Good quality BLO works perfectly well & the finish is absolutely indistinguishable from regular linseed oil once it has dried. Avoid the cheap bargain brands & you'll be perfectly fine. The only real world difference is the drying time, everything else is pretty much the same in practical terms.
If you want more penetration from real BLO just dilute the first couple of coats with denatured alcohol which will act as a carrier & impregnate the wood before evaporating. Follow up with undiluted BLO to complete the job. Keep adding light coats till you get the degree of "shine" you desire, if you go one too many you can bring the finish back to a more matte look with a piece of burlap & buff the shine back again.
Here's an unfinished brand new stock, the same stock after a few coats of BLO, & the same stock again many coats of BLO & a couple of years later.
See the BLO didn't cause any harm at all & as I don't have to account to the RSM, the Queen, or anyone else for what I do to my property I did this & it worked just fine.
