I got wood...

[fufaraw]

I pulled out a pair of wooden candlesticks from the cabinet this morning, and wound up cleaning and oiling all my stained wood pieces. A big dough bowl, a square salad bowl, an amazingly shaped and grained salad bowl with two serving size bowls to match, a huge and gorgeous carved acacia wood bowl that's just damned art, two pairs of wooden candlesticks (there are more. I stopped myself from doing all of them), two small staved teak bowls, two staved paddle handled breadboards, an oak paddle handled breadboard, the Dansk carving board, a woven splint bowl from the 70s, a wooden brandy snifter-shaped ...I have no idea what the purpose is, but it's pretty, and two small sandwich boards. Oh, and my laminated teak tray.

The thing with oiling wood is that dry wood swells when it gets wet. Part of oiling it is to seal the pores so water doesn't get in and make the wood swell and crack. But if the wood's dry and you use too much oil, it still swells and can crack. The trick is to slather the oil on, wipe it down a *little* bit, so it's not dripping, and let it set for about an hour. Then go back and wipe it down again, removing the excess oil, leaving just a thin sheen of oil. Then depending how dry it was, after another hour or two, or the next day, polish it dry, and it should be fine for several months. All my pieces look so gorgeous now!

I still have to do my unstained raw cutting boards. I use mineral oil on everything. I made the mistake of using vegetable oil, and my raw wood mortar and pestle is still dark and ooky looking. I sanded it for *years* to finally get down to where the wood wasn't gummy and tacky from the veg oil. So, mineral oil only.

For cutting boards I have used bleach, sparingly, and I've sanded out dimples from the meat hammer--which I no longer use. The dimples look cool, though. "Mess with me and I'll do the same to you! Ha!"--and water rings. But what I do now is sprinkle coarse sea salt on the surface and scrub with a cut half of a lemon. It bleaches and disinfects, and is totally food safe. Once it's clean, you rinse it and pat it dry, then let it set for at least an hour to evaporate any water, and then rub it down with mineral oil. I like to use my fingers--the oil seems to penetrate the pores of the wood better from the warmth and texture of my fingertips (or palm, depending on the size of the board) than with a paper towel or other applicator. Anyway, I do both surfaces and the edges and then leave the board either leaning against the backsplash or upright in a dish drainer for an hour or two, then go back and wipe off any excess, and if the piece is small enough to fit in the sink, a quick dose of dish soap and water, rinse well, pat dry, let air dry so all surfaces have air, and you're good to go.

Ironically? OH does 99% of the cooking, and he uses plastic cutting boards. I insist on having my wooden ones (that I used when *I* ruled the kitchen) out where I can see them. I think they're pretty.

I...may have a thing for wood. Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. Well, yeah, that kind of wood, too.

Comments

[roxy]

Whu...what? Gutter? Why, I never! I admire a fine grain and a subtle sheen - oh all right. Busted.

[fufaraw]

*G*

[tabaqui]

Beautiful, artistic wood, whether it be cutting boards or bowls or furniture, is always a joy. I love dark finishes and cherry wood, myself.

But holy gods - that's way too much work for me. I'll take my glass cutting boars (backpainted with winter birds), thank you. :)

They sound gorgeous, though.

[fufaraw]

I'm a tactile person, my fingers itch to touch. I cut hair, I used to sew by hand and fight with the machine, I dressed windows, I worked in the costume shop at theater school but my go to was improv. Someone's ruffle come loose in the second act? I got it. Uncurl their wig? I got it. On the spot, fingers in it.

Part of ownership for me is the caretaking. That's part of the joy.

Right now I'm looking at my small forest of brass candlesticks and wondering, should I break out the Brasso and bring them all to a like-new shine? Or should I honor the accrued patina and make do with soap, water, and gentle buffing?

The downside of this is, well, for example, last night, I finally got to dress a display shelf. Not too many things, lots of air between the things. So, the cat candleholder, the two books, the crystal bookend, and the pair of brass candlesticks. I spent, no joke, nearly an hour pushing the candlesticks closer together, backing off and looking from one angle, then another. Angling them behind the cat and backing off to look again. Pushing them a bit right and farther apart--no, they don't look like a pair that far apart, back together. Angling the cat an inch to the right, then halfway back to center, pulling it forward an inch on the shelf, and viewing from several angles until I was satisfied.

It's exhausting sometimes, living in my brain. Which is why an hour oiling and buffing wood now and then is a nice basketweaving exercize.

[tabaqui]

It's weird. On the one hand, i love to touch interesting branches, run my hand over grass or leaves, stroke rocks, touch bricks or carved wood....

But running my hands over fabric (most of it) creeps me out, as does touching hair skin, or carpeting, or textured walls....

I guess i have a bit of the opposite going on. I've got an old (wooden) dresser in the living room, and above it two shelves, and they are just...filled with *things*. Rocks, shells, branches, little boxes, fossils, feathers....

I always have so much stuff to arrange, heh! I finally gave up and put most of the rocks in bowls or jars, because i had so fucking many. Of course, they have to be put in in a good order, so the really interesting ones are on top, and the *really* good ones are laid out..... :)

I can see where endless, tiny, fussing at something would be damn head-ache inducing.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I initially read through this post without taking note of the title, then I was all set to write something coherent and intelligent and witty, then I read the subject line - I'm a twelve year old boy - I can't stop giggling!

Anyway! LOL!

Sounds to me like a thoroughly productive day!!!

[onlythefireborn.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of bamboo cutting boards and have used bamboo oil on those - and wound up using it on several other wood pretties, too.

[aerynsun5.livejournal.com]

OK, I read the title, and giggled like a 12-year-old boy. :)

You are too interesting, love.