# Samick Sage - Modified, stained, and refinished



## wseward (Mar 7, 2013)

Welcome to AT. Nice work on a nice bow.


----------



## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Wow, I wonder what the mod would sell for if Samick made it that way?


----------



## icu812 (Apr 3, 2014)

RH 50#. Stained and lightly modified riser, Camo Wrap on limbs, synthetic yarn silencers. The two sets of silencers aren't to compensate for lack of tuning. I did it just for the heck of it and as a personal experiment. 

I tuned the bow to shoot as quiet and smooth as possible without any silencers, then put moleskin on the limbs where the string contacts, camo wrap around the limbs (helps dampen the area between the limbs and riser?), and two sets of string silencers. I constantly read that most of the harmonics happen somewhere in the 1/4 to 1/3 ranges, why not dampen them both? I put the heavier silencers farther from the nock at 1/4, and two very small, very light silencers closer to the nock at the 1/3 points. I have a 30 inch draw which raises the poundage, so I wasn't all that concerned about performance. I haven't done any chrono tests or anything, but I cannot tell any difference whatsoever in the speed of my 550 grain woodies. I can say the bow is whisper quiet though! Not even an audible "thump"... just the "whish" of the feathers as they brush over the shelf rest.


----------



## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

Great job on that riser ... looks like a million bucks!

I've performed a similar refinish on four Samick Polaris risers, and let me tell you, I agree with your "elbow grease" tactics on the removal of that unbelievably stubborn factory finish. However, the result of all that hard work is a very elegant and more smoothly tactile tool in the hand that belies its original price and easily looks like it cost double or triple that. 

Have fun.


----------



## Bytesback (Apr 8, 2013)

Definitely an improvement, the bow looks great! I have a Samick Sage and may have to get the stuff to try this


----------



## ShaneCuv (Jan 21, 2012)

Looks nice!


----------



## Stub (Aug 13, 2013)

Welcome. 

That does look real nice, great job on the finish.


----------



## ghostgoblin22 (May 3, 2013)

i just bought a sage, and im interested in this!!!


----------



## Chris Segina (May 2, 2012)

nice job the bow looks great

chris


----------



## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Looks nice...:thumbs_up


----------



## icu812 (Apr 3, 2014)

Thank you all!


----------



## Homey88 (Dec 10, 2013)

Sharp looking!


----------



## Spoolio (Mar 3, 2014)

Looks much better with the darker stain. Nice work!
If you're good with the woodwork, you should see about converting the riser to accomodate some tradtech ILF fittings! Just a thought


----------



## Curve1 (Nov 25, 2009)

Looks good:thumbs_up


----------



## MacIndust (Feb 7, 2012)

That looks good. I knocked out the bevels and put in a regular set as well on my Carsage. It makes it look even more sharp in my opinion.


----------



## ARichard (Feb 10, 2016)

The modifications to your riser are fantastic. I just added finger grooves and narrowed the handle on mine and will be reducing the edges as well. I want to use gun stock oil to finish my riser but am a little unsure and wanted to get some opinions. I want a natural finish that protects the wood and is easily maintenanced. I don't like poly but would consider it. What do you think?


----------



## sawtoothscream (Apr 19, 2008)

Looks great man, good job.


----------



## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

ARichard, 

Tru-Oil is a fantastic bow finish and is very easy to apply. Go to the Birchwood Casey website (Tru-Oil's manufacturer) and read the FAQ for some tips on its application. 

Prep is key to provide a smooth bed for the finish. I apply Tru-Oil is in very thin coats until I observe deepness and elegance. I feel that many coats are better than very few, especially if you plan to rub down the finish after it has hardened. I delicately use 0000 wool between the coats to nock off the dust (or goofs!). Ignore the bottle's dry times ... I wait at least 12 hours minimum between coats.

The manufacturer recommends letting Tru-Oil cure for a month before rubbing out the finish. I usually wait about three weeks (shame on me!) until I can no longer smell the oil off-gassing when I stick my nose to it. Attending to the finish earlier than that won't ruin it, but you'll get noticeably better results with the longer wait. (You can shoot the bow in the meantime if you can't stand the wait ... it just ain't quite as pretty yet.)

Birchwood Casey makes Stock-Sheen if you want an out-of-the-bottle rubbing compound (fine pumice in solution) to rub down the finish. Stock-Sheen is designed to be used with Tru-Oil. BC really thought out the gun stock refinishing equation and provide products dedicated to that process from start to finish.

You can also rub the finish with your own brew of pumice (more satin-like) or rottenstone (more shiny-like). Some folks use 0000 wool, but for me the wool doesn't achieve the deep furniture look that I prefer, and therefore I defer to the fine-particle rubs. Your choice of post-finish treatment really depends upon how shiny or dull you want the bow to look. Wool may achieve the most dullness due to its more aggressive and deeper scratches, which diffuse and attenuate more light and therefore reflect less back off the bow.

Good luck.


----------



## karl_eller (Jan 28, 2015)

That looks gorgeous, a big improvement over the standard Sage. I've always been a little on the fence about some of the Sages I've seen, but this is hands down the best.

Is there any reason why you went with the Gloss finish instead of Satin, since you removed the shine with #0000 steel wool anyway?


----------



## JasonJ (Feb 10, 2016)

Very nicely done... subtle but effective. I almost didn't notice the softened edges until you mentioned it, then went and looked at the before pic. I really like the darker color you've chosen.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Looks nice!

I never noticed that the sage has an indent in the riser.

That'd make a terrific gap reference


----------



## oldnewby (Oct 13, 2015)

That's a very noticeable aesthetic improvement over the stock sage. Nice job. 

icu812 or anyone: Do you have a sense of how far it would be safe to go in sanding down the Sage riser to smooth out the hard edges and make the design more fluid? I am inclined to try the same thing, and perhaps be even more aggressive in softening hard edges at the two ends of the riser. Does the riser feel solid enough to tolerate even more aggressive sanding there? 

And as to replacing the limb bolts, do you just look for a countersunk flat-head socket hex drive 5/16"-18 bolt of the same length as the original?


----------



## rembrandt (Jan 17, 2004)

Well done...I had one of those a few years back and it wasn't anywhere near as pretty as yours....good job on it!


----------



## MikeSea (Jul 9, 2012)

I refinished a friends sage riser in a more simplistic way. I think you went over kill. I random orbital sanded finish off easily and shaped with 120 grit. Finished sanding with 150 grit. walnut dye stain and walnut oil stain. few thin coats of poly in a rattle can scuffing with 320 inbetween and done.


----------

