I do a lot of woodworking, building tables etc. that will get a lot of use, and normally use a polyurathane. I've also done french polishes, danish oil etc. but find I can get a very nice finish with poly. I started using it on gun stocks a couple of years ago and believe it's the ideal finish. I normally use a satin or matte finish poly, spray it through my HVLP system in very thin coats, a wipe with 4-0 steel wool between coats, a final wax when it's dry and it seems to hold up to anything and looks decent. Spray cans would work just as well if you don't have a spayer.
That's a great finish, no doubt. And I also like BLO finishes. But like I said in passing above, if you want an oil like finish with the toughness of poly, try wipe-on poly. Goes on much thinner than anything else (since you wipe it off, just like oil), and allows the feel of the wood better like oil. Biggest downside is that it won't age like an oil finish. Biggest upside is that it won't age like an oil finish.
Wipe on, wipe off, dry. Repeat until thickness desired. Do it too much and you'll just have to knock it down with 0000 wool, just like spray on poly, though.