If you dye Linen Micarta handles...does it work?

PeterPHWS

PeterPHWS

Joined
Dec 31, 2005
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I have this FSH Variant which comes with bright russet red grips which I do like but would prefer it if I could colour them black. I was wondering if anyone has ever dyed Linen Micarta? Does it take the dye...or rub off from sweat during heavy use? Would leather shoe dye work?

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Many thanks..:thumbup:
 
Would you really want to dye the grips:confused::confused::eek:

Never have, never will. If you don't like them send it back to Busse and have them changed. This will preserve the value of the blade. I would only buy a blade with the slabs dyed if I got an exceptional deal.

BTW, the russet red grips are called TAN.
 
Peter,

We can switch them out to whatever you want if you find that the dye doesn't work. Just let me know and we can take care of it.


Take care bro,
Garth
 
Many thanks Garth....I will give the dye a go....the Tan grips glow a bit red once your hands have oiled them a bit...I could do with a darker colour...very comfortable though.

I won't be selling this one...it's a keeper so I am not unduly worried on value.

Great offer though and great service!:thumbup:
 
I know a couple HOGs on here have used the shoe polish with great results. BigFatty is one of them and he says it does not rub of and will take it well.

Let us know how she turns out (pix please) and like Garth said if you dont like it he will put whatever you want on it and then you will for sure like it.
 
idahoskunk said:
dye won't stay long at all, do it the right way and send it in.
Click to expand...

I agree. Using dye is a half-hearted attempt to change the color on a knife that is anything but half-hearted. Besides, the turn-around time at Busse is not long at all.
 
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The dye will take to the fiber, but not the polyflactologicas resin. So you'll have an interesting combo of black fiber and russet-tan resin. Not a good combo.

You can dye (with leather dye) black micarta blacker with no ill effects. It stays on pretty well, I've found. You should wash it real well after applying only to get off the excess. (Ever have a new sheath or holster make your white shirt black or brown? Same thing.) But the dye on the fibers will stay on for the most part.
 
My choice for that fine chopper would be to have the shop do it. Nothing worse than a job on a nice knife done half ways.

Good luck and let us see the results which ever way you go.
 
one of my favorite Busse knives ever, consequently. I wish I'd have gotten one.

please post pics when/if you get it re-done.
 
Well I tried the dye and it did'nt take....simple black leather shoe dye.....it remained on the surface as a dried layer and would peel off....so I cleaned the dye off and soaked the knife in pure alcohol....then gave it 30 mins in my ultrasonic cleaner....that has taken the oil out of the grips from my hands and toned down the colour to a bleached Tan which is not as shiny as it was....

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I prefer the "bleached" or "dry" look on the Tan grips compared to the darker/shiny tone they take after a bit of use...but washing the knife handle out all the time is not really ideal so I might take Garth up on the offer of a change...if the dye did'nt take I doubt that shoe polish would...this probably helps to enhance an existing colour...but I doubt it could be used to change a colour...I might give the shoe polish a try and if it works I will post some pic's.....

The one thing I can say is that it is easy to restore the grips back to the original look...so there is no lasting harm done in trying to alter the colour on the handles:)
 
that looks better and pretty cool.

Magnum Hand-shaped Black Canvas Micarta would look amazing though... ;)
 
Uh, yeah.

The Busse that gets the most EDC is my TAN/TAN Meaner Street. The slabs have turned a very well used dark brick. I never clean the grips to remove that oil/dirt that have accumulated. It's just another war trophy.


CALL GARTH!!:p
 
:D:D:D I will do if I decide to change the grips...at present though I am loving using this one too much to let it out of my sight....to be fair the grips are brilliant on fit and comfort for my hands as is the balance of the knife....it needs some leather pants as the Kydex Sheath supplied has a very noisy "click" on sheathing or unsheathing the knife...I do my own leather sheaths so that has to be done first...and well...like I said it works great as is...and I don't want to part with it...so it may well stay as is:thumbup:
 
Hi Everybody,

I got a HACK from someone who got it from someone who dyed them with the black shoe polish, it did not work at all, It did look darker but when I cleaned the knife up the dye turned a weird white color.:eek:

I eventually had to grind it all off. It was a really mess.

Those are not black scales but tan dyed black then turned that weird gray color from cleaning.:grumpy:

It turned out kind of cool, after a bunch of grinding, I made a flat scaled Hack, I will have to get pics up some time.

By the way I am still looking for more HACKs :)

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dude,

that is an awesome looking blade with the tan scales, imo i would leave it the way that it is, but agree with the others if u change it, let the shop do it, that way you have two different sets of scales for the blade.
 
What you mean by shoe dye.... shoe polish?
I've often wondered what a liquid cloth dye would do.
I imagine it would be more effective, because it might be able to wick it's way farther into the handle?
of course, this is just my crazy theory! :rolleyes:
 
A good leather dye would work I believe. I used to make custom knives and sheaths and the dye I used was from Tandy Leather. It is very long wearing and long lasting. If that dye does not work, nothing will. I tried the shoe polish in the beginning of my sheath making and it did not work at all, just lightly dyed the leather is all. The dye from Tandy Leather is colored and you put it on with a swab. Its permeant dye. Its the same type of dye used on all knife sheathes and pistol sheath, so you can see its long wearing and long lasting. I am sure if there is a local leather shop in your area, they will put it on for you for a small fee if any so you will not have to buy a whole bottle. The amount you need is next to nothing as it goes a long way.
 
I have a fair collection of leather dyes and whilst they work for leather the one I tried did'nt penetrate on the linen micarta....and from David's post it is fairly clear that shoe polish is not a workable option either....so I am just going to leave it as is:thumbup:

If I do look to change the grips I will send it in for this...I might also get it Double Cut if they can do that...at present though I am very happy with it as is...if I need to use it where glare is an issue I can simply spray the blade with the same paint I carry for my rifle. It's not permanent and can be restored back no problem...it is a brilliant working knife though...and the desert cammo paint I would be using will work well with the Tan grips anyway...and for "Green" environments I can just spray the grips as well if need be...it will earn it's keep this one...I like it a lot!:cool:

Thanks for all the help on this one...Dave's post was particularly helpful...saved me making a mistake:thumbup:
 
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