"Make It Yours!" DIY Rit Dye Knife Scales | How To Knife

This week on How To Knife, Zac teaches you how to Rit Dye your knife scales at home. Learn how to Rit Dye micarta, polymers like FRN and GFN, as well as G-10. Get a knife to dye here: bit.ly/2VNC3ih
Never Miss A New Knife!
Sign Up For Our Email List: bladehq.com/ca...
Follow Us On Instagram: / bladehq
Follow Us On Facebook: / bladehq
Follow Us On Twitter: / bladehq
Introduction: 0:15
Supplies: 0:19
Knife Preparation: 0:58
Dye Bath Preparation: 1:15
Dying Process: 2:05
Final Steps: 2:36
Dying Other Materials: 2:50
Common Mistakes: 3:16
Final Notes: 3:45
Kizer Vanguard Domin: bit.ly/2KsoFuG
Spyderco Paramilitary 2: bit.ly/2ywp8tk
Spyderco Pacific Salt: bit.ly/34X5ra0
ESEE Izula-II: bit.ly/34WWFc5
Wiha Tool: bit.ly/34VtYfL
KNAFS Shop Mat: bit.ly/2wYEndW
#BladeHQ #HowToKnife #KnifeLife #RitDye

[@NormMaddigan]

That digi camo para 2 looked really cool dyed

[@TeddyRoooosevelt]

Again, I feel like this content had been desired for years but not available in such a nice format. Thanks for making these; even in quarantine, you're posting some of your best videos yet!

[@richardsalinetrojr1957]

In all honesty there's all kinds of videos like this on KZbin for dying rc car parts in this exact fashion.us rc guys have been doing this technique for years to change the colors of our wheels and other small plastic parts so everything matches.look up dying rc parts and im sure you'll pull up quite a few good videos explaining this exact process.

[@muffemod]

You have to remember KZbin is still in its infancy, being less than 20 years old. Heck even the first websites weren't around until the 1990s.

[@GLOCKCOPG23]

How deep does the dye penetrate? If the handle gets slightly scuffed, will the original color be right there underneath?

[@lindenarden667]

FABULOUS!!! A non custom shop solution! I love Benchmade but their grey G10 looks like dead flesh recovered from the ocean. 🦋

[@Liamandcompany]

Blade HQ, you guys should play a game on the channel, Call it guess that flip.. flip open knives and other people have to guess the knife being deployed. 😂 just a thought. Loving this channel during quarantine.

[@efcruzado]

Dyed a jade Texel, one side red wine, the other royal blue. Turned out great! 👍🏽🔪🔴🔵

[@HeyGeesh]

JcruzR 2 that’s my favorite color scheme.

[@CSGraves]

Crack out the ol' 3D glasses an' give 'er a look!

[@calh109]

Ben needs to take notes cus that's almost perfectly his shade of blue

[@jimboplopper5482]

This channel has a fandom at this point

[@betterbprepared]

Love these How-To Videos!

[@BladeHQ]

Glad you like them!

[@ctrip34]

Lol we need more

[@Certified..mac..818]

@@BladeHQ can you use it on zinc alloy it’s a metal ?

[@tha_carta_3]

BladeHQ- the next asmr relaxation channel

[@cal1776]

I am diying to try this.

[@samdungan03]

Oh my...... That blue micarta esee........ 💚💚💚

[@kcrad1521]

Love it! RIP Main Man Trevor shirt lol.

[@BladeHQ]

I had bought that for a mechanic shirt so now it just has some character 😎-Zac

[@chrisjaskulski8613]

Wow, the Izula turned out great!

[@theunsophisticatedplatypus4685]

Next video: “How to Cerakote your aluminum scales using your oven.”

[@grandpaobvious]

That's one for the Wheel of Indecision.

[@mrbkittle836]

how do you dye black scales?

[@DeusLachesis]

@@mrbkittle836 you can't dye black. You can dye non black to black, but if its already black, its undyeable. Bright side tho, black is all the colors combined

[@siduspulverem2001]

Wow that para blue camo came out amazing!!!

[@Flowerbandit7]

I absolutely love the blue Izula. That is a fantastic result. I might have to finally pick one up and dye it myself.

[@double_clone4609]

that para in blue, just wow

[@Grant_Gold]

Made my pm2 scales purple, love it

[@josephphillips2906]

What color scales were they?

[@Triple.Stripe.Knives]

Yay! Best how to videos on youtube!

