SpyderPhreak wrote: ↑Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:26 pm
You guys ready to see something cool? :D
My sheath making buddy, Chad Pirtle (Pirtlemade leather), did a dye job on his Rosewood using some Fiebing's black leather dye. They turned out AWESOME!!!
You would think these scales were made of Walnut! :eek: :cool: :spyder:
walnut_dyed_Rex45.jpg
I might have to give this a try with some RIT this weekend...
Thanks for posting SP and for all of the positive comments from everyone!
I have been modding knives and working with Dymondwood for 25 years or so. Dymondwood isn't much different than wood based Micarta, thinly laminated sheets of wood compressed and bonded with epoxy based resin. Anything you use would need to be able to penetrate and dye the wood.
What I did is took the knife apart and started with breaking the internal edges with 400 grit sand paper, that's just a personal preference. After that I loosely and randomly sanded the entire scale with 400 grit to open up the grain a bit. I generally follow the grain structure but the material is hard and 400 grit won't make significant scratches if you go against the grain a bit.
After sanding I degreased both scales with denatured alcohol and a tooth brush.
Next I laid both scales on a couple of layers of blue shop cloth and liberally applied Fiebings USMC Black Dye to both sides of the scales. After a few minutes you'll start to see the dye drying, then I apply a second coat. Just before the second coat dries I rub them down with a blue towel to remove the majority of the remaining dye.
After that I use fresh denatured alcohol and a tooth brush to scrub the scales and remove any surface dye that didn't penetrate and adhere to the wood fibers. Removing as much of the dye as you can will remove the risk of dye transfer to clothing as all that will be left when finished is dyed wood.
Finally I rubbed the entire scales down with a coat of Renaissance Wax buffing along the way. Leave a light coat on them until it dries and buff it away with a clean soft cloth. Reassemble and enjoy.
I don't know how this process would work out with RIT or other water based products. I have used oil and alcohol based leather dye a number of times on projects like this and have always been happy with the outcome. I dyed my Caribbean scales to a dark brown with their Chocolate Professional Dye as well. No heat needed just let them soak overnight in a baggie submerged in dye.
Good luck and thanks again!