Weathered shovel handles

[Stan in Oly, WA]

I picked up two shovel handles from a pile of items someone had put at the curb with a "Free" sign. I have more than enough shovels and other tools which use such handles, and plenty of replacement handles, too. The reason I picked them up was because they are so weathered---gray and cracked from dryness---that I wanted to see if they could be restored. Should I soak them in water, then dry and oil them, or should I just oil them with linseed/tung/some other oil, or do something else entirely? It's just to satisfy my mild curiosity, and the chances of me even getting around to it are not high. But, I wouldn't mind knowing.

Stan
 

[old]

Dip them in a good oil based varnish. Ya dipping them my be hard to do but that is one of the best ways to make sure it soaks in deep. There is a place just up the road from me that dip paints all there boat trailers and they do so and have done so for decades.
 

[showcrop]

I would sand them first, Not going crazy with it, but some fairly coarse first to take down the ridges, then some finer grade to smooth it. Then apply the preservative.
 

[Glenn F.]

Linseed oil
 

[Hal/Eastern WA]

What I like to do is soak my wooden handles in boiled linseed oil. I have a PVC tube with a cap on one end that works well. After soaking a few days, I let the handle hang to drip dry. Unless a handle is really far gone (like rotten), this procedure makes them a lot nicer. With a little sanding sometimes, the handles last a lot longer and feel like new ones. Good luck!
 

[Bret4207]

Sand it down and put the linseed to it.
 

[36 Coupe]

New boat oars have no varnish on the handles.Varnish on an axe handle will give you sore hands.Boiled linseed oil is the best and keep them out of the weather.Keep wood handled tools out of heated buildings.Heat makes the wood shrink and you will learn where the term fly off the handle comes from.
 

[Pale Rider]

Offer them to the county. They should be in good enough shape to lean on. No danger they will be used.
 

[showcrop]

[Stan in Oly, WA]

The coastal climate in the Pacific NW is the opposite of how you describe yours. Here, late summer and fall are the only dry times of the year, except for a very few days during the winter when the temp is low enough to prevent the air from holding a lot of moisture. In general, November through June is the rainy season. Those of us who can stand it like it a lot; the rest drink, or leave.

Stan
 

[36 Coupe]

Our kitchen runs 50% humidity all winter.80 to 90% in summer.Chairs nearest the wood cook stove come unglued.A wood handled hammer I keep in the truck gets loose in the summer, during cold weather it tightens up so heat seems to be a factor, not humidity.
 

[ss55]

Spar varnish works well.