[@BladeHQ]

Thanks!👊

[@christianlee1151]

Just dyed my elementum scales red. I Started with a brown micarta base and used racing Red ritmore dye. I put it in for about double what you guys recommended to achieve a darker maroon color and it turned out beautiful. Thanks for the DIY video

[@soulshinobi]

This was the best series, really well done. Would love to see more tips.

[@_db612]

One tip, you should rinse with water every now and then because when you check the colour, the knife will have some pigment that lays on top of the scales and they will look darker than they actually are. I dyed a mini grip (took forever on that material) from light blue to a dark blueish green and a camo para 3 red, i took more time than Zac did on that because the g10 being semi transparent will look a bit too light when in the sun, i took it till the lighter camo details weren't that much visible, if you search on google you ll see what i mean

[@3wheelmannc860]

I tried this on my RAT 1 based on your last instructional video, and also the acid washing of the blade. Fantastic content and step-by-step instructions. Much appreciated!

[@BladeHQ]

Nice! Glad these were helpful there is something so awesome about customizing your knife.

[@irvbarth2069]

Dyed my blue bugout to navy blue. Looks great!

[@iandevera5906]

Loving this series! Chill and informative.

[@ArmaDega]

Love this - thank you!

[@ronstoner1823]

Does the dye bleed later on?

[@icas80]

That Izula is siiick

[@Triaed]

I know the scales are not in the brew for long, but is there an issue with deformation by the heat? Say, FRN scales. Also, any issues with the scales touching the bottom of the pot where is hotter? I assumed you needed a deeper bath so that the scales did not touch the metal pot. Oh, one more, can you store the brew once it cools down for later use, or does it have to be tossed out?

[@richardsalinetrojr1957]

Correction.you can actually use Rite die for aluminum scales but you have to anodize them prior to transferring into warm dye bath.basically need a old school type car battery charger that has a low/high and start settings, some battery acid and distilled water.other than that you will need some aluminum to make a cathode and diode along with some aluminum wire.other than the anodizing process you can do the rest in your kitchen on stovetop.just make sure you do the anodizing process outside or in a very well ventilated area due to the fumes given off by battery charger current reacting with the battery acid bath.tons of videos on here showing how to do aluminum anodizing at home that walk you through step by step and being a person who's tried it I can say most of videos will give you great results assuming you follow steps properly.is kinda time consuming but fun to learn and hey who doesn't love having another hobby to add to their lists?lmao

[@Bullets4TheDevil]

My experience with RIT DYEMORE Spyderco PM2 digi cam... I wanted gray scales so I first tried the graphite color offering. The result was dark brown and it looked ugly as hell. Acetone and a rag will remove the dye by the way and get you back to the original color. Checking some threads, I confirmed that people were in fact using gray to make gray so I tried another color called FROST GRAY. The result was a purple-ish brown and even more hideous than the first attempt. Acetone it off again. I ended up going with the Sapphire blue which worked beautifully and incidentally took the least amount of time to complete. Perhaps using straight black for a shorter time may have gotten the gray but I was over it by then. I only removed the pocket clip, cleaned the scales with alcohol and made a V shaped dipper from a coat hanger which hooked to the half open knife in the spidey hole and the lanyard hole. Blue was complete in about 4 minutes.

[@TheProfessordank]

Jade/natural g10 is beautiful.

[@spawn00x]

How long does the color last?

[@rob10ring]

I can't wait to try this on my camo PM2!

[@MetalRush666]

The camo g10 turned out awesome. Now I have to try that on mine.

[@BladeHQ]

It looks pretty good in red too!

[@wrenchspinner101]

Love these videos!

[@romanshvydkoy8589]

Folks, I was wondering if anyone tried dying black scales? I am thinking Spyderco FRN's. I dyed a lot of disc golf discs and it wouldn't matter if it goes from dark to light or light to dark. You'd need to hold it longer from dark to light but it always dyes just fine simply because the pigment goes under the skin of the plastic. Please share the experience with scales. I want to try it, but would hate to ruin Spyderco scales. Thanks.

[@weylannorrick5071]

I died a blue mini Domin with the same color. It starts blurple at the blade end and evenly progresses to very dark blue toward the but end. Very easy and inexpensive to do.

[@acebruhl1506]

Will you ever cover the process of AL dying?

[@robinpohl2702]

All this hassle makes me appreciate my blurple pm2 even more

[@happiknife7716]

Great video 👍

[@RenoFencingMan]

Do you think this would work for Ritchlite scales?

[@RockCowles]

Why does the knife have to be taken apart? Is it just to get under fastners and such?

