dying a g10 handle

S

savanna

Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
96
Don't know if this is the right forum,but I want to dye a g10 knife handle,using the rit dye and boiling water method. Has anyone ever tried this? I was thinking the boiling water might warp the g10 handle?? Any info on this subject? Thanks.
 
I'd be most interested in this too, would like to change the handle color on my lil temp... maybe this belongs in the maintenance and tinkering section though, whatcha think Mods?
 
savanna said:
Don't know if this is the right forum,but I want to dye a g10 knife handle,using the rit dye and boiling water method. Has anyone ever tried this? I was thinking the boiling water might warp the g10 handle?? Any info on this subject? Thanks.
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G10 shouldn't warp from boiling, but if it's glued to the blade it will come off. Anyway, I don't see how this could work. G10 is glass reinforced plastic, and doesn't seem like it would take up much of the dye at any temperature.
 
g10 isnt very porous or absorbant.

i cant imagine it will take and hold dye that is water based.
 
Isn't the color on these throughout the entire handle? I've never seen a little chip show a different color underneath. So it seems to me the coloring would probably be mixed in the compound as a homogeneous dye. If you did manage to get the surface to take color, it would soon show though with the original color, from handling even.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
g10 isnt very porous or absorbant.

i cant imagine it will take and hold dye that is water based.
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+1

G10 is epoxy. Coloring it after it is cured requires paint, not dye.
 
any color change would be purely on the surface, though an oil based coloring may go slightly deeper.

the only color change i have seen take was when i applied a chemical stripper to remove a blade coating. the g10 lightened a little, and remained that way.

one of the strengths of g10 is its ability to not absorb liquids, especially water based liquids.
 
Just finished dying the handle of my zt 302 from tan to black. Degreased it with dawn dish detergent ,boiled it in about 1 and a half quarts of water and 1 box of rit dye. Boiled it for about 5 to 7 minutes and kept it stirred so it would not just set on bottom of pot. Used stainless steel pot so clean up would be easy. Pyrex may be o.k. to. Rinsed in cold water and dried . While drying I noticed black on the rag ,but after drying completely it's not staining the rag. Seems to be o.k. for now . No warping. I guess time will tell if it's going to stay black. I can take pics ,but can't post. Sorry.Thanks for all the input.
 
Its been a week now,and no signs of the black dye wearing off. Carry it every day,and gotten wet at least once.
 
Someone on here recently suggested using leather dye to darken up fading black G10 handles.

I just did it to my Caly 3, put on two coats waiting 30 minutes between each, then let it sit for a few hours.

After that, I washed the knife in dish soap and water. It removed the dye from metal parts, but the G10 stayed dark black.

I don't know how permanent it is, but it seems to work pretty well.
 
I'd love to see photos of the result. Does it look like a "normal" colored G10 (of the same color)? Try a photobucket account for the photos, btw
 
Its been 8 months and black dye has not worn off. Original color was tan ,on my zt 0302. I carry it at least a couple of times a week. Don't know if it was actually absorbed ,but handle is still black with no signs of wear.
 
I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd reopen it by commenting. I don't see how G10 is able to fade in a bad way. What I have done is lube the G10 with Miltec-1 or any other dry impregnated lube used for firearms. It makes the G10 pop back to life. Dying should only be done when going from a light color to a darker color. As stated previously some G10 won't even take the rit dye. What I personally will try is transting and rubbing alcohol. I haven't seed anyone use that method before.
 
Gonna try this on my Benchmade 950 rift tonight. Yellow and green. Gonna dip half (long ways) in a slow boiling yellow then, when that's all done, the other half in green. Hopefully I will get a nice fading yellow to dark green. I'll probably lift the green some as it goes to get a darker color on the very edge to enhance the fading look. I will post pics later.
 
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