Howdy mtmman1,
Hopefully I can be of some help to you. I have about 40 years of playing with fine woods as a hobby, and have been making high end custom predator calls for about 30 of them. So I stock and play with all the best hardwoods from around the world. That said, I did a lot of experimenting with finishes for my calls, and continually try new things as they are developed. Still the best for the walnuts IMO is a hand rubbed oil finish, with many thin coats to build the depth and luster to the level you are looking for. Now there is tung oil, and then there is tung oil (don't use teak oil). In your case, you'll want one that is clear and pure with no additives or dryers. Yes, even it will darken the wood a little, but because you are in fact whetting the wood, but not artificially like a stain or dye does. Nor will it "plug" the grain like they can, so the figure, curl and contrast will be only enhanced and deepened. The more thin coats you do, the deeper the finish/patina you'll get. Even for my calls (all exhibition grade woods) I go as many as 20 coats, depending on the species of wood, and 12 is the least. Once you reach that "level" that you are satisfied with, a couple of three hand rubbed wax coats will seal and protect your finish. Use 100% white Caranuba for this, dried and buffed between coats.
BTW, don't use a sanding sealer - many of them will color or plug the wood. Take your sanding through the grits you have decided on, and when you get past the finest, dust the stock with a soft cotton cloth, then rinse it in hot clean water, wring every last drop of water out of it that you can, and "wash" the stock down -going against the grain lightly. This scant moisture will raise any fibers, and when dry they can easily be sanded off with your finest grit again. Dust again and check the surface. If its smoothe enough for you, its oil time. If not, do the wash/dry/sand as many times as you need to get all the pricklies off. The better the prep job you do, the better the final finish will be.
When you oil, nothing works better than the good old hand bare to apply it, and go sparenly on the oil, use your hand to spread and work it in until it almost looks dry. The mechanical action and friction will feel warm to your hand - and that's when its working the best -penetrating. Let the stock dry completely between oil coats, and hand buff them out (clean soft cotton cloth) before the next coat is applied.
Lastly, don't buy cheap products. You'll be doing a lot of hard work on the stock and you want it to last as long as the firearm does, so buy the best you can find/afford.
Hope this helps and wasn't just telling you what you already knew. EW can be very beautiful and arguably one of the best Juglans (walnuts) for stock work (although some of my Paradox rivals it and Turkish surpasses it).
Don't forget to post pictures when its done - we want to see.
BTW, I have several exhibition wood sets from Bullberry - rest assured you will be very pleased whith what Fred sends you.
Ladobe :bye:
