Can Amber Bone Be Darkened?

[Buck_Fan]

Hi all,
I hope you all are well. I am wondering if Amber Bone can be darkened? I have several Amber bone knives, and most of them have dark brown in them. But 2 of them do not. And I like the contrast with the darker markings.

I like this darker amber bone.

This is light for my taste. It is actually not this dark.

You can see the side by side difference in this picture.

Any help? I have heard that it is a chemical process. But then I heard it is heat. heat makes more sense. SO I have thought of a wood burning iron. Or just using a lighter. What do you think?

Bill

 

[ea42]

Bill. I think you'd likely have to use a torch, but with the knife assembled I don't think you could do it right without damaging the hardware, especially the shield and the brass, heck even the bolsters. Possibly an easier route would be to look for a darker canoe somewhere, and then sell this one. I'd imagine it'd be close to an even swap, and no irreversble damage to boot. Nice collection by the way!

Eric

 

[Blues]

Moving on over to "Maintenance, Tinkering & Embellishment"...

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Never use heat on bone!
You can use potassium permanganate or leather dye to darken it. Heat will ruin the bone.

 

[Seals]

I wouldnt mess with those pretty knives.

 

[Buck_Fan]

Moving on over to "Maintenance, Tinkering & Embellishment"...

Thanks Elliot. I never thought of that forum. Good move.:thumbup:

Bill

 

[Buck_Fan]

I wouldnt mess with those pretty knives.

With what they are telling me, I am thinking that as well. Maybe I will get a junker and mess with it to see how it goes.

Bill

 

[Sword and Shield]

Potassium permanganate or Rit dye will both work. I had some discoloration on a Case stockman, and now it sports evenly black bone.