Darken a new axe/hatchet handle using blood

[BG_Farmer]

Ok--here we go. To start, this ash was blindingly white. Here it is with a base coat of BLO on it.

Here's the blood/oil mixture.

Appearance when freshly applied.

After oxidizing.

That came out nice! Did you try it on metal also?

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Haven't tried it on metal. I think that the lead oxide may have further increased the opacity of the original formula. I'm unsure of how much effect would be produced on metal with the current blend, though I did go a little heavier on the oil than called for by accident.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Doing a little further research it looks as though the lead oxide mentioned in the original formulation would have been used as both a drying and priming agent to improve bonding to metal surfaces. It was also a red pigment that likely would have made the paint opaque and a true paint rather than a stain like the simple blood/oil mixture. Lead oxide was also known as "red lead", as distinct from "white lead" (lead carbonate) and "chrome yellow" (lead chromate.) Even without it, the simple mixture is giving lovely results so far. A second coat has significantly darkened it.

 

[Southpaw_Jim]

Hey guys, created an account to share something I have sometimes done in the past with old surplus military rifles.

From time to time you might need to replace a piece of wood on a military rifle, and get it to match the look of a piece of wood that has had oil/blood/mud/and God knows what else rubbed into it.

With success I have used a mixture of Rit liquid dye (found in clothing detergent section at quite a few places) and denatured alcohol.

So if I want to get that dark brown look with a slight red hue, I would use 6 parts dark brown dye and one part crimson red (adjust to your own tastes.

From what I have heard, dye bonds different than stain does.

The denatured alcohol helps it soak in and dry.

So here is how iI have done it.. 6 caps of dark brown, 1 cap of red, and about a cup of denatured alcohol.

Hope this info helps someone.

Sorry, I'm typing this all on my phone on and off for about an hour.

Jim

 

[brettdean]

Ok--here we go. To start, this ash was blindingly white. Here it is with a base coat of BLO on it.

Here's the blood/oil mixture.

Appearance when freshly applied.

After oxidizing.

Beautiful!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Thanks! Here are the final pictures after a second coat of the stain, a top coat of BLO, and more time to oxidize. It settled into a lovely sunset-like rosy bronze color.

 

[TexAg]

Wow, that turned out much softer and rich than I would have expected. Did you test this blood/oil mixture on any other wood or handle before coating that beauty? If not, you are a braver man than I. Like someone else said prior, I would be wary of the blood behaving unexpectedly, and possibly ruining that handle.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Nope--just went right ahead and slathered it on. The color has held stable at the level seen in the last pictures. A very rich and warm honey/amber color with ruddy overtones.

 

[Czechmate]

I like the torch method myself; much less chance of a biohazard... :thumbup:

I did this opinel #10 (second from the top) by shaping the handle, then torching the areas I wanted darkened then clear polyurethane over the whole thing:

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Zero biohazard from the fresh rabbit blood I used, and the look is VERY different from that produced through torching. I'm not a big fan of that look personally, but you're not alone in liking it, for sure.

 

[chuxwan]

The blood finish came out really spectacular! Also not a fan of the torched finish, or of stains.