Bone Dye Rough Ryder Whittler Pocket Knife

In this video I dye the white bone covers on a Rough Ryder whittler pocket knife. I used purple and pink synthetic Rit DyeMore solution. All you need is a pan, dye, water, and some bone! It takes about 15 minutes 👍

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

I'm the guy who originally posted the tutorial for this on Bladeforums back in 2011. Great to see people are still doing it. One word of advice I would offer is about heat cycling. I have had experienced broken backsprings twice during the dyeing process, once when the knife was put into hot dye, and once while the knife was cooling down after being removed from the dye. The problem is thermal shock from being heated or cooled too fast. What I recommend is that you use two pans of water, one plain, and one with the dye. Put the knife in cool water, and turn on the heat for both pans. When the water is simmering, transfer the knife to the dye bath, wait for the dye to take effect, and then transfer the knife back to the first pan of clean water. Turn off the heat, and allow the pan containing the knife to cool back down to room temperature on its own. It obviously takes longer this way, but I have not had a single broken backspring since.

[@seanrobinson6407]

Awesome. 1 of a kind. I used your method. Rough rider "purples" are actually pink, so I blue dyed one and it came out a purple/pink almost tie dye effect. Much deeper color and more interesting patterning. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@chrisvonpimpenstein]

Nice video! Dying knives is a great way to customize a knife. I’ve done it a few times. Here’s a few tips if you want that super saturated color the factory gets. 1) Wash the knife and then spray the knife with Easy Off oven cleaner for 2-3 minutes. This pulls any oil out and opens the pores of the bone to accept the dye. 2) using a double boiler will make it less stressful as you don’t have to worry about boiling which can cause damage. 3) preheat the knife under tap water to avoid cracking the bone or the springs. 4) use more dye than you think! And ADD a smidge of salt to the pot. 5) dye the knife for 30 minutes. Then remove from heat and let the pot cool until you can touch it. This keeps from cracking the bone or springs. Then take the knife out and put it on some paper towels. Then rinse under water temp similar to the knife and slowly turn the water to cold. Again, this prevents from racking the bone or springs. 6) dry the knife until no more dye comes off. 7) clean all the dye off the blades and inside the knife. This takes a while. 8) rub a drop of mineral oil into the covers.

[@MrBarlow]

Wow thank you! It seems like you’ve done it quite a bit and know what you’re doing. Did you submerge the whole knife in the dye for 30 minutes?

[@chrisvonpimpenstein]

@@MrBarlow Yes. Whole knife in the double-boiler for 30 minutes with the burner on. Plus another, I dunno, 15 to 30 minutes with the heat off just naturally cooling down in the dye until anywhere from slightly warm to room temp (wasn't too picky).

[@knifedelights7473]

Delightful! Thanks for sharing.

[@stuartgross162]

Great video Mr B!

[@MrBarlow]

Thanks Stuart!

[@jeroenvoss6231]

This was a fun video! You've created your own unique knife. Turned out very awesome. Thank you mr. B.

[@MrBarlow]

Thank you, I think it turned out pretty good!

[@rasputinscastle]

Cool 😊

[@jerseyknifeguy6382]

Cool buddy I like making the knives your own!!!!! I want to do a openel I want to wood burn the scales!!!!! They look so good with a scroll pattern in the wood!!!!!

[@MrBarlow]

Nice! I’d love to see a video of you burning stuff haha!

[@theprestriedge4657]

Way cool

[@daven.7685]

This is very helpful! I always enjoy your mod videos, keep them coming! BTW, an alternative to Flitz that I use is Maas metal polish, and I get good results.

[@gizmocarr3093]

Interesting process that looks like fun. I noticed some knives you did with composite handles had two tone handles and were black models. I would like to know how you did them and if the dye needs to be different for black from white handle knives.❔

[@MrBarlow]

Hey Gizmo, it’s exactly the same process for plastic handles. I Hokusai have to be careful with not warping the plastic with too much heat for an extent period of time. But the same dye works perfectly