Custom Dyed GEC’s by Nathan & Travis

[Crappie71]

This one was nice to work on. Since it already had a patina on all the blades, there was less to worry about and we didn’t have to check constantly to make sure that there was no potential black spots starting on the satin finished blades. That is what is tough with brand new knives, we try not to take away the brand newness of them.

Let’s see the “before” picture. I so agree with you that this one really needed a change.

Here it is fresh out of the tube; I think everyone will agree it definitely needed a change. I tried to darken it with potassium permanganate, but it didn’t improve much. Now that it’s been dyed, I think it looks great!

 

[Hengelo_77]

High percentage of this year's Forum Knives are opting for a re-spray Looking a lot better for it too, those Greens...

QUESTION: Is Micarta more difficult to dye successfully than Bone? Will it be left with a matte finish or can it be polished with its new colour?

Thanks, Will

Micarta won't absorb dye, it will lay on top and wear off

 

[Will Power]

Hengelo_77 Many thanks for the info

 

[Travman]

Here is some of Nathan’s best work! I don’t think he could have gotten any closer to the colors of the Autumn Gold 85 he was trying to emulate. Thank you Jeff Mitchell for being patient while this one was being worked on. Before:

The goal:

The finished job:

 

[JJ_Colt45]

You have that young lads attention,sitting strait up and attentive,if I ever have young kids with me in the future I'm taking the 2024 bladeforums knife along.ps:you have the process down pat.

That really turned out looking great!

 

[JJ_Colt45]

Vv

That's my favorite of all the dye jobs I've seen thus far ... excellent!

 

[Oldy]

As much as I appreciate the craftsmanship at gec I can't understand some of the dye jobs,Nathan has made alot of the gec look as I would like to receive them,the reds on a handful of knives are pink rather than red,and some autumn gold just looks like a very faint yellow.i have dyed a handful of my users,the whit bone on 2 have become splotchy so I dip then in tea to give them a uniformed appearance,I don't think the white has anything to do with gec just the nature of white bone.but Travis your process has become dialed in,keep it up.

 

[Travman]

Reposting Crappie71 ’s picture. He takes really good quality pictures. I like how in this picture you can see how Nathan makes sure the jigged sections are dyed darker to give it a more factory look. Also, notice how the very top sections of the jigged sections are slightly lighter, that comes from the final polishing.

 

[Travman]

Nathan’s latest project was an underwhelming looking 39. Here are the before pics:

 

[Travman]

Here are the pictures of the dyed 39. Nates wanted to try a new color. He was trying to match the color of the Goldenrod 92.

Here it is with a previously dyed red GEC #14 for some contrast.

 

[lambertiana]

Here are the pictures of the dyed 39. We wanted to try a new color. We were trying to match the color of the Goldenrod 92.

Here it is with a previously dyed red GEC #14 for some contrast.

I’d say you were successful in your color matching. Nice job.