Best way to finish cherrywood

[restever99]

I was wondering what is the best way to finish a cherry pipe?

I was thinking of rubbing in some beeswax.

I'd appreciate any other suggestions.

Thanks!

[Frank]

You'll likely get at least as good a shine with Carnauba, but longer lasting.

[KurtHuhn]

Cherry is one of those woods that absolutely DRINKS up finishes. No matter what you do, it's liable to end up a satin finish at best, unless you take the time to employ a lacquer. I have bowls and pipes here made of cherry, and the pipes almost immediately go satin even after careful sanding and liberal buffing and waxing. My cherry furniture is all lacquered, and keeps its shine forever. Despite being a hardwood, cherry is very porous, with a relatively open grain - hence the reason why it takes a lot of finish.

[SimeonTurner]

LOL! I read this the first time as "how do you finish a cherry pie".

I was going to suggest warming it up and throwing a scoop of ice cream on it.

as for a cherry PIPE, I wonder if a more liberal application of shellac would be useful? Kurt, what's your experience there?

[KurtHuhn]

as for a cherry PIPE, I wonder if a more liberal application of shellac would be useful? Kurt, what's your experience there?

Resign yourself to a pipe that isn't shiny but for 30 seconds.

Seriously.

Different woods take a finish differently, and unless you're okay with a matt (or satin at best) finish on a pipe, don't use cherry. Unless. that is, you're going to gob on the finish. And if that's the case, be prepared to have it bubble up.

[restever99]

Thanks for all the help! I figured it'd be difficult to get anything other than a satin finish, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks again!

[bregolad]

has anybody sandblasted cherrywood? could that person post pictures?
just curious

[Danskpibemager]

Although I don't have any photos of blasted Cherry pipes, they sandblast very well and look very similar to blasted olivewood. Of course this also depends on the grain of the wood. A spit coat of shellac after staining to set the stain and the matte finish looks great on the blast. Having made dozens of cherry wood pipes as practice when I first started making pipes, it became my preferred finish for this type of wood just for the reasons that Kurt mentioned above.

Regards,
Kevin