Another strike against using steel wool is its propensity for dipping into the pores and removing finish from them, when rather the stuff needs to be cut off clean with the surface. If one insists on using steel wool, one is further advised to use de-oiled stuff, or buy non-oiled wool to begin with. Hardware store grade steel wool is lightly oiled so it doesn't rust while waiting to be sold. And they don't use linseed oil for that purpose.
Twice in my life I sat in driving rain and watched the 'oil' finish used to both fill pores and finish the wood wash off of rifle stocks. Lesson learned in that account. Now I use barrier-type finishes for pore filling and general finishing. Final rubbing out can leave a finish that the great unwashed masses mistake for a 'hand rubbed oil finish', but one that stays put in extreme conditions.
