Dyeing Giraffe Bone???????

B . Buxton

B . Buxton

Joined
Jul 8, 2001
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I'm trying to dye some giraffe bone before I send it off to be stabilized, I'm wanting multi colors so I figured I would try my luck. I want a full penetration so I can't grind through it when finishing. Anyone have good luck doing this and if you could share your process I would sure appreciate it. What types dye do you use?do you pull a vaccum? do you heat it? I talked to B. Evans and Brce said he's only done cow bone, so I throught I would see if anyone else has messed with it.

Thank you,

Bill
 
I've dyed several pieces and I've never gotten it to go very deep. It's really dense stuff. I get it sanded to where I want it and then dye it with leather dye. I tried doing it under vacuum once and found no improvement over just letting it soak for a few minutes. I've never dyed any after it had been stabilized and I'd like know how it works for you. I'd guess it will still take dye almost as well as it would before being stabilized. I seal it after dying with Deft Oil Wood Finish.
 
I sent some off to WSSI a few years ago. They said they would dye it Black. It came back a real yukky grey.
K and S will not dye giraffe, but they will sell you the dye and give you instructions so you can dye it yourself.
I have spoken with the South Africans at the blade show but how they do it seems to be their secret.
 
Tom did the gray go all the way through. I fooled with a piece of it today and I got pretty good penetration but still nothing like the stuff you get already dyed. I'll try something else tomorrow. I got about 3 ft. of leg bone so I would sure like to figure out a way of dying it. Anyone with any ideas would sure be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill
 
I don't know if the color went through all the way or not. The color was so bad I don't think I will ever use it. I'm not even sure where it is anymore.
Ken at K&G once told me to take the dye they sell, put the dye, and giraffe bone in a mason jar in a crock pot with water and heat. After several hours put the lid on the mason jar and let cool. That was how he suggested dying giraffe bone. I don't know if it works or not. You might call him and see what he has to say.
I have some more giraffe bone I would like to dye, I wish I knew how the South Africans dye theirs.
 
Just thought of this after reading your thread. Cooking the bone in a pressure cooker with Rit Dye, believe thats how it is spelled. Its the dye used to color cloths. I tried to color fresh deer bone a few years back and never got much more than just surface. Tried mixing dye with alcohol and cooking it in an electric skillet and also vacuum and still didn't get it very deep.
 
Im no help. I want to know how the old pocket knife bone handles were dyed. They go all the way through. It feels kind of greasy.
 
I have dyed several bones to make buttons and toggles, but I haven't tried anything as large as a knife handle yet. I do seem to get a nice penetration on the small items though.

I prepare the bones by placing them on an ant hill for a couple of days, the ants pick them cleaner than I have been able to get them by scrubbing, and the sun bleaches them so I start with a nice white color. at this point the buttons and toggles get cut to size, and drilled.

for a deep brown, I use a pot of strong coffee, for a lighter redder brown, a pot of tea. (about 1 qt) to this I add 1/4 cup vinegar, and the pieces to be dyed. I let sit for about 30 min, then bring to a boil. once it boils, I reduce the heat and let simmer overnight.

I have experimented with a few other "old style" dyes, some with more success than others. boiled onion skins develop a nice golden color on easter eggs, slightly darker on bones.
 
I knew a guy who used to dye bone. He would get full penetration with the all the colors he used. It took him years to figure out how to do it right. I never got the exact process out of him but I did discover that it is a combination of both vaccum and compression. I have tried the vacuum method myself and never got to far with the penetration. I tried different dyes using various viscosities and nothing worked to my liking. I just gave up and resorted to buying it lready colored and stabilized.

Bill
 
The best way that I have found to dye giraffe bone is to cut it a bit bigger than needed. Heat the bone up with a blow torch. the bone will start turning brown on the outside. Try not to burn it too much. once it is hot, drop it into a container with spirit dye for leather. Leave it in the dye until it has cooled down. remove from the container and allow to dry in the sun. I get very good penetration this way. Black dye will give you a greyish colour to the bone.
 
What is it you fellas are looking for? Dark color?
Can't help ya the. I have had good success using Woodcrfter's tint mixed with alcohol. Warm up the bone and drop it into a mason jar of the mix. Good penetration both on giraffe bone and cowbone.
But it is not dark like the old Remington bone.
Best I can get is a medium brown.
if someone will post a picture, I'll email oneof some giraffe bone. bruce
 
IronWolf said:
I have dyed several bones to make buttons and toggles, but I haven't tried anything as large as a knife handle yet. I do seem to get a nice penetration on the small items though.

I prepare the bones by placing them on an ant hill for a couple of days, the ants pick them cleaner than I have been able to get them by scrubbing, and the sun bleaches them so I start with a nice white color. at this point the buttons and toggles get cut to size, and drilled.

for a deep brown, I use a pot of strong coffee, for a lighter redder brown, a pot of tea. (about 1 qt) to this I add 1/4 cup vinegar, and the pieces to be dyed. I let sit for about 30 min, then bring to a boil. once it boils, I reduce the heat and let simmer overnight.

I have experimented with a few other "old style" dyes, some with more success than others. boiled onion skins develop a nice golden color on easter eggs, slightly darker on bones.
Click to expand...

this sounds to me about the best,
where Boiling it, water will soften bone and where it softens
that means water is getting in,
they also use Vinegar to soften bone to straighten it,
with these both as means of transport I'm thinking it should work well with a water soluble dye
vacuum and pressure can't do anything but help also. you'll have a lot of drying time to go though after.
take an egg and soak it in pure vinegar for a day or two and see what happens to the shell :)
 
Thank guys, I've been gone for a few days so I wasn't ignoring your replies.
I was wanting the multy colored bone like the bone that come from Africa. I talked to Mike at wssi and he told me he won't stabilize any bone that was already dyed so I just sent him some for clear stabilant. I'll see how that turns out before I try anything else.

Thank you,

Bill
 
Try this;
Get the better halfs vacuum food sealer out of the closet If she doesn't have one this is a perfect excuse to buy her one:D
Use the Mason jar attachment and have your stuff ready
Cut the bone a little bigger than you need
Soak or get really wet in plain Acetone so it soaks in, warm it in a hot water bath---NO DIRECT FLAME
Take your analine leather dye (Dillute 50% W/acetone) and hit it in the spots you want colored
Bone is somewhat pourus and the acetone will suck the dye into the bone
drop into the Mason jar and pull the tighest vacuum you dare do, remember you are dealing with a combustable liquid!!!!:eek:
It will bubble which is a good thing the dye is getting sucked into the bone
You might try using the bags but I am not sure they are acetone friendly
I would suggest water based dyes (Rit) if you use the bags but acetone penetrates far better especially if you dilute the dye 50% first with acetone.
Vinegar may also work for Rit dyes

Has to do with surface tension at the molecular level
How do I know this...Well you don't spend half your professional career in Class1 cleanrooms and not have the training rub off:)
 
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