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Food-safe Finish Redux

blackhorse

blackhorse

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Jan 27, 2005
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I read the thread from this past summer on this and nut allergy theory. I just made a cherry mixing spoon as shown in the new journal and am thinking of a 1# shellac sealer coat and then mineral oil or beeswax.

Would that work?

Joe
 
I think I would skip the shellac coat and go straight to the mineral oil or one of the other food safe oil finishes mentioned by the other respondants. The shellac sealer will not hold up forever, being more brittle than oil, which soaks into the wood, and even when cured is pretty supple. By sticking with a common oil like mineral oil or walnut oil the buyer also has the opporunity to keep recoating it as they want to maintain the finish and protect the wood.

Don't get me wrong, I love shellac and use it a lot. It is safe when dry, but it is also brittle. For heavily used items used alot with food probably better to stick with edible oils.
 
I take a similar approach. I usually seal with salad bowl finish, let it soak in real good, then use a 600 grit to clean up any nibs and flatten the finish, then go over the top with Claphams salad bowl wax.
 
I have summarized the "food safety" issue in an article on my Website.
http://www.woodturner-russ.com/FSOriginal3a.html

My personal thought on the topic is that, if the spoon will be used, why not use an edible finish and not worry about it; or don't use any finish at all.

My preference for an edible finish is Sunflower Oil. It will thicken with time, but it won't harden. That means there is nothing to come off. Shellac, lacquer, and varnishes may be safe to eat, but there is nothing worse than a flake of a film finish getting between our our guests teeth while they are eating the lettuce. And, the first person with an allergy to sunflower oil has yet to be found.

A lot of folks use Beewax and Mineral Oil for the same reasons.
 
unfinished

RussFairfield said:
My personal thought on the topic is that, if the spoon will be used, why not use an edible finish and not worry about it; or don't use any finish at all.
Click to expand...

I made a handful of these too from maple and one from oak. I told the LOML to just use them unfinished. She gave me "the look" ... you know the one... where I can't possibly know what I'm talking about. So I opened the utensil drawer in the kitchen and pulled out her favorite wooden spoon that she's been using for the past couple decades and asked her "what kind of finish is on this?"

Looks like a combination of marinara and beef broth to me. Is that available commerically?
 
pencheff said:
Looks like a combination of marinara and beef broth to me. Is that available commerically?
Click to expand...

Sure is. Isle No. 9

Mark

[Of course, that's just my store, your grocery may vary]
 
pencheff said:
Looks like a combination of marinara and beef broth to me. Is that available commerically?
Click to expand...

:p :p Very funny, guys. Yeah, we have a drawer full of those two, but none of them is nice cherry, like this one (nor are they hand turned by a noted craftsman- that would be me) so I was hoping to keep it looking better.

Joe
 
Oh, That's Easy!!

blackhorse said:
nice cherry, so I was hoping to keep it looking better.
Click to expand...

Make a nice bracket, hang it on the wall, and Never [ever] Use It. :D

That way too, Shellac will do very nicely for a finish.

Oh, She wants to use it? Well, then see above. ;)

M
 
Tried the beeswax/ mineral oil (on th spoon, that is :D ) and really like the result. We'll see how it stands up now, but I prefer this over plain mineral oil and there's no nut issue.

Joe
 
Sean Troy said:
There is a very well known turner that uses all his bowls and plates every day for normal meal use and never applies a finish. He gets years of use. I wonder why he doesn't use his own finish?
Click to expand...

Nothing's the best finish for the user. For the seller, another matter. Oil flows and wax melts, and shellac becomes a sticky mess at cooking temperatures. Looks nice on the seller's rack, though.

I use walnut oil. It's a curing oil, so it persists a while longer than non-curing oils. Of course, if the user wants to get rid of that fuzzy feeling that happens after some submersions, most goes with the scrubbie.
 
scrubbie?

Michael-"I use walnut oil. It's a curing oil, so it persists a while longer than non-curing oils. Of course, if the user wants to get rid of that fuzzy feeling that happens after some submersions, most goes with the scrubbie."
What is a scrubbie?
Gretch
 
A brand name of non-woven abrasive pads for those of us who still wash dishes manually. It's used generically for similar in a lot of places. More or less like 00 or 000 steel wool in cut, but doesn't leave splinters in your fingers.

Cheaper than the same item sold in woodworking stores, too!
 
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