Custom Dyed GEC’s by Nathan & Travis

This one came from the factory as an unsatisfactory lighter red with light pink edges. I couldn’t stand looking at it so, I added dark red many times and used a hairdryer to give it just enough heat for the dye to absorb into the bone.
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I have been using Angelis Leather Dyes for the past two years. I use lacquer thinner to dilute the dye if I’m going to submerge a knife into the liquid. https://angelusdirect.com/collections/angelus-dye-1

BTW, the clean up of the knife is hard work. It isn’t easy getting all the dye out of the areas of the knife, especially if the knife had been submerged in the liquid. After physically removing as much dye as possible with paper towels, I then wash the entire knife with soap and water. This is where it gets tricky, because if you use super hot water, it will instantly patina the blades. So you want to use slightly warm water, but not super hot. If the knife is a user and you’re not worried about putting a little patina on a new satin blade, then it doesn’t matter. I will then completely dry the knife with compressed air. Then I spray the whole thing down with Basistol oil or WD-40. Then after a few minutes, I clean the whole thing again with paper towels. Then I wrap the knife in clean paper towels with a rubber band around the whole package. Then I carry it in my pocket and the action of carrying it around and the heat of my body helps displace any extra oil or dye and that will reach out onto the wrap of the paper towels.

Now, if the knife is still leaking out any dye then I have to do the whole washing, drying, and oiling process again. If after all this, the knife color did not turn out the way it was supposed to, then we start all over and work even harder and longer with even more heat to get the dye to absorb. Many of the knives I have dyed and shown off are the result of several weeks or months of working on them. A few of the knives have been very easy and only took one attempt. The easy ones tend to be white bone knives that came from the factory as white bone knives.
 
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Travman said:
This one came from the factory as an unsatisfactory lighter red with light pink edges. I couldn’t stand looking at it so I added dark red many times and used a hairdryer to give it just enough heat for the dye to absorb into the bone.
IMG_5883.jpeg


I have been using Angelis Leather Dyes for the past two years. I use lacquer thinner to dilute the dye if I’m going to submerge a knife into the liquid. https://angelusdirect.com/collections/angelus-dye-1

BTW, the clean up of the knife is hard work. It isn’t easy getting all the dye out of the areas of the knife, especially if the knife had been submerged in the liquid. After physically removing as much dye as possible with paper towels, I then wash the entire knife with soap and water. This is where it gets tricky, because if you use super hot water, it will instantly patina the blades. So you want to use slightly warm water, but not super hot. If the knife is a user and you’re not worried about putting a little patina on a new satin blade, then it doesn’t matter. I will then completely dry the knife with compressed air. Then I spray the whole thing down with Basistol oil or WD-40. Then after a few minutes, I clean the whole thing again with paper towels. Then I wrap the knife in clean paper towels with a rubber band around the whole package. Then I carry it in my pocket and the action of carrying it around and the heat of my body helps displace any extra oil or dye and that will reach out onto the wrap of the paper towels.

Now, if the knife is still leaking out any dye then I have to do the whole washing, drying, and oiling process again. If after all this, the knife color did not turn out the way it was supposed to, then we start all over and work even harder and longer with even more heat to get the dye to absorb. Many of the knives I have dyed and shown off are the result of several weeks or months of working on them. A few of the knives have been very easy and only took one attempt. The easy ones tend to be white bone knives that came from the factory as white bone knives.
Click to expand...

Awesome dedication with amazing results. One of my favorite threads to follow. Thanks for the details on your process.
 
We have not dyed any knives in a while. I am going to work on a few of my own knives soon. Today I am enjoying this dark red 39 we dyed a few months ago. This one is especially satisfying because the dark red color looks so good and it covers up two major pin cracks that we had to glue/repair. The only way to hide a pin crack is to go dark in color.
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This run of 39’s had a lot of pin cracks. This crack was repaired sealing it with super glue. A lot of people think it’s a more complicated process than this, however, this is pretty much the same method GEC would use to fix a pin crack. The only other option, is to replace the handles.
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I have to use magnification to see the crack now. The added bonus is that the knife looks really nice and it is a unique knife.
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