unless an "oil" contains resins, it'll never cure ... not ever. the worst of the lot, at least for me, has been tung oil. the raw stuff stays gummy forever. the ones that have resins added, such as the min-wax tung oil flavor, will still take days or maybe weeks to fully gas off, lots depends on the ambient air temp and humidity. LMF's permalyn is pure synthetic and cures overnight, or lots sooner. tru-oil is an oil base with resins and light wipes cure overnight for the most part, and has more of an amber translucence that i prefer. min-wax fast drying wipe on polyu cures overnight, good stuff, and is quite clear when cured.
all this means is that there are finishes that never cure or cure very slow, and finishes that cure faster, and some are not so durable and some are more durable. choose wisely, but for the most part it'll be a gamble of sorts. this is why i've settled on tru-oil for a fast curing durable finish. no, it's not "period/era correct", but it's close enuf and will cure, unlike raw linseed or tung oils that never cure.
as to staining the wood, i used LMF for many years and only recently switched to kibler's aqua-fortis because it's easy, fast, controllable, and is quite "period/era correct"
