bone to polished ivory. It feels good under the hand, and I think will work quite well for the cane. I would definitely use it on a hallway table or bookshelf or even a dining table made of a light wood. I have not idea what it would do with dark wood. That should be a future test. Perhaps if you finish with a plane rather than sandpaper it may make a difference.

Anyway, as I said, I'm quite happy with the cane. It's American Hornbeam that grew around a honeysuckle vine in my back yard. The hardness of the wood helps make it quite strong, even though the bottom part of the cane is only 5/8" in diameter. The tip is from Lee Valley. My son calls it the Dragon Bone Cane because it does look a lot like bone.

Enjoy!