The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
How did you mix your T-88 - by eye, by volume measure, or by scale?
How long did you mix it?
How old is the epoxy?
Those dyes at woodcraft are for dying wood, and will cause some problems when added to epoxy, but if it is just a tiny amount, it should still cure ( give it a day more). If it never gets hard, then I would suspect the resin is bad.
Also, when you say, " Dents with a fingernail", is it still sticky or just soft.Epoxy isn't steel, it isn't rock hard ( and you don't really want it that hard).It needs the plasticity to withstand stress and slight bending without failure. The full hardness on structural resins like T-88 doesn't develop for several days to a week or more.
The enemy of most epoxy is its shelf life. Most are only really good for 6 months.T-88 and some other high level resins ( Acraglas) have longer shelf life. The difference in most epoxy resins is the dilution amount.....yes the cheaper epoxies have a solvent added. Solvent free resins ( the higher grade ones) technically have an endless shelf life. The manufacturer of T-88 says to test it after a year, but if stored sealed tight,cool and dry, it lasts many years.
Conversely, many of the rapid set epoxies have a very short shelf life.Some of the stuff you buy in the bubble paks at the hardware store are out of date when you buy them.
The general rule is to store cool and dry, and allow to warm up to room temp before mixing. Cure at room temp. This is another good thing about T-88 as it can set as low as 35F.
The dry powdered dyes sold by K&G are superb for coloring resins.