My stealthy detent tuned Caribbean, and distressed denim look Tilley. Was hot and cold on the bumblebee look, so went dark blue, with that and some detent tuning so it doesn't shake open, it is now a regular carry. The Tilley was looking pretty weathered, so threw it in when done with the Caribbean. Very happy with both
I've done it a few times to the Salt yellow. First I use the "Kelly Green" powder towards the pivot end to give it a lime green look. Then I finished with a fade using the "Aquamarine" liquid
hey knives&lint, you've got a seriously awesome eye for coloring, i love the examples you've shown. i've been toying around with a fade on the mint green native 5, but i can't seem to settle on any ideas that feel right. if you had one, what might you try with one of these in a non-dlc blade? i've been thinking about fading to darker greens, but feeling like it would come out too same-y, vs. what you've done with the salts, for example. any ideas?
Went for a sunset gradient on the Caribbean. Turned out pretty well I think. Used racing red and royal purple Rit Dye More. Took color extremely fast- literally about a minute for each color.
Went for a sunset gradient on the Caribbean. Turned out pretty well I think. Used racing red and royal purple Rit Dye More. Took color extremely fast- literally about a minute for each color.
IMG_4126.jpg
I love that! Could you post up how you got the fade so smooth, if you have time one day?
I love that! Could you post up how you got the fade so smooth, if you have time one day?
To get a good fade effect, decide where you want the fade to begin on the scale, then dip the scales up to that point and immediately pull them back out and rinse with running water. Then dip again, slightly less deep than the first dip, pull back out and rinse with running water. Keep repeating that process, each time moving down the scale. Make sure you don't let it sit too long in the dye and make sure you rinse with the water. (The water will prevent it from being over-dyed and really helps wash away any dye sitting in any grooves, grip patterns, etc.). For FRN, you may want to use less dye as I believe it dyes much faster than G10. Make sure you start with darker colors first
I started with the royal purple first, then did the red
honeslty kizer has been killing it lately imo. if more pocket knives wasn't a luxury i can't/don't need to afford rn, there are at least 3 of theirs i'd pick up today
I recently purchased the satin REX 45 and white FRN GP Knives Native 5 for steel testing purposes. While I like the white handle color I know it will get grungy in no time, and therefore I started thinking about colors to dye it.
I decided on gold as the target color. Using the RIT Dye More color options available to me I came up with a first pass of a Frost Grey and Sandstone mixture.
I was surprised how purple the Frost Grey dye was when added to the water.
Results after a 5 minute soak. It ended up turning the FRN a bluish-grey, which is not even close to purple.
Next the scales went into the Sandstone bath.
5 minute soak on these as well. Not quite gold but it's on the right track. Hard to tell in the picture but they have a slight grey undertone.
I'm going to marinate on this color for a little and decide how to proceed. I'm thinking maybe a yellow dye soak next to reach a more gold hue.
Models: PM2, Endura 4, Chaparral, Para 3 LW, Rescue 3, Para 3, Shaman, Manix 2, Native 5 Steels: Elmax, S30V, XHP, 4V, VG-10, CPM CRU-WEAR, K390, Z-WEAR, S45VN, 204P, REX 45 s: MT22 RWL34, MT07 Damascus, MT33 REX 76
1 minute in Daffodil Yellow (before on the left, after on the right):
Not a traditional yellow gold, but it's closer to gold than tan so I'm happy with the result. Didn't want to risk adding too much yellow and it starting to look like brown mustard or baby poop.
Models: PM2, Endura 4, Chaparral, Para 3 LW, Rescue 3, Para 3, Shaman, Manix 2, Native 5 Steels: Elmax, S30V, XHP, 4V, VG-10, CPM CRU-WEAR, K390, Z-WEAR, S45VN, 204P, REX 45 s: MT22 RWL34, MT07 Damascus, MT33 REX 76