You're very welcome Richard. You have been most generous of your time 
and knowledge since I've been on the porch, so I'm happy to have been 
helpful.

I realize I've failed to acknowledge Don Williams' excellent video on 
Youtube demonstrating use of the polissoir as a wax applicator and grain 
filling device. That is yet another use for this traditional tool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5al4CtLFebU

As well, polissoirs can be made expressly for polishing surfaces which 
are shaped - for carving, moldings or turnings. I don't know how. 
Perhaps using different material, or packing it less tightly?

There is a thread in the archive you may like to have a look at, though 
I had difficulty searching for it:

https://swingleydev.com/ot/get/229710/thread/#229710

Some of us bought burnishers from thebroombrothers.com, but that site 
has been vacated...

Unfortunately the photo links in Charlie Driggs' posting are no longer 
working. And they don't seem to be in the groups.io photos either

This is the burnisher I used in my tests. 
https://broomcompany.com/products/straw-burnisher
It's a Canadian company.

fwiw
Don

On 2024-02-03 1:38 a.m., yorkshireman@y... wrote:
> Don, � A big thank you for some intriguing factual research. �This is 
> a technique I have to try out. �My kind of finish.
>
> My problem is the lack of sources for polissoirs hereabouts. �My 
> reading suggests that reed can be substituted for corn straw - I know 
> where I can obtain some of those. �Corn straw I assume to be American 
> for maize, and there used to be a field grown near here, but no 
> longer. �If I see some I\u2019ll need to talk to the farmer about harvest 
> time. I may be able to get some wheat straw. �Back in my youth we 
> would visit an uncle\u2019s farm about harvest time so we could get in the 
> way of the work. �Good times.
>
> Is the polissoir really as simple as photo\u2019s make it appear though? � 
> Take a decent handful of straight stalks, and \u2018simply\u2019 bind them 
> together?
>
>
> Richard Wilson
> yorkshireman Galoot in Northumbria
>
>
>
>
>
>> On 3 Feb 2024, at 01:18, Don Schwartz  wrote:
>>
>> Time to finish off this test report. ;-)
>>
>> Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the 
>> test piece (paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both 
>> sections to be silky smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir 
>> retained its superior sheen. I applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once 
>> dry, I burnished both sections with brown paper. The result was as 
>> expected: more sheen to the section which had been twice burnished 
>> with the polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).
>>
>> To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. 
>> Burnishing with polissoir or brown paper bag� improved the surface 
>> quality of the padauk, which had been sanded with 400x after raising 
>> grain. Both burnishers revealed deficiencies in my surface prep, 
>> which had gone undetected before. It will become a permanent addition 
>> to my finishing routines.
>>
>> fwiw
>> Don
>>
>>
>> On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz viagroups.io 
>> <http://groups.io/>wrote:
>>> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the 
>>> lathe, and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>>>
>>> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown 
>>> paper bag or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance 
>>> of the padauk. After damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding 
>>> to 400 grit and vigorously brushing sanding dust from open grain, I 
>>> burnished one section with polissor (no wax) and one with brown 
>>> paper. The polissoir produced more sheen than the brown paper, 
>>> possibly because it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, 
>>> and because the corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better 
>>> able to compress the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. 
>>> The hardness of the padauk apparently prevents the polissoir from 
>>> abrading any softer material at the surface, which I wasn't hoping 
>>> to achieve. The sample surfaces both appear to have taken a first 
>>> coat of T&T well. The wood looks bare, but with a lovely, subtle 
>>> sheen. I will burnish my samples again before applying a second coat 
>>> of the T&T.
>>>
>>> fwiw
>>> Don
>>>
>>> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>>>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work 
>>>> for you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov 
>>>> (indirectly) from a class I attended years ago . Simple , good 
>>>> exercise, and works great . Oh , almost forgot , FREE !
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43\u202fAM Frank Filippone 
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>> AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>>>> used on Mid Century furniture.
>>>>
>>>> Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>>>> wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>>>> from the late wood) is
>>>> more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>>>> versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood,
>>>> and I suspect the
>>>> results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>>>> textural finish difference.
>>>>
>>>> Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>>>> ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>>>> plane it super well.
>>>> Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind
>>>> of finish...
>>>>
>>>> BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>>>> oxidizes. If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece,
>>>> one that is oxidized
>>>> over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>>>> re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>>>
>>>> Frank Filippone
>>>> BMWRed735i@G...
>>>>
>>>> On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>>>> Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>>>> supports, to
>>>> > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>>>> install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>>>> recently-departed Aunt. It's
>>>> > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>>>> barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>>>> applying the T&T as the grain's
>>>> > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>>>> All suggestions welcome.
>>>> >
>>>> > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> "You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
>> don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet
>>
>> \u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of 
>> reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in 
>> contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring 
>> to convert an atheist by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American
Crisis
>>
>>
>>
>> 
>

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis