Question about dying the scale on the Southard....

[clockman]

To the guys who have dyed the scale on your Southard.

How much liquid or powder dye and how much water did you use ? Any other details ?

I saw some dye at a store yesterday,liquid and powder, with instruction for dying fabric. These instruction didn't help much for

the amount of dye and water for a very small item.

Comments from guys that have dyed the scales on their Southard would be great.

 

[Evil D]

I just dyed my M4 Manix 2, which also has a tan scale (though a bit different, I guess the Southard is "brown"). I believe I used like 2 cups of water...it's honestly not THAT important how you measure the stuff out. I also prefer to use liquid dye, as the powdered stuff has to be mixed into the water evenly or you can get blotchy color on whatever you're dying. You want to boil it on a stove in a pot, and make up some kind of method of dipping the scales into the pot...I used a metal coat hanger twisted up into a spatula sort of shape that the scales could lay flat on. Then you just dip them and let them sit for a minute, pull them out and see how the dye is turning out. You can rinse them under cold water and see if it's where you want it, and then dip it back in if you want it darker. As a general rule, the longer you dip it, the darker the color gets, with darker colors acting faster than lighter colors. There really is no time limit I can give you, you just play it by sight. If you're going with black, just leave the scales in there a good long while and let the dye soak in as much as it will...you can't leave them in black too long. When dying a particular color like red/orange etc, you really need to be careful how long you leave it in the dye because the shade can change depending on how long it's in the dye. Also remember if you screw up and end up with a color you can't stand, you can always just go all black.

 

[rpttrsn]

Clockman,
Check out this post for the info you are looking for. I also did mine in the wine color using the liquid following Togans instructions. Don't forget the G-10 lock stop. Below is a pic. of mine. I also changed mine to tip down carry.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1046610-Rit-Dye-G10-help!/page2

!/2 bottle of Rit
4 cups of water
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
Water brought to steeping. Just about to boil. Let it sit in the water on the stove for 1 1/2 hours with the flame still on.

 

[NinjaRyder0920]

Basically the same advice given above. I used an entire pack of black RIT dye in about 3-4 cups of water. I let the water and dye come to a low boil and left the scales (on a coat hanger hook for easy removal) in the simmering, dyed water for 30 minutes. Both the scale and over-travel button dyed completely black and did not fade, smear or transfer to clothes/hands upon carry. Good luck!