Bugout 535 blue to black scales RIT dye ?

[Jpd0144]

I would love to know what the hell is an ultrasonic cleaner.

Didn’t know if you were being serious or not so here are some examples of some of the machines and how they work ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning

 

[Yakkiebush]

Haha,thanks for the info.but it's a bit to advanced for this old fella .
I could just picture the wife's face when that arrived at the door,wtf.lol
Cheers bud for the info mind.
Rob

 

[loonybin]

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback !

Don’t forget to prep clean and degrease throughly ! I don’t even touch them with my hands after they are cleaned. I tend to think that has a lot to do with how well they take up the dye.
Good luck and post your results please.
Also don’t forget over night cool down and soak !

I always degrease with 409 spray, followed by a good scrub with Dawn soap and handling with gloved hands. I've had such good success with G10 that I didn't think about doing an overnight soak to get Grivory to take the dye, or to use straight vinegar instead of a water/vinegar mix.

I need to hit up the local Salvation Army to get a throwaway pan to use. I don't think my in-laws will appreciate me using one of their cooking pans for this.

 

[Jpd0144]

Great stuff right there ! Don’t forget to let temps on the stove hit simmer with an occasional bubble want to pop up. It’s like a simmer right before the boil lol.
Post up pics if you go for it !

Good luck !

Jeff

 

[luke86]

Well it rained all day yesterday and last night. So I was stuck in the house for the most part. Decided to make use of the time.
I’m very please with the results. It came out a true deep rich black.

Ran the scales through my ultrasonic cleaner with dawn and heat on low to strip oils.

1/3 original Rit liquid black dye
2/3 vinegar
1 table spoon of salt
Cap full of dawn

Decent simmer for 30 min. Pull scales let them cool in the sink. Rinse under cold water. Drop them back in and bring back to simmer for 30 min.
Kill the heat and leave scales in the pot over night to cool on its own for 9/10 hrs.
Pull scales and rinse with warm water.
I’ve used this recipe on Spyderco FRN as well with great results. My delica has some scratches and has been dropped a few times with no grey (original color) showing through. No pocket wear through dye either. Hope this holds up as well. I’ll update in time.

Excuse the grammar as I’m doing this on my ph. and in a rush at the moment. Although being a Louisiana coonass doesn't help much with that either ! LoL !

Let me know what you guys think ...

Thanks. Now I have another project. I was actually hoping they didn't turn out great so I wouldn't have to do this but those look perfect. Guess I'll be doing a set myself. I will update with some pics as well once there done. Might have to try this tonight when I get home. In your recipe you have 1/3 rit dye and 2/3 vinegar. Is that 1/3 and 2/3 of the entire solution or 1/3 and 2/3 or a cup? Thanks

 

[Jpd0144]

I used a smallish pot just big enough to make sure scales lay totally flat on the bottom. Poured half of a bottle of dye for the 1/3 portion. Hope this helps and good luck. Looking forward to pics !

 

[luke86]

I used a smallish pot just big enough to make sure scales lay totally flat on the bottom. Poured half of a bottle of dye for the 1/3 portion. Hope this helps and good luck. Looking forward to pics !

I'll post some. Hope they turn out as good as yours. Thanks for the write up. White vinegar?

 

[Jpd0144]

... White vinegar?

Yep ! ... You got it !

 

[Codswallop]

Anyone that doesn't feel comfortable with this let me know I don't typically charge any to do this for you. Just cost 8$shipping back and cost of dye depending on what color is wanting to be attempted so additional 5$-12$ if more than one color is needed.

 

[Yakkiebush]

Anyone that doesn't feel comfortable with this let me know I don't typically charge any to do this for you. Just cost 8$shipping back and cost of dye depending on what color is wanting to be attempted so additional 5$-12$ if more than one color is needed.

Well done fella ,
A hell of a nice gesture,some awesome guys on this forum .

 

[loonybin]

Well, they're soaking for the night, but I don't think they need it... They're black as night already, after simmering for an hour.