[@reesedavis2639]

Waiting for how to do copper plating

[@pgstudio4651]

Can you reuse the dye after it has been used?

[@lukeyboi0899]

Gonna get me a red exarch this way 😎

[@Katzekoschi]

more how to videos , plz 👍🏻

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

lol there was an ad for honey at the beginning and she was about to cut tomatoes but figured out the knife was dull and she was like "i need new knives" no you need to sharpen your knives, unless they're a shitty steal with no edge retention, get a whetstone or something. off topic from the vid but i thought you guys might get a kick out of it

[@officialdudedolan4943]

i cant wait to dye my new cyber blade ill be sure you tag you guys when its finished on insta

[@JMag1]

I did this with my Esee 6 micarta handles. I got them in Winter Forest which is a white on grey/black color scheme to begin with, then I got the Rit Dyemore in Racing Red and dyed them to get a pretty awesome two-tone blood red on black customized look. As a side note I started with Rit Dye Cherry Red and it was more pink than red after an overnight soak. So, get a color a bit darker than you think you want to get the right shade. Also, check them often as they soak, or you might end up with something too dark, which I learned when I dyed my BK-9 handles the first go round.

[@MokuNui808]

So if i have grey g10 scales and wanted them red or blue then i only need to soak them for 30 seconds?

[@bmuller4545]

Anyone know if this technique will work on carbon fiber scales? I know the carbon fibers themselves won’t take up the dye, but they are bound with an epoxy resin which I believe will. I am only looking to give the CF a bit of a blue tint, not super dark. Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

[@dustyclover5228]

Does this work on the grivory handle on the new crkt provokes?

[@MayhemMechanic]

So I tried this on Shaman jade scales and it literally did nothing. Trying to figure out what I did wrong. Ratio of water to dye maybe? If its 8:1 ratio then it would be 8oz of water for every 1oz of dye correct???

[@FriedPi-mc5yt]

Now I need a red handle Spyderco Endura.

[@EBFNOQMAGNO]

Thanks great video!! Did the camo in racing red, It looks awesome!!

[@utube343434]

How permanent is this? Like will it rub off on your hands when you use the knife? How about sweaty hands or wet hands?

[@enjoiorange]

I want to dye white g10 bright banana yellow , what should I do there?

[@benkolozsi68]

I just discovered etching soft metals like copper with hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. You make your relief design with a laser printer and a glossy magazine. Y’all could customize some scales. Keep up the great work, loving the DIY series

[@factsandboredom9265]

Can you bleach black scales then rit dye them

[@jackdawson1135]

DO NOT DO THIS FOR “WE THE PEOPLE HOLSTER” it just fucks it up and does not dye!

[@charleseccles5676]

How can I get/make white micarta extended izula scales?

[@FFz3_Photography]

Dose this work on micarta?

[@seeingthepattern]

Cool. That’s a big bucket of dye, what do you do with left-over? Can it be stored for later use?

[@felixbelanger2659]

Damn, that Domin turned out really well, it doesn't get near enough love compared with the Begleiter. I usually use only 1 oz of dye for 14 oz of water (I eyeball it), so the bottle lasts longer and you can control color a little better (it still works fairly fast). My favorite so far is a purple to black fade on a blue Bugout :)

[@phllpsmatt]

All I can find is graphite Rit synthetic, is this black? I want to dye the scales on my Benchmade 980 Turret black. Any help would be much appreciated! I saw where you dyed a set for Talon Sei @Talon_Sei

[@zackking1995]

Does this also work for benchmades glass filled nylon? Like on a mini griptilian?

[@deceptionsdemise]

Leatherman G10 Earth with all black scales on the project list. The brown and black looks cool but completely blacked out would look better in my opinion.

[@BrOkEnSkAtEr1295]

30 seconds? That must be NFL seconds… I’m 15 minutes in and the color is barely adhering

[@theARK1T3CT]

Would I have to worry about this dye transferring and staining my pants when the knife is in my pocket?

[@icas80]

Rit synthetic doesn't bleed

[@hardcore4476]

Looking to dye the black part of my Lok grips darker black. It has neon green liner on the back is it possible to use this method and it not bleed into the rear part of green liner section? Anyone with experience, feel free to comment thank you!

[@Tiger24kicks]

My knife is a copper color can I dye it black with rit? It's metal

[@christophergardiner7372]

Dyed my light gray Griptilian scales into a dark graphite. Looks great!

