Antler dyeing

[greyhunter]

Bought a Solingen blade  knife with  a stag handle. The blade appears to have never been sharpened, but the stag handle is colorless. ie. white. What can I use to make the handle antler color again ? The handle will come off easily as the tang is threaded as on most solingen deer knives. So it can be easily dipped in a solution. Any ideas? Thanks, GH.

[pathfinder]

I like potasium permaginate,Dixe sells it as a product know as "Old Bone's" Don't get it on yer hands unless you like brown fingers.

[Riley/MN]

could also try strong coffee or tea....(works on my teeth )

[mike rumping]

rub some fiebings leather dye into it. let it dry and then rub some linseed oil over it.

[Pichou]

Leather dye works great but if it is a old dishwater handle it might soak up more than you want.  You can dilute the Feibings with alcohol, and try a test spot.

Let me know how it comes out I need to do the same.  

[cb]

I agree with Mike and Pichou - I've used about eveything out there over teh last 40+ years for dying bone and antler (essentially the same) and have found the Fiebings Leather Dye (I use the regular not the Oil Dye) to be the best by far. PP works OK, but over time it tends to fade and get ratty looking especially if not properly neutralized.
Too see the various "looks" you can get with leather dye on antler you can take a look at my website - peruse teh Galleris - all of the antler handles (a mix of deer, Sambar Stag, and elk) have been dyed with leather dye.

Some suggestions:
1) to get that yellowish/brown often seen on old pieces I use thinned British Tan or a mix with light Brown. FWIW - I buy Dark Brown and thin only the amount needed at a time with alcohol to the shade I want - saves on inventorying several shades of brown. If anything start out light and darken as needed/wanted. Each and every piece of antler is different.
2) Another option - dye with Black, Dark Brown or a mix of the two first and then quickly wipe off the excess on the surfaceleaving the dark in the cracks and grooves. Then apply a coat of lighter dye of you choice and let it set for 12-24 hours. Rub down with a coarse cloth such as old jeans of canvas.
3) You can also change the look by rubbing it down after drying with 4/0 steel wool - go slow and easy until you get the look you want. If you got too far re-apply. I tend to get the most natural aged look by doing a mix of #2 and #3, and re-applying several times.
4) For best color fastness soak the antler in the dye for a week and then let dry for 48-72 hours.
5) Some folks say you need no finish at all but I prefer to add one - I use my onw period violin type varnish - the closest commercial finish to that is Tried and Trues' Oil Varnish - a mix real boiled linseed and rosin. Apply two or three LIGHT coats letting dry thoroughly in between - hang in the sun and where it gets air movement (or use a fan on low) for drying.

Final word - if you don't like the look - clean off the dye with 4/0 steel and acetone, but if there is any porous section they tend to soak up the dye and it's hard to undye them.

[greyhunter]

Thanks for all the info, will try to find some leather dye locally. tea did stain but looks like it will be short lived, so will get leather dye. Another option would be to use a piece of my antler inventory and replace the white handle. Nice article in last March April issue of Backwoodsman on Solingen knives. Always admired them used by the  adult deer hunters, when I was growing up.  Will put an edge on this one and take it hunting this year. Regards GH.

[jmforge]

+1 on what Chuck said. Take a look at my website.  Every stag handle you see there is done Fiebings.  Some were grayish white before i dyed them because I had to pick out all of the field crud and petrified velvet from the crevasses.  Light brown works the best especially if you are going for an "antiqued" look.  British Tan can get the same effect, but it takes more coats.  Even yellow will get you there eventually, but more so with maple than stag.  You can make it as dark or light as you want and if it is too dark, you can rub it with OOOO steel wool and lighten it up.  The smoother the spot, the lighter you can make it.  That is how I get the amber color on the "popcorn"
Potassium permanganate is okay if you are a pro.  Otherwise, you had better like purple or pink handles because you may end up with one of them after a while.  One other thing.  Apply the dye, let it sit for a bit and them rub it off with a cloth or paper shop towel and repeat as necessary.  Set it aside for a couple of days to dry once you get the color you want then oil or wax it. I'm lazier than Chuck...lol.   You can buy Fiebings at Tandy Leather Factory.  You will be very surprised at how much the satg shines up initially after you dye it.  I think that the dye solids actually polish it up because it makes it look like you sanded the sag to the next higher grit.

[woodswalker]

Mike, you mentioned needing to neutralized the PP.  How do you recommend doing it?

[Shadow Hawk]

I've done some good tea staining on hairpipe, just make sure its clean and you soak it to the desired color. never had them go back to white after.

[Sneakon]

[albumimg:go005c21]636[/albumimg:go005c21]
If the link works, I used black walnut husks to make the dye for these handles.  Seems to be holding up well.