 

[Jpd0144]

Well guys ... I’m kinda bummed. I should have acted sooner. When I purchased my 535 the axis lock and tang mating felt a lil rough/gritty when closing the knife or opening it using the thumb studs. Figured it was possibly something with the half liners and grivory transmitting feel maybe a lil more than say my mini grips or 940-2 and would just break in after use. I’ve seen light weigh at times say in a magnesium framed fishing reel transmit more vibration or gear mesh than a aluminum one of the same frame design. So didn't think much past than it needs to break in or I’ll feel a bit more in this one due to its design differences.
I was eager to try and dye it as it was kind of the plan before purchasing it. Well now it’s dyed and with more time opening/closing ... it seems to have gotten rougher and rougher.
I showed up at work yesterday and to my surprise a buddy of mine purchased a 535 also. When I opened his my jaw dropped ! Smooth as silk ! I immediately handed him mine and while he liked the black scales he was shocked at how rough it was. I told him I wished I had sent it to BM before dying scales. I just hated to send it off after owning it for only 2 weeks. I continued the rest of the day on off opening it and closing it holding the blade and handle half closed almost working it like scissors. By the end of the afternoon it was really gritty and getting really harder to open close unless pulling the axis lock back. With no pressure on tang from the axis the pivot/blade moves still smooth as silk.
BUMMED to say the least. I knew I should have sent it off before disassembly and dying it !!! Mad at myself at this point.
I took it apart one last time attempting to find and smoothen anything that may have felt like a bur on the edges of the liner track for the axis. Or on the edges of the axis lock itself and went over them with a ultra fine triangle rod from my sharp maker. Nothing felt sharp but did find on a vertical wall of one side of axis pin (that I couldn’t get to) that was unfinished with minute lines in it and didn’t feel as smooth as the opposite side when dragging a tooth pick over it. Frustrated I just put it back together.
I mailed it off today. It is what it is. I wrote a note along with the BM forms I printed from internet explaining how it was right out the box ( a lil gritty ) but figured it would break in and not progress to this. I stated I don’t expect warranty to cover it after the disassembly and dye job. I just want my black scales and a smooth axis lock and pivot as my buddies. I sent it priority mail and is scheduled to be there Thursday. I’ll post back with what happens.

I’m curious most of all if I’ll get my black scales back ...

If not back to the stove ! LoL

 

[luke86]

Well guys ... I’m kinda bummed. I should have acted sooner. When I purchased my 535 the axis lock and tang mating felt a lil rough/gritty when closing the knife or opening it using the thumb studs. Figured it was possibly something with the half liners and grivory transmitting feel maybe a lil more than say my mini grips or 940-2 and would just break in after use. I’ve seen light weigh at times say in a magnesium framed fishing reel transmit more vibration or gear mesh than a aluminum one of the same frame design. So didn't think much past than it needs to break in or I’ll feel a bit more in this one due to its design differences.
I was eager to try and dye it as it was kind of the plan before purchasing it. Well now it’s dyed and with more time opening/closing ... it seems to have gotten rougher and rougher.
I showed up at work yesterday and to my surprise a buddy of mine purchased a 535 also. When I opened his my jaw dropped ! Smooth as silk ! I immediately handed him mine and while he liked the black scales he was shocked at how rough it was. I told him I wished I had sent it to BM before dying scales. I just hated to send it off after owning it for only 2 weeks. I continued the rest of the day on off opening it and closing it holding the blade and handle half closed almost working it like scissors. By the end of the afternoon it was really gritty and getting really harder to open close unless pulling the axis lock back. With no pressure on tang from the axis the pivot/blade moves still smooth as silk.
BUMMED to say the least. I knew I should have sent it off before disassembly and dying it !!! Mad at myself at this point.
I took it apart one last time attempting to find and smoothen anything that may have felt like a bur on the edges of the liner track for the axis. Or on the edges of the axis lock itself and went over them with a ultra fine triangle rod from my sharp maker. Nothing felt sharp but did find on a vertical wall of one side of axis pin (that I couldn’t get to) that was unfinished with minute lines in it and didn’t feel as smooth as the opposite side when dragging a tooth pick over it. Frustrated I just put it back together.
I mailed it off today. It is what it is. I wrote a note along with the BM forms I printed from internet explaining how it was right out the box ( a lil gritty ) but figured it would break in and not progress to this. I stated I don’t expect warranty to cover it after the disassembly and dye job. I just want my black scales and a smooth axis lock and pivot as my buddies. I sent it priority mail and is scheduled to be there Thursday. I’ll post back with what happens.

I’m curious most of all if I’ll get my black scales back ...

If not back to the stove ! LoL

You will get your black scales back and you are still good under warranty. Benchmade will still warranty knives with aftermarket parts. Those aren’t even aftermarket parts though. They are actual Benchmade parts. You will get your scales back and they won’t charge you a dime. I have called and asked about this as well as have first hand experience.