[@HeadBassVTEC]

cool, not a big fan of the Spyderco blue FRN that comes on all the recent K390 knifes

[@ridingtales4866]

Please do a video on how to remove paint on the blade make it look like actual steel, plz plz plz i really need to know how to do that

[@brownstar8228]

Nice

[@ChuckPM12]

Love these videos! Perfect format, really good way of laying the info out.

[@j0ninPanda]

Does Bladehq have a discord server?

[@PickleRick849]

If im doing Camo G10... I want them like black/Camo... Will the camo come through if I use the Graphite or should I go with the dark gray?

[@GrumpyGrunt]

If you dye your weapons any way other than bathing them in the blood of your enemies...you're doing it wrong. (j/k...maybe) 😈 🤣

[@ixxloose]

About to give this a wirl I think I'm going to dilute it less to try to get a darker color I hope this doesn't mess it up

[@disco4535]

I have an orange Civivi Durus, how can I make it a darker "burnt" orange color?

[@CoordinatedCarry]

What if you live at higher altitude and it’s physically impossible for liquid water to be 200°F? Like it boils at lower temperatures.

[@BigDaddySwingingMeat]

He said to bring it to a light boil, so as long as it's steaming hot and the water isn't bubbling hard like molten lava (which would be a full boil) then this should work. If all else fails, spray the scales with waterproof primer and paint in one (comes in all colors and will even turn darker scales lighter colors, unlike the method in this video). This works well on micarta scales but I don't know if spray paint works well on G10 scales (never tried it). The trick to spray paint is to apply even coats about 10-12 inches away from the object being sprayed (spray outside in backyard or open ventilated area) and let both sides dry indoors for at least 1 week before applying another coat (which typically they don't need a 2nd coat if done right the first time). Then install the scales back on the knife. The scales need to have a hole somewhere where you can hang them from a wire. Pick a secluded corner of the house in a low traffic area to let the scales dry for a week. This will keep the scales from feeling sticky/tacky (which is what happens when a painted surface doesn't dry properly). I recommend the boiling method over the spray paint method, because it's easier and less time consuming, but the spray paint method does work and can change dark colors into lighter ones which is not possible with the boiling method.

[@John..18]

Can you do this without disassembling the knife, as I don't know how to do that,, ??

[@ccfrankenstein7363]

Can you dye nylon fiber handles?

[@bengaminmaximov780]

Do linings with G10 material shrink after they are welded?

[@balisong_brad]

I want a black black is it the same with normal rit dye because they only have graphite in the synthetic

[@gregmccormack5709]

Does it have to be dye more? Or is regular Rit liquid acceptable.

[@napsterninja]

Cool, something new to try. How come the blade community doesn't try burning titanium to change the colors? It's common in the car modding community.

[@BladeHQ]

It's something we are looking into teaching everyone.👊

[@Acceptable_Fella]

mini bugout scales can be dyed any color just need to use vinegar instead of water and add more dye (4 parts vin 1 part dye) also add some dish soap to dissolve extra oils you missed when cleaning

[@scottbailon31]

Was does the vinegar do differently from water?

[@Acceptable_Fella]

Not sure really, all I know is water did not work for me and vinegar did. Found this out on another tutorial

[@nickretta]

what do y'all do with the knifes y'all customize? and margins available for a local utah'n

[@mynamesjeff347]

I got a Jade Civivi vision FG coming in I'm gonna dye it that same blue

[@jakep111]

What do you do with the dye when you’re done? Just pour it down the drain?

[@BladeHQ]

You can no problem the dye is non-toxic. Just make sure you are running water as well so that it does not dye your sink.

[@jakep111]

Blade HQ cool thanks

[@franksalem8580]

You can put it in a jar and save it and keep it for a future project.

[@Gabor.Bujdoso]

This DIY series was a fantastic idea, I'm amazed every time! Great work!

[@MaxT1817]

I can‘t paint my Black Scales?

[@terpdx]

Do you risk melting the G-10 if it touches the bottom of the pot? G-10 MSDS says it will decompose above 140C (284F). Not sure what temperature the metal of a pot bottom hits under boil.

[@jacksonriley1087]

Does all-purpose work too?

[@jacksonriley1087]

(On the Benchmade Mini Griptilian)

[@Lloyd_workshop]

does it have to be rit dye branded dye ?

[@Br33zyAus]

if that izula had black hardware it would look 10/10

[@OtherThanIntendedPurpose]

haven't done it yet, I was watching this video to know what I needed to do. but I have a brand new Izula II I want to die the scales black to match the blade coating. while I have the dye made up, I might drop in a couple sets of my CRKT/Folts minimalist scales as well. black suits my wardrobe .