Digicam pm2 dyed blue!

Yeah I used vinegar too. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong. Maybe just super resistant G-10? When I tried FRN it was a yellow Spyderco Ladybug and I even left it overnight because it wasn't taking.

Did you dip the scales together?
 
I boiled the scales in clean water to clean them off, then boiled half a pack of rit dye in water and vinegar. Probably 2 cups of vinegar and the same amount of water. I brought it to a rolling boil, left the pot simmering on the stove while I dunked the scales together. I left them in for 3 minutes, pulled one out, saw some color, put it back in for another few minutes, checked them again, then pulled them both out and soaked them in clean water for a few minutes. That's all I did, they started taking the color almost immediately.
 
That is super cool, honestly. And so simple! I'm definitely giving this a shot in a few weeks when payday rolls around, I'll come back with my results!
 
Did you take the whole knife apart and dye the G-10 without any parts or did you just dip the whole thing? Did you heat the dye? I've tried dying G-10 and FRN before using Rit powder and for some reason I can't get it to take.

RIT dye in water with a little vinegar, boil the scales for 10 minutes or more. With a knife like the PM2 in S30V you can just boil the whole thing.

20140223-01b_zps4912d707.jpg
 
I haven't tried to Rit dye any G10, but after seeing the red one, and now the blue I think at some point I'll pick up another PM2, and give it a go. I did Rit dye my Orange Zytel Becker BK14 scales using dark green rit dye. I boiled the water, then added about half a package of dye and a few pinches of table salt, but I did not continue the boiling process while the scales soaked. I submerged the scales for about 5 minutes (checking the color every few minutes) and they came out a nice Root Beer brown color, that almost looks like real wood. I don't recommend using salt on the scales unless the are off the knife and by themselves. If you are not going to disassemble the knife, use the vinegar.

Side note: During the process, I noticed one of the scales looked like it was not going to color as dark as the other, so, when I got the color I wanted, I removed the darkest one from the solution. The lighter one I just left it in the solution a bit longer and it turned out fine. I figured out that if I stirred the solution periodically, the dye moved around more and I got the color right.

This is the only pic I have of the 14 with the brown scales. Sorry I don't have better.



I also Rit dye'd a Coyote Tan nylon Becker BK16 sheath using Black Rit Dye. It turned out OK, but I had to soak it for a few hours. It was jet black coming out of the solution, but when I let the sheath dry, then rinsed it with clean water, until all the dye that didn't adhere to the nylon was out. A lot of the dye washed out, but the dye that stayed in turned the sheath a very very dark chocolate brown. I liked that look better than black, and it has stayed brown.

Learning note: I should have used leather dye on the sheath instead of Rit dye. Also, now that I think about it, continued boiling might have worked out a bit better, but anyway...

Pics of the sheath process and finished color

 
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Zombie thread, I know, but thanks for all the good info! I did my P3 today and am happy with the results.


PNEovPW.jpg


u3Jkg1G.jpg
 
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Zombie thread, I know, but thanks for all the good info! I did my P3 today and am happy with the results.


PNEovPW.jpg


u3Jkg1G.jpg
Would you happen to remember the recipe you used, including amount of water/vinegar/dye, the kind of dye (color, liquid or powder), and amount of time you let them boil for? That looks really good I probably want mine exactly like that, if not ever so slightly lighter.
 
Would you happen to remember the recipe you used, including amount of water/vinegar/dye, the kind of dye (color, liquid or powder), and amount of time you let them boil for? That looks really good I probably want mine exactly like that, if not ever so slightly lighter.

2 cups water, 2 cups vinegar, 1/2 packet of powdered RIT Royal Blue and boiled for a total of 12 minutes. I pulled them around 6 or 7 minutes and wanted a touch more color. 9-10 minutes probably would have been perfect.
 
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