Dyeing Bone: A Tutorial

Ah, I remember that one - it came out great!

My photos disappeared too - if I had known earlier I would have taken some more when I dyed this one today.

I'm sure I can dig up another knife to dye...
 
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Just received an 81 in appaloosa smooth bone. Wasn't happy w/ the scales, regretted not ordering the Ebony, have a Stag inbound.

Scotch-brite scuffed the polish off which looked pretty cool and felt even better in hand, almost left it there.

Use RIT liguid...took better than I thought. The pins, shield and bolsters "brassed" or took on a very pale rose gold tone that leand more toward yellow. Like the difference between chrome and nickel finish..subtle.

I died a 74 Stallion in Green Spring Bone and the bolster hadn't changed color/shade.

Would anyone have an idea why? Could it be the difference between stainless vs nickle silver bolsters?

I'm happy w/ the results.. wanted to make this a user. Gives my something to experiment on. I may try dropping the kick(s) and free hand sharpening.
 
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A tiny dab of Simichrome or similar polish on the bolsters will have them looking new again.
There is little reason to tape the bolsters off before dyeing.
 
I got a Case Barlow that was a little too orange for me, so decided to try out a dye job. This is using Rit dark brown, boiling hot water, no salt. I took the water off, mixed about 1/2 oz. of dye into a soup can, and plopped the knife in. It sat in there for 15 minutes, and I wasn't happy with the take on the pile cover, so laid the knife on its side and soaked just that cover for another 10 minutes. The pile side didn't take up the dye as much as the show side, so I still might do another hit, but overall I am happy with the new look.

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I am going to revive an old thread. I am going to try to touch up a knife with some dye. I am interested in making the sides more uniform, but I don't want to really darker the other side. I'm thinking of resting the knife on the side I want to darken in a small bowl for a few minutes and we'll see what happens. If you have any recommendations, please feel free to comment.

Best regards,
 
I did this and love the resulting color. Sadly, my return snap isn't as great as it used to be despite several hours of soaking in mineral oil and working the blades. Any suggestions?

Thanks all!

Alex in Rochester, NY
 
Had an attempt at a re-dye. Did not like the lime colour of the bone. So sanded it down so it feels much better in the hand and did my first attempt. Wanted an dark olive green, exactly what i got. :):):).

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This is after i removed as much as i could of the original dye.


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This is the finished job.
 
Nice work! I'd like that green color a lot as it looks traditional some way, but unusual in another way. Certainly looks pretty unique.
 
midnight flyer said:
Nice work! I'd like that green color a lot as it looks traditional some way, but unusual in another way. Certainly looks pretty unique.
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Thank you, it was a good learning experience. And it does have a vintage look to it. Appreciate the comments. :thumbsup:
 
Has anybody tried to re-dye Case grey bone ?
I have an 08 in grey bone and just ordered a Barlow, I can't stand the ugly grey bone but sometimes I'll take what I can get when I want carbon steel.

I want to go with a brown color of some kind, but am not sure what I could expect with grey bone.
I don't really want black but would take that over the factory color if I have to be the Guinea pig and the color I want doesn't turn out.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Is there a way to un-dye bone before re-dying it ?
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You can soak it in hydrogen peroxide, but you have to be very careful to get the timing right. There is a post somewhere in this thread with instructions from a member who did it, you will have to do a search to find it.
 
cudgee said:
You can soak it in hydrogen peroxide, but you have to be very careful to get the timing right. There is a post somewhere in this thread with instructions from a member who did it, you will have to do a search to find it.
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Thanks I will look into it.
 
cudgee said:
Stupid ME. Go to post one of this thread, and read through it, and read any links as well, this may be able to help you. Good luck.
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I found a thread by member Camillus that has a lot of good info about using peroxide.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I found a thread by member Camillus that has a lot of good info about using peroxide.
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That's the one i was thinking of. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: But a word of caution, i did a couple of re-dye jobs just to have a go. If you leave any bone in peroxide for too long it can affect the texture of the bone. So be careful and keep checking if you decide to try. Or if you have an old knife with some bone scales use it as a trial run to see the results. :thumbsup:
 
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