We will now interrupt the regularly scheduled programming for this good old blades micro podcast. It wasn't something that I learned immediately in knife making, uh is you know using a protectant uh on my blades uh and and what that actually does holistically to the aesthetic of the knife. But um there's there's two uh primary waxes that I use. Um I I have a big can of BWC Company's bowling alley wax um that it has a solvent and everything in it, and so it makes it uh a little bit more um you know pliable or pliable or malleable for you to be able to spread it on a blade and handle, and you know, you let it dry a little bit, uh, or the solvent evaporate out, and then you wipe it down. And if you want a more um, I'm not gonna say food safe, but a friendlier uh version of that, you can use something like axe wax. I I really like axe wax in a lot of ways because uh there's you know it's all natural ingredients, and it does a really good job of um you know presenting the knife well. But uh you know, think about this. When when you're doing your finishing work on your knife, um you know, you're sanding it, you're um you're getting everything primed, you're taking it up to its grits, you might be buffing it or whatever. And when you get done with it, um you might have you know fingerprints, or you might have um, you know dust or other things. Uh something that I do is I I wash all of my knives. If I if I can get the material wet, I wash all my knives with uh Dawn dish detergent to totally degrease it. I I don't even uh really mess too much with acetone or uh alcohol at that stage, um, especially because you know if you're using certain types of acrylics or you're using um Mikartas or things like that, and you've buffed things, you know, if you run acetone on it, sometimes it'll it'll turn it a dull color. Um, and sometimes it can actually change the color of your handle material. Um so I wash everything really well with water and dawn, and then I make sure it's all really, really dry, and then I'll usually apply a few coats of wax. So apply it to the blade and the handle, and then take a microfiber cloth, a clean microfiber cloth, and and buff it all up. Now, obviously, um you want to make sure, especially if that blade is sharpened, uh, that you do not cut yourself. Um I ask me how I know. But um the the application of wax, even though your finish might look really good and everything, adds a little bit extra to the porosity of steel. Um where I think it photographs better, it looks better to the eye, and it also offers a more uh homogeneous finish for photography. So the light plays off of it in in uh the correct way. Now, yeah, I mean, wax is not uh going to fix flaws in your finish. Um, you know, it's it's not going to uh change a satin finish to the point where it's going to be uh ambiguous or disingenuous for you to present that. However, um I think that you know there when it comes to lighting, when it comes to presentation in a showroom or things like that, um, that wax, it just adds a little bit extra touch, a little bit extra sheen, and also protection for the blade uh material um and and handle material if you use it. So um look up Axe Wax, look up uh uh BWC company's bowling alley wax. I think you can find that on Amazon and Axe Wax. You can go directly to their uh Instagram or website and buy uh cans of it. Um I use them all the time and I think that they're they're fabulous. Just use a really clean microfiber cloth so that way you're not imparting any scratches or anything to it. Watch out for the the the blade edge itself because you want to do stuff after it's sharpened, uh specifically because of the the grit and other things that happen during the sharpening process, and um you know you should be good to go. It really adds just a little bit extra touch and a little bit extra protection that I think that you'll benefit from. And um, if if you're using if you're using knives for food processes, I believe you can use mineral oil um that's you know food safe, and and that should also add a little bit extra protection and you can buff that in as well. Um, but I I try to stay away from things like uh tongue oil or gun stock finish or whatnot, uh, you know, it's just because they are um you know they they're not food safe, and they're um um tongue tongue oil at least um kind of leaves a greasy hard finish as it dries, and I I it doesn't last very long, so you can apply, apply it and reapply it, and it kind of um makes things uh gummy is not the right word, but it's definitely uh if you use it enough, you'll know that it if it doesn't dry properly um and and harden, uh, that it gets a little bit weird. And it also, as the temperature outside, like the ambient temperature increases, um, if you soak wood in it, like especially natural handled material, uh, then it uh as it gets hot, it tends to weep. Um so it will then you know melt that tongue wall and it'll start weeping from areas. So just just be careful. Um, you know, use a good coat of wax, and you'll see that it does wonders for photography, the look of things, and protecting it. Hope that helps.