How do you turn This into THIS?

[Levi 42]

Originally Posted by Thor

BLO would be my guess, check with Hugh Clark, he can tell you what it does to the shade/color/tint versus tung oil which i think he uses a lot and I believe Tung oil is darker. I love the light color they are now. BLO when applied will soak partially into the wood but you dont want to leave excess in the checkering as it will harden into crystals. When I apply it on the grips, I usually let them set for about 5 minutes then blot out the excess. Hugh's email is hhclark@wildblue.net

Thanks Ted. I do have experience with BLO, Tung and raw linseed oil finishes with the M1 Garands I've been building, restoring and preserving over the past 15 years. I will contact Hugh however. I also like the light colored wood as contrast to the bluing.
Later...