Canteen help!!!!!

[PaperPusher]

I recently purchased a Gardner Pattern wood drum canteen. It is presently raw, unfinished wood. I would like to treat the wood to take the newest off and to preserve it. What is the best thing to "stain" it with. I understand that Linseed oil is a no, no. One of our wagoneers in Texas said he treated a water barrel with linseed and it penetrated all the way through and tainted the water from that point on.

What can I do?

[Scooby_308]

I would think if you wax line it, then use the BLO (on the outside, of course), it should work.

[Blair]

Mark,

What wood is your canteen made from?
Wood cooperage (fluid containers) works best when the wood is wet. This causes the wood to swell sealing the seams. This is why most cooperage is left raw. If you wax the interior, the wood will not be able to receive the moisture it needs to swell properly.
I would not recommend stain. Most are petrolium based and not good for drinking. Water based stains will bleed stain everytime it gets wet and this will be on your uniform and other gear.
I would suggest you let your canteen color age naturally by sunlight and water.
Blair Taylor

[PaperPusher]

What about using a tea or coffee stain? Would it bled also?

[Blair]

Yes. I think it would, but to a lesser degree. These types of stains would still water based.
You might be surprised at how much the wood will darken with sunlight. Water, both inside and out will help the natural acids in the wood leach out onto the surface. Iron fitting will react with the natural acids and darken the wood too.
If this fails to give you the color you wish, you could melt beeswax and rub that into the outside surface of the canteen. Even a light colored wood like white oak will take on a light amber color.
Blair Taylor

[Scooby_308]

Duh, wasn't even thinking about the properties of wood. I guess I am getting old enough to have senior moments.

[Justin Runyon]

Keep it full of water with a cap-full of bleach in it constantly, change water every once and a while, do nothing else. That process has worked with my Gardner for years.

[billwatson2]

Justin assumes everyone will dump out the chorinated water and rinse it out a few times and fill it with fresh water before drinking out of it.

I assume no such thing, because I'm older than him and have seen more things go wrong. :)

A wooden canteen and a wooden boat both need to be around water to function effectively, for the same reason: the utility lies in the wood in its swollen, non-leaking state. But you don't drink water out of a boat, so you need something (chlorine) in the canteen to prevent that water from growing science project-worthy things in the warm darkness of your closet.

[Justin Runyon]

Thanks Bill. For Claification: Dont Drink Bleach.

[PaperPusher]

alright I'll fill 'er up and lay it out in the sun a few days and see how it goes. And I won't drink bleach! Thanks guys

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

alright I'll fill 'er up and lay it out in the sun a few days and see how it goes. And I won't drink bleach! Thanks guys
Don't lay it out in the sunlight, that will assist in drying it out before its time. One poster noted to just let it age naturally outside, meaning by wearing it at events, not by letting it sit out. That with the natural oils of your skin will give it a nice darker patina (like an old pocket knife) that will keep it looking like a veteran canteen without causing it wear out before its time.

[2RIV]

Also, with the chlorine bleach, you only need 3 to 5 drops of it, and small drops at that. A little chlorine goes a long, long way. In the healthcare setting, we use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, and even that is much, much stronger than is really needed. I would change the mix fairly often the first few times, to account for the amount of bleach that will soak into the, and decrease the concentration in the water itself. After a short time, you will probably only need to change the water every few weeks. The key is to keep the ratio of bleach to water the same, so you don't keep soaking bleach into the wood (accounting for gradients and all). Also, before you use it to drink from, fill it with plain water and empty it out a couple of times to draw the bleach back out of the wood.

The wood will age much quicker from the bleach due to the amount of trace metals/minerals in commercial bleach.

[TheQM]

In the category of, for what it's worth. I used to make Gardner Pattern canteens, usually from cherry wood. I always wiped down the outside of the canteens with linseed oil. I had lots of strange and wonderful things happen to my canteens. Never once did the linseed oil ever leach through to the interior of the canteens. Of course, I didn't apply the linseed oil until after the canteen was full of water and had swelled up water tight.

I agree completly with keeping the canteen full of water during storage and the use of bleach to kill microbes. For long term storage, I just put some vinegar in the water. My canteens get the bleach treatment in the Spring and Fall. Pour it in, pour it out, rinse about four times.

[tompritchett]

The wood will age much quicker from the bleach due to the amount of trace metals/minerals in commercial bleach.


And that bleach is an oxidizing agent and aging is usually associated with the slow oxidation in the present of air and sunlight.

[tompritchett]

Bill, given the discussion long ago that we had about your sanitizing water buffalos with bleach/water mixes in the Army and your making of wood canteens, I was wondering how long it would be before you entered the discussion. :wink:

[Blair]

Submerge your canteen in a bucket or similar type container, perhaps over night to allow all surfaces to swell with water. Hang it up and let the wood do its job. You may need to do this several times. Do this outside in normal sunlight and allow the outside of your canteen to "appear" dry before repeating.
Wooden water casks, barrels and canteens were filled from natural water sorces in the period, and these types of containers allow for the growth of algie and microbes. The water can get quite slimy and nasty. Bleach, in very small amounts will help prevent this from happening to you canteen. Remember, what ever you put in a wood canteen the water will come out tasting like it.
I'm not found of the taste or smell of bleach and vinegar is little better. I do like the taste and smell of various types of whisky much better. A shot or two in the canteen before you fill it with water will allow the flaver to soak into the wood but the alcohol will evaperate out with a little time while in storage. This will even hide the taste of the bleach. Just a thought?
Blair Taylor

[mboyce]

If you must oil it, or any wood product that comes in contact with food or water, use MINERAL OIL. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and food safe,,,,linseed oil is none of those.