Jayaruh Shaving: Barrel Handle Jayaruh #14

I was contacted by a gentleman on TSD who wanted a brush handle in the shape of a barrel. His vision was:

brush with a medium size quality boar knot? This is my idea of a finish..... A medium red oak stain with a gray over wash with the bands being a dark rust color. All with a matte finish. Burned into the barrel would be the initials JR.

It sounded like a little much for me, but he said he would do the finishing if I could get the shape. I got to thinking about it, and I thought I might give it a try. So, this is what I have so far after some whittling with my Swiss Army knife and some sanding with coarse sandpaper.

Update: July 20

I worked on the barrel handle today using my Swiss Army knife initially by making the hoops stand out. I used my Dremel to smooth out between the hoops, and then went to some 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out more and define the hoops more. Finally, I created a knot hole using my normal method of drawing the outline, drilling holes, joining the holes, and then smoothing it out with the drum sander.

Top row: barrel roughed in (left), smoothed out (right)

Second row: knot hole to 20mm (left), almost there (right)

Update: July 21

The barrel keeps calling my name. I got out and did more sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I cleaned it with paint thinner and let it dry. Then I used some Minwax Red Oak Stain and Seal to stain it. Below are the results. In the mean time, I am researching a gray over wash.

After final sanding

Cleaned with paint thinner

Stained and sealed with red oak

I did a test for the gray wash on a piece of wood that I had did a test for the stain on previously. Not too bad, but I think I need to lighten it up a bit.