Quick question about maintaining old wooden hilts.
I have an old kris whose handle "drinks" up any moisture my hand lets up on it. The patina is beautiful and i do not want to affect it or change it potentially with any kind of artificial finish, but I do want to make sure that this piece outlives me by ages and to do that I would like to maintain the handle somehow. It does not have that old wood smell, but rather smells a little musty like it has not been cared for.
All I've done to it was clean it with a toothbrush and mineral spirits, then added a very very light coat of Tru-oil (Which I believe is primarily boiled Linseed Oil) diluted with more mineral spirits to better penetrate the wood. I applied this finish with a cotton cloth.
It still looks its age and I'm not looking to shine it up at all (Rather I would like to keep it as it is -- a satin/matte finish -- as opposed to adding an overly glossy/glass-like finish), but I feel as if more should be done to it to ensure that it is preserved, as the wood still rapidly "drinks" up any moisture it encounters from my hand when compared to other pieces I have.
Should I apply more coats of oil? Would using 00000 Steel Wool be appripriate for this old wood? I do not want to remove any of the patina, just preserve it as best I can without damaging or changing how it looks.
(Photos are courtesy of Erik Farrow, who I acquired this particular piece from. the handle looks the same currently, but after the toothbrush and mineral spirits the dust from the crevices are gone.)
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