How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

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SpyderPhreak
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How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#1

Post by SpyderPhreak »

I'm not a huge fan of Jade (or "Natural") G10. Ever since I got my BHQ exclusive M4 Shaman, I've been wanting to dye the scales some shade of a translucent blue. :cool: On a lark, today became the day to do it. :spyder:

Knife disassembled:
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Since I received the knife, Carothers Performance Knives started to offer some scales for their knives in "Ghost" G10, and I really liked the look. Essentially, there are a few layers of colored G10 laminated under the Jade G10, and that color shows through the Jade in a neat way IMO. Here are the blue ones I received:
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So after seeing that, I wanted to try for a blue ghost G10 scale on my Shaman. But how to do that? I've been thinking that I would just do a thin layer of dye/vinegar in a pot on warm, gently set the scales in, and keep the upper surface free from the dye. I was able to make that happen successfully, however, the dye didn't really take on the inside surface of the scales too well at all, even after an hour. Back to the drawing board. Maybe if I paint the dye onto the inside of the scales, that might do it? I tried, but still nope. Hmm...

Then an idea hit me. An easy one at that. :) What if I colored the inside of the scales with a blue Sharpie? Sounded like a good idea, but I didn't want to go "all-in" unless I knew it would work. Got the marker out and colored a small spot in the middle of the inside of one of the scales. Flipped it over, and well hey, that actually looks pretty good! :D

So off to the races! Colored the insides of both scales completely, let it sit for about 5 minutes to dry, and coated them again. I held them up to the light to see if there were any light spots and touched those up as necessary. Almost forgot to take any in-process pictures, here's the only one, before I finished the first coat. :eek:
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Here they are finished. The presentation-side scale is a bit of a darker shade of blue, because it's cut a bit thinner for the compression lock. The camera pics this up a bit more than it appears to the naked eye, but it is definitely a little darker.
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And here they are reassembled back on the knife. Not too shabby! :D They're not quite as bright of a blue as I would have chosen (maybe not quite as bright as the CPK scales above), but I like the slightly more muted look.
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Last edited by SpyderPhreak on Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
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SpyderPhreak
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Re: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#2

Post by SpyderPhreak »

IMG_4513.jpg
One thing I would do a little different next time, is I would NOT color the edge flats in the areas circled in these photos. The reason being is that those areas are somewhat exposed when the knife is closed, and you might get color transfer onto your clothes with the knife in your pocket. I actually dampened a paper towel with acetone and wiped the marker off of these surfaces with no ill affect. The color still shows through just fine.
IMG_4514.jpg
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I did, however, leave the flats on the blade side of the knife colored, as those are somewhat protected when the knife is closed. There is some possibility that the marker could transfer onto your hand, but we'll see how that goes as I use it.

One last thought; I don't know if there is any chance that the Sharpie ink could cause corrosion on the stainless steel liners. I didn't really think about that prior to doing this, but I will do some research to see if that's a potential issue and report back. For now, I'm going to leave this as is and see what happens.

Since you can get Sharpies in just about any color of the rainbow now, I suppose this could work to make any color of Ghost G10 you heart desired. Darker colors will definitely work better though. If anyone else tries this, post photos and let us know how it looks!
Last edited by SpyderPhreak on Sat Oct 12, 2019 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#3

Post by SpyderPhreak »

Reserved for outdoor pics tomorrow.

Outdoor photos which show the color much more accurately. As you can see, it is pretty dynamic depending upon the lighting. Quite happy with the results! :)
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Last edited by SpyderPhreak on Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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steelcity16
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Re: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#4

Post by steelcity16 »

Pretty cool effect with that technique! I rit dyed a set of Jade scales awhile ago and then went to town on them with a scotch brite sponge and it gave a nice ghost effect as well. I don't have the knife anymore, but it looked cool.

I noticed you posting on the Carothers board on that other forum. I reserved a pre-order FK as my first CPK. I would also love to find a HDFK in unbuffed Micarta, so if you know of one please let me know!
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Re: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#5

Post by SpyderPhreak »

steelcity16 wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 9:40 pm
Pretty cool effect with that technique! I rit dyed a set of Jade scales awhile ago and then went to town on them with a scotch brite sponge and it gave a nice ghost effect as well. I don't have the knife anymore, but it looked cool.

I noticed you posting on the Carothers board on that other forum. I reserved a pre-order FK as my first CPK. I would also love to find a HDFK in unbuffed Micarta, so if you know of one please let me know!
Thanks! :D I won't know until I try, but this might even be a fully reversible mod, unless the ink stains the G10 a bit. The good thing about jade G10 is you can change it more easily than other colors.

Post up a WTB in the Carothers BST thread over there, a good chance someone will hook you up with a HDFK for a reasonable price. I have one myself, and LOVE it!!! :cool:
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Re: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#6

Post by crazywednesday »

Super cool. Kind of makes me wish I had bought one of the jade knives.
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Re: How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#7

Post by JuPaul »

Wow, I like it. I also don't love the jade g10, at least with a satin blade (looks better with dlc imo), but I've thought many times they'd be great candidates for rit dye jobs. But i think the ghost effect definitely keeps more of the character of that semi-translucent jade look. Nice job!
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Re: How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#8

Post by Jazz »

Cool idea, bro. I like the jade, but I like that too.
- best wishes, Jazz.
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Re: How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#9

Post by JonLeBlanc »

Neat project man! I'm with you on the jade G-10, not my cuppa, but glad it exists for those who do like it, and it opens the way for projects like this!
My collection so far: 52100 Military (2); 52100 PM2 (2); 52100 Para3; Stretch2 V-Toku; KnifeWorks M4 PM2; BentoBox M390 PM2; BentoBox S90V Military; Police4 K390; S110V PM2; SS Delica AUS-6; Wayne Goddard Sprint VG-10
Wish list: Hundred Pacer; Sliverax; Mantra; 52100 PM2 SE; Kapara
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Re: How To: Easy Ghost G10 In Your Choice of Color!

#10

Post by SpyderPhreak »

Outdoor photos in natural light have been added above. :D Quite pleased with how this turned out!
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