I've heard that BLO promotes some kind of fungal growth over time,
and museum standards prohibit use of BLO.  But it seems the operant
word here is it *might* promote fungal growth.  I've never seen any
fungal rot on linseed oiled wooden tools.  I have one plane that is
over 200 years old, and I know it was treated with linseed oil.

Before they learned the error of their ways, museum practices did use
BLO.

I don't know about soaking in linseed oil though.  Seems unnecessary.
I wipe tools down with it, let it dry, and maybe put on a couple more
coats.  But if you want to take the BLO more deeply into the wood,
another now abandoned museum practice was to mix BLO with an equal
amount of turpentine to increase penetration.  I've done this with
a number of old tools and found it efficient.  Put enough on to soak
in, repeat a few times.  A coat of pure BLO after the mixture has
dried will take care of the surface.

Mike in Sacto