RIT dye without disassembly?

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filtrum

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Jun 25, 2014
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Hi, guys, do not want to loose the guarantee, so do i actually have to disassemble my knife to rit dye the g10 handles? Is it ok to just put the knife in the solution without disassembly? Will rit dye react liners etc and with the blade? m390, d2, s90v, s35vn blades are waiting here...
 
If using hot RIT dye (stovetop method, where you add salt), it can cause pitting on carbon steel and discoloration of brass liners and nickel-silver bolsters. The discoloration of the brass and nickel silver polishes up afterwards. I have never had problems with stainless steel blades (Case 420HC) or stainless backsprings.

If you want to be completely safe, remove your G-10 handles and dye them separately. If removing the handles voids the warranty on your knife, then you have a decision to make for yourself.
 
All I've ever done was use hot tap water with the liquid RIT dye, and only soaked them 30 minutes or so, can't see that hurting anything, especially if it's a fixed blade.
 
I personally wouldn't dip an assembled knife into hot boiling RIT dye water. I've disassembled tons of Spydercos with no problems and just dyed the scales. I mean, it's a folding knife. It's not like you're disassembling rods, pistons and crankshafts or anything. If you have any kind of mechanical ingenuity, I wouldn't be afraid to disassemble. But once again, I wouldn't dip an assembled knife, but this is just my own opinion.
 
filtrum said:
Hi, guys, do not want to loose the guarantee, so do i actually have to disassemble my knife to rit dye the g10 handles? Is it ok to just put the knife in the solution without disassembly? Will rit dye react liners etc and with the blade? m390, d2, s90v, s35vn blades are waiting here...
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What knife is it?

Korean Hog said:
Same. Stovetop method worked great on my h1 spydercos without assembly, but those are the only ones I've dyed so far.
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Same also. Done several FRN spydercos. Only G10 or Micarta I've done I took the scales off the knives.

91bravo said:
I personally wouldn't dip an assembled knife into hot boiling RIT dye water. I've disassembled tons of Spydercos with no problems and just dyed the scales. I mean, it's a folding knife. It's not like you're disassembling rods, pistons and crankshafts or anything. If you have any kind of mechanical ingenuity, I wouldn't be afraid to disassemble. But once again, I wouldn't dip an assembled knife, but this is just my own opinion.
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I wouldn't either, especially not a folding knife. I never liked the Idea of water getting in all those nooks and crannies without being able to dry and lube it again. The exception being with a Salt knife. Even a couple of those I still took apart. I have disassembled most of my knives for cleaning, lubrication, and rust prevention anyway so disassembly is not an issue for me.

U9EimDdh.jpg
 
craytab said:
What knife is it?


Same also. Done several FRN spydercos. Only G10 or Micarta I've done I took the scales off the knives.


I wouldn't either, especially not a folding knife. I never liked the Idea of water getting in all those nooks and crannies without being able to dry and lube it again. The exception being with a Salt knife. Even a couple of those I still took apart. I have disassembled most of my knives for cleaning, lubrication, and rust prevention anyway so disassembly is not an issue for me.

U9EimDdh.jpg
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That green looks nice! Were they yellow or black before?
 
I've got a yellow Salt at the house in one of my bags. I think I may try this. Yellow and blue make green, so did you use blue or green?
 
91bravo said:
I've got a yellow Salt at the house in one of my bags. I think I may try this. Yellow and blue make green, so did you use blue or green?
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I used dark green liquid I believe. Left it in for a minute at first, checked, then a minute longer. Go in increments. You can always put more dye on but it's hard to get it out.
 
craytab said:
I used dark green liquid I believe. Left it in for a minute at first, checked, then a minute longer. Go in increments. You can always put more dye on but it's hard to get it out.
Click to expand...

I've dyed tons of micarta and some g10, but never any FRN. I'll try it this weekend, thanks!
 
If you use the stove top method, just give the scales a quick and even dunk and check the color. It's real easy to over do it and come out with a darker color than you planned on.
 
I RIT dyed the scales on my Cold Steel SR1 without disassembly. The color didn't turn out the way I wanted (due to my poor choice of color :(:D), but there was no discernable damage to the knife. I did blow it out with a can of compressed air afterwards and then put a lot of oil down into the action, which I then wiped away over the next several days as it worked its way back out. I think disassembly is best, but it can be done without, if you really need to.
 
Look up on YouTube on how to dissemble your knife.

If it is left assembled, you could have some areas a different shade because of the oils blocking the dye job.
 
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