Burning burnishing question (too long to edit)
David Barnett - Venice, Florida
>Oh, where to start? I guess I should say right off that burnishing is a whole lot of things with one name, and that burnishing can be done after a finish is applied (most common), before adding a finish, to control penetration, for example (less common), and as a primitive finish in itself (least common). Some want to make wood shiny and are satisfied with rubbing with fiber of some sort; textiles, paper (uncharged) or wood shavings, steel wool or those white synthetic 3M pads (no grit), and so on. None of these really affect beneath the outermost layer. They flatten and mash down protruding wood fibers but don't appreciably dent or compress the wood to the extent that light rays noticeably change direction. Others may wish to achieve compression by applying a hard burnishing object (rubbed, rolled, hammered) with differing degrees of force, to bring lustre, consolidate and harden the surface, and so on. One can strive for an even effect or experiment with directional and pressure variations. Another form of burnishing applies heat by friction, by rubbing with an otherwise heated burnisher, or by directly heating the wood so as to harden it, usually charing it somewhat. Shading holly veneer in hot sand is one example, as is fire polishing wood arrow or spear tips, or hardening the ends of reed pens. We're really only interested in burnishing with a hard object.
What to use for a burnisher? That's easy. Anything that's hard enough to make a difference; produce a desirable effect, and not leave an unwanted mark. Some of the things I use: bone, or more specifically, bone folders. These are used primarily by bookbinders to fold endpapers, crease leather or cloth joints, roll edges, and yes, to burnish. They're relatively cheap, apparently last forever, and you'll find them so useful for so many things I'd say buy one on speculation alone, even if you have no interest in burnishing wood. My favorite is slightly bowed (intentional) and tapers gradually to a gentle point. It used to say "Germany" on it, and I think most are still made there. Lately, I've seen mostly flattish folders than look somewhat like thick tongue depressors with a quickly taper at the very end. These may be just fine. Get one and keep looking for the curved type. They should be highly polished. If they're not, it takes little to bring them up to snuff.
Try TALAS in NYC: http://nt.bnt.com/talas/menu.html?category=188
Then there's stone. This shouldn't be too hard to come by. The traditional handle-mounted houndstooth agates are ridiculously high-priced in the bookbinder catalogs and they're not the best shape. Ovals are nice but just about any reasonably smooth shape will do. Tumbled agates are available all over the place; rock shops, kids' science stores, New Age bookstores. All you need is affix one end with epoxy into a depression in a hefty wood handle (it's helpful if you can shape one end for secure insertion, maybe with a diamond tile saw). A ferrule's a nice touch, as is a bit of shaping to make things more comfortable. Round's okay, of course, but I find that a rounded square or triangle shaped handle offers better control. Although I have a box of smaller examples, I also like a handle long enough to allow my shoulder to apply some of the pressure, which lets me 'roll' the tip for an almost carved facet on some woods (also try a 'roll-slide' motion) . This is similar to the way bookbinders use them. Online bookbinder supplier catalogs will probably have pictures of them. Try 'fillets', 'polishing iron', or 'hand letters'.
Other stones I use are hematite, jaspers, jades and synthetic sapphire half-boules (cheap and nicely shaped), and some which may never be identified. Not all of these are handled, by the way.
Ceramic is good; even pieces of china. I have lots of glass lumps that works nicely. Metal burnishers are everywhere; ball bearings, rods, whatever. I've used a small inverted silversmith's mushroom stake for large surfaces.
Wood burnishes wood. I like lignum vitae, boxwood, pink ivory, texas ironwood. Anything hard that doesn't leave a discoloring mark when you apply it is good, but there are softer woods that will smooth and polish, too. Also, you don't always need a highly polished burnisher. Some matte or grainy burnishers have their own thing going. Try 'em all, heh.
Okay, what do you do? You experiment. A lot. Different woods and different cuts of the same wood, react differently to different burnishers and to variations in how they're applied. Some woods aren't affected much at all, while some react with versatility. I like long rippling waves in some tabletops. A movingue tabletop insert just shimmered all glassy-like, a pleasing contrast to the duller low-lustre oiled wenge frame. Small boxes had a hammered texture, inside and out, that were appealing at that scale. Try a relatively hard drying penetrating oil-varnish like Waterlox, then burnish. Try it after just a few minutes, or after a couple days. I like Tried & True Original, a heavy linseed oil and emulsified beeswax mixture. The burnisher just glides over this stuff and produce wonderful effects on maples, bubinga, castello, and canarywood, perota, plain cherry, apricot. And try dampening some woods before burnishing. And waxing. Old weather-beaten wood with remnants of paint in the grain (if not too deeply recessed) can yield surprises. Embossing is a form of burnishing, too. Just play with the whole idea. That's the best I can really offer.
As for edges and arrises; yeah, you can burnish them. I treated some chessboard edges by cutting a very shallow rabbet in a block of hardwood, filed it into a slight curve so as not to catch on corners, and used it like leatherworkers 'slick' the edges of unfinished hide. Nothing much happened until I dampened the edge slightly. Then it got really shiny, dark and hard. I was simultaneously burnishing the top inwards of about an inch, which was desirable as I burnished the entire top. Burl and holly chessboards really responded well to this treatment. Looked old and really sweet.