Sorry for the late reply — I used Rit Warm Brown, mixed with hot water in a 40-oz. mason jar. Then I opened the blade, locked it in place, and dunked the handle up to the metal collar in the dye. Left it there for 5 minutes (a spring clothespin held it at the right depth), pulled it out and let dry the coating of dye on the wood. After an hour or so, I washed off the dye residue in cold water. I let it dry overnight, then started the coats of oil-urethane.
Top to bottom: #9 in carbon, #8 garden in stainless, #6 in carbon. All handles were treated identically: sand with 100 grit, then dunk. DThe dfferences come from the wood grain and probably oil from my hand. The #6 was bought in the mid-1990s; the others saw some use before the dye job, but not too much.
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