Linseed certainly leaves a nice finish if regularly rubbed but I still have bad experiences of the black spot mould. It does start to yellow with age also = Jiff I bet your old cricket bat has nice creamy yellow colour. If you were wanting something particularly good on wood what about a more resistant and possibly even nicer finish of Marine Teak Oil. Just because it is called Teak Oil doesn't mean it can't be used on all wood.
People with million dollar boats are able to choose the best for their oiled woodwork and furniture and certainly don't use linseed. By using very fine steel wool with the wood grain and plenty of oil the most beautiful natural finish can be achieved. Just by doing a few extra coats you can get everything from the "dry" grainy finish of a brand new weapon to a full smooth polish of a much pampered older one. Teak oil is available at every paint, furniture and hardware store. Just a suggestion.
It would not worry anyone much these days but I can remember when I was a kid in the school cadets on the range. All the SMLE rifles had been cleaned and the woodwork oiled to within an inch of its life with the weekly full maintenance (all with standard military gun oil, which I suspect was probably just sewing machine oil with a fancy number???). Anyhow the upshot was after about a hundred rounds in half an hour - the kids shared rifles - the oil was running down your hand and arm as the barrel became very hot and the oil flowed out of the grain of the forestock. Too much of a good thing!
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