Ok so I tried the RIT dye last night the way Jpd0144 outlined in his post. The only thing I did differently is I did not use an ultrasonic cleaner. I just used some dish soap, a toothbrush and a rag. I did scrub them very thoroughly though. Otherwise I did all the same steps. I'm pretty darn happy with the results. I pulled them out and rinsed and dried them off this morning. Here are a couple pictures I managed to snap before I walked out the door. The scales are laying on top of a full size griptilian to compare the colors. Overall I'm very pleased based on first impressions. The only slight negative was the mixture did remove the black coating on the brass inserts for the clip screws. This is much more obvious with the flash on my camera than in person.

 

[ucfgrad93]

You will get your black scales back and you are still good under warranty. Benchmade will still warranty knives with aftermarket parts. Those aren’t even aftermarket parts though. They are actual Benchmade parts. You will get your scales back and they won’t charge you a dime. I have called and asked about this as well as have first hand experience.

Ok so I tried the RIT dye last night the way Jpd0144 outlined in his post. The only thing I did differently is I did not use an ultrasonic cleaner. I just used some dish soap, a toothbrush and a rag. I did scrub them very thoroughly though. Otherwise I did all the same steps. I'm pretty darn happy with the results. I pulled them out and rinsed and dried them off this morning. Here are a couple pictures I managed to snap before I walked out the door. The scales are laying on top of a full size griptilian to compare the colors. Overall I'm very pleased based on first impressions. The only slight negative was the mixture did remove the black coating on the brass inserts for the clip screws. This is much more obvious with the flash on my camera than in person.
View attachment 848513 View attachment 848514 View attachment 848515

Looks great, nicely done.

 

[Jpd0144]

Thanks for the heads up on the BM service dept. No matter how it turns out I'm not upset. I'm sure I'll get back a smooth function knife.

Darn good job on the scales ! With the brass inserts from what I've seen in the little while I've had mine they were already starting to darken from oil residue and being exposed to the air. On the back side ( liner side ) I used a black sharpie to darken them. Only the threads were left to darken when I was done. In fact not much of the threads either as I used the tip of the sharpie from liner side to sort of screw into the threads covering most of them.

 

[luke86]

Thanks for the heads up on the BM service dept. No matter how it turns out I'm not upset. I'm sure I'll get back a smooth function knife.

Darn good job on the scales ! With the brass inserts from what I've seen in the little while I've had mine they were already starting to darken from oil residue and being exposed to the air. On the back side ( liner side ) I used a black sharpie to darken them. Only the threads were left to darken when I was done. In fact not much of the threads either as I used the tip of the sharpie from liner side to sort of screw into the threads covering most of them.

Darn good job on the instructions. Worked perfectly. Many thanks. I wouldn't have had the nerve to try it without your write up.

 

[Jpd0144]

Darn good job on the instructions. Worked perfectly. Many thanks. I wouldn't have had the nerve to try it without your write up.

Your very welcome ! I hope everyone that attempts it has the success you did.

I sacrificed a set of Delica scales to see how deep the dye would penetrate the FRN after using this recipe. I was quiet surprised of the results. I actually scraped and cut completely through it to see. I even tried the Rit "undye" to see if I could get the color out to change it ... and nope ! Just took it a shade lighter. So once done this way its pretty much permanent. If you cut deep enough into the 535 scales there is blue there. But would take a pretty good cut or scrape to get to it. Also I've had zero issues with the dye rubbing off on the Delica and I have carried it quiet a bit as a beater.

Enjoy it !

Jeff

 

[billym]

Hey Benchmade please look at how cool the black handles look with the blue spacers on the Bugout. Please make black 535s!!!!

 

[luke86]

Hey Benchmade please look at how cool the black handles look with the blue spacers on the Bugout. Please make black 535s!!!!

YES THIS ^!!!!

 

[luke86]

Ok thought I would update the thread. My OCD kicked in and I decided to give the scales another treatment just for good measure. They were jam up to begin with but I figured what would a little more hurt so I put them through the entire process again. 2 30 minutes simmers with an overnight soak. They did come out even darker. If a person didn't know any better they would have absolutely no idea they weren't black to begin with. Not sure if the pictures can really show any difference but it was very slight. They look pretty perfect to me now though. If you are on the fence go for it. I had no clue what I was doing but they turned out awesome.

This one was to compare the color.