Number 4 for the wife

[Kevin McGovern]

Just ground this out. I like the way the ricasos turned out.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

First attempt at filework. So how do you keep epoxy out of this when you attach the scales?

 

[Matt Rochester]

You dye it black or whatever color you want and it fills the gaps. After you grind it back down the file work shows.

 

[colu41]

Agree with Matt. Dye it black. And be liberal with the epoxy So it fills all the filework without voids. It comes out pretty sweet.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

Sounds like a plan! Thanks.

 

[grumpy_grinder]

intersting , what do you guys use for dye?

 

[knifeespoonee]

I've heard there are specialized dyes, but also that acrylic model paint might work.

 

[grumpy_grinder]

interesting! i'd like to find out more!

 

[Matt Rochester]

Epoxy dye. Most the knife supply places carry it.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

I may grind pencil lead for black. I like working with found items when possible.

 

[AVigil]

Blow it out with compressed air and carefully clean

 

[drew1972]

If your going to use epoxy dye make sure it's a powder and not liquid or paste. I bought black paste and it seeped into to wood grain. Looked horrible. So somebody recommend the power and it worked great.

 

[colu41]

I actually use leather dye. It obviously is a liquid. Its alcohol based. And I've never really had a problem the drew mentioned. May be different with other dyes.

 

[i4Marc]

I use TransTint dyes. They are concentrated wood dyes. One drop goes a long way.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Almost any coloring agent will work to varying degrees of success. The powdered epoxy dyes are the best for our purposes, and considering how important the glue-up on a knife is, isn't the best what you should be using.


I would NOT use graphite for a colorant. It isn't a dye, but it would be a bad contaminant for the resin.

Note:
Most problems with dyed epoxy are due to the amount of dye added. It takes a TINY amount of dye to tint epoxy. I use the tip of a knife to add a tiny dot of powder, and after stirring the epoxy, it is jet black. You can always add more if the depth of color isn't what you want. A jar of black, white, tan, and red will last most makers a lifetime. These can be blended in mixing epoxy to get many colors that match the wood. Use only slow set epoxy, as the dye needs time to dissolve and you need time to stir it in. One hour set resin is the minimum, but 24 hour resin is by far the best to use.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

Still need to do some finishing. How do I get the purple color of the purpleheart more even? It changed as I sanded, probably from the heat. I am not picky about the hue as much as the evenness.

 

[Robert L Sr]

Heat will change the color of the purple heart. You are just going to have to re-sand till you get the color you want. Then in a few months it will be brown again. Most colored woods do the same as they age.

 

[Yugami]

Sun exposure and heat, then apply a UV blocking top coat

 

[TexasWade]

I've been known to do some guitar work now and then and found that the black epoxy sold by Stewart-MacDonald is excellent in both color and consistency. I'd definitely recommend shopping Stew-Mac rather than mixing up any kind of adhesive/dust concoction.

 

[grumpy_grinder]

Just found elan-tron epoxy at work ... It's black and strong enough to use for patching a cracked komatsu Diesel engine for a haul truck