Because shellack is a good sealing for the finish (stained and unstained) but only get into the surfaces pores of the briar (perhaps a little bit deeper), I'll write something about sealing wit oil.
So, the treatment with linseed and Danish Oil will be still the same, but linseed oil needs more time for drying, aprroximately up to two weeks - Danish Oil dries withn 8 to 48 hours!Tung oil, Tung is a tree found in China and Africa and some South American countries.
"Linseed oil is extracted from the seeds of the flax plant by steaming and crushing them. Raw linseed oil is boiled to remove impurities and helps to make the oil dry faster.
"Danish oil is simply a mix of of various oils such as Tung and Linseed Oil with some additives to aid drying.
"Teak oil is fundamentally a mixture of various oils extracted from vegetables. It has nothing to do with the wood Teak.
"Boiled linseed oil and Danish oil are probably the best oils to use, linseed oil can be thinned 50 - 50 with white spirit to aid application and vastly speed up drying time, the white spirit simply evaporates. Another excellent oil to use is Rustin's Danish oil, which is a blend of various natural oils and synthetic resins which provide excellent hardening and drying properties. It forms a very tough seal on worktops."
The effect of this oils is that they will get deeper into the briar and react slowly with the air's oxygen to polimerise and get hard. After finishing this polimerisation they're neutral in relation to smell and taste! They'll close the briars pores much more deeper than shellack and they're harder after that process. An oily gloss remains on the surface but if you feel with your fingers it isn't greasily at all - it's just the shining surface.
Using oils after staining (or without staining) will fix the stain and/or seal the briar. Oils always bright up the stain so it'll be a little bit (of course) brighter after this treatment - unstained briar will be glossy and the structure of the briar will appear in a nice contrast (have a look at my #4: http://www.pipemakersforum.com/modules. ... pic&t=1825)
The finish can be polished with carnauba wax to get a more glossy finish or just polished to get a semi glossy finish.
To finish with one of the oils just use a cotton wool cloth or -as I do - a kleenex, put some oil on it and wipe off the briar bountiful. Wait about a few minuites to allow the oil to get into the briar and wipe off with another cloth. Let it dry for 4 to 8 hours and repeat this steps 2 times. After that allow drying for 24 to 48 hours. If you don't feel any greasy film on the briar with your fingers it'll be dry enough to polish with carnauba as usal.
Take care of the self inflame of oil conterminated clothes - I'll always burn them after use! Also be care to use the oils in portions - they'll react with oxygen and polimerise. I'll always take them out in portions from and never pour them back into the original bottle!
Any questions?
Greetings,
Heinz_D
-- I think it might be a safer alternative to some of the other finishes.