BLO or oiled wood

[villiers]

That's basically what we did as apprentices Villiers, got the stock, complete with our poatches etc to as perfect a finish as we could then it went into a warm linseed oil tank for a few hours (while we started yet ANOTHER...) After a few hours, it drained and then we went to work on the linseed, boning it into the wood with another piece of hardwood. Until eventually, the linseed gave out a deep sheen. No ridges from the scraper or lines from sandpaper were allowed. Everything was perfectly smooth. Nothing but linseed oil was permitted. And when you saw what was achieved by our apprentice examples, you wonder why anyone would use varnish!

Well, I´ve just done mine ... and the reason why it´s not done any more is

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slave labour is now prohibited.
(But the result was worth it. Reminds me of a cricket bat.