Dye Job Yields Added Bonus

[Boss Hogg]

I just got a new Salt Wharnie LC200N, and it was really stiff, even after playing with the pivot tension, lubing, and opening/closing it about 500 times. Basically, this was by far the most difficult Spyderco I’ve ever had to try to break in.

I figured that the neon green (not a fan) was the prefect candidate to try out my first dye job…Did a pair of orange Friskars folding scissors that I carry in my EDC pouch as well…

Anyway, after dyeing the knife and rinsing/drying, it’s now basically drop shutty, and it’s about 10 times easier to flick open than it was before. I did not expect this to happen at all, but somehow it makes total sense that a hot bath could help.

So, I don’t know if bringing troublesome knives to a near boil is an advisable trick or not, but it was certainly a pleasantly unexpected bonus to my dye job. I may try it with some other knifes in plain hot water to see if it’s a repeatable thing or not.

If this is a well known trick that I’ve just never heard of before, sorry to act like I have potentially discovered something new.

BTW - It only took about 3 minutes to get both the scissors and knife to turn totally black with the synthetic RIT dye, and I used about a tablespoon to two cups of boiling water and a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap. The directions on the bottle suggest that it may take 30-60 minutes, but I found that the FRN was very quick to dye:

[Boss Hogg]

…

[Evil D]

That Graphite color is probably my favorite dye color, I've used it a bunch on my Caribbeans. I wish they'd make a line of knives in a dark graphite gray like that.

[Boss Hogg]

That Graphite color is probably my favorite dye color, I've used it a bunch on my Caribbeans. I wish they'd make a line of knives in a dark graphite gray like that.

I like it quite a bit as well. Have you experienced any fading over time with usage, or does the dye seem to be basically permanent?

Thanks…

[Evil D]

That Graphite color is probably my favorite dye color, I've used it a bunch on my Caribbeans. I wish they'd make a line of knives in a dark graphite gray like that.

I like it quite a bit as well. Have you experienced any fading over time with usage, or does the dye seem to be basically permanent?

Thanks…

All dyes seem to wear over time, they don't penetrate very deep. Scratches will also go through to the original color. Rit makes a dye remover that works well enough to strip the dye and start over but it won't take it all the way back to factory color.

[soulspy]

Hot water with soap is the the first thing I tell someone to do when a new knife feels tight...

I have the same knife, but I like the green. That graphite color is nice too.

[Boss Hogg]

Hot water with soap is the the first thing I tell someone to do when a new knife feels tight...

I have the same knife, but I like the green. That graphite color is nice too.

Good to know about the hot water and soap. My example was particularly difficult.

[Coastal]

That Graphite color is probably my favorite dye color, I've used it a bunch on my Caribbeans. I wish they'd make a line of knives in a dark graphite gray like that.

It’s an excellent color. I suggested a few months ago, in a thread about white Delicas, that Spyderco make their base models gray, and save black for blacked-out versions. Sal said he thought it was an interesting idea, so maybe someday…

[w3tnz]

Probably loosened all the loctite, keep an eye on the screws

[JSumm]

Yes, I kept the scales on my RIT Dye job and it does back out the screws a bit. May want to check them. Being a Seki model, some screws like to leave home.

[jegred2]

When you guys do the rit dye do you take the knife apart or leave the scales on when you do the dye job?

[JSumm]

I've done both. I think it depends on how perfect you want it to be. Assuming you are not dipping it into molten lava boiling water you should be fine to leave it assembled. Whatever, is covered will not get dyed. For example, if you don't remove the pocket clip, the area underneath will mostly stay original. I would say at a minimum, remove the clip.

[Evil D]

When you guys do the rit dye do you take the knife apart or leave the scales on when you do the dye job?

I always take mine apart, because even with a H1 Salt model that may not be effected by the hot water, the pivot and insides may have oil on them and that can cause splotchy dye results so I take them all apart and scrub them down with Dawn before dying them.