Using Kool-Aid or tea to dye bone

People in Face Book Group were talking about using Kool-Aid and Tea to dye bone handles on a knife. I decided to give it a go and see if it actually worked. I'd tell you the results but then there would be no reason to watch the video!

[@jjcahill8934]

Very cool experiment Tobias! The tea certainly looks to have worked far better and looks very nice. Thanks for the peek at your alchemy! :)

[@ocomegashadowstacking5886]

Wow really nice looking knife!!! :D

[@jerseyknifeguy6382]

Omg Tobias very cool........ wow I’ll have to try it looks great!!!!!!!!

[@WilliamMancel]

I used Rit dye on a RR white bone knife, but never thought about using Koolaid or tea. Food dye shouldn't dye permanently, or our internal organs would permanently tinted black after drinking different Koolaid colors for a summer. 😂 I didn't expect the Rit to work on bone, but it really brought out the grain in my knives. I don't use a clear coat on mine, and haven't had any problems with the Rit dye coming off and getting on my hands. On G10 it's almost like a paint, & on bone it seems to absorb into it slightly.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

William Mancel, I’m going to take a shot with Rit Dye in the future. I suspect it will be more permanent the kool-aid gave a very faint pink color after washing with soap and water.

[@jesterskull38]

Testing is always good to do to find what works and what doesn’t, thanks for the chat

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

There were numerous people on a faceboook group doing this and claiming that it was permanent. I did the video to show that they were full of bunk!

[@chrisosh9574]

You can make medieval black ink which will stain bone, use a handful of acorns ground up and mix with luke warm water, soak the bone in it over night, longer if you want it darker. Get the steel wool and immerse it in the vinegar, the vinegar will partially dissolve the wool creating an iron salt, when you take the bone out of the acorn mix put it into the iron salt mix, the dye will set. The colour depends on how long you soak plus the strength of the solution, you can achieve from brownish grey to black with this method. I also use alcohol based wood dye just to give bone some interest and age it, some of the dye comes off after staining but you can repeat to make the effect stronger. I originally learned about the acorns working as a carpenter but I also dabble with bone carving and discovered it works on that too. Did you notice where the dye can get to the ends of the bone fibre it stains stronger? e.g. on the finger grips and the pommel it was darker becase to dye can penetrate better there, same with any natural cracks or splits in the bone the dye will make a darker area around them. Hope this helps.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

chris osh, I’ll be posting a video about modifying and re-handling an M5 Bayonet tomorrow. I dye the white buffalo horn with Tea. Every crack and in perfection pops. Check it out. It’s a long video. The bone handle is in the last five minutes or so if you don’t feel like watching the whole thing. Thanks for all the dyeing info. I’ll have to check it out.

[@chrisosh9574]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias Thanks Tobias, that sounds interesting, I'll watch the whole thing, it's always good to see how other people do things. I like the idea of highlighting imperfections to make them features. I bought an AG Russell wharncliffe copy with bone covers from Aliexpress and did the wood dye thing on that, now the unimpressive bone looks more like mammoth ivory. A less pleasant way of colouring bone if you make things is to get bone fresh from the carcass and bury it in a compost heap for a year to clean it, if you bury it at the bottom where the most moisture is the bone will come out with no trace of fat or gristle but a fantastic aged bone colour that goes deep. I had a small holding when I lived in the UK some years back and one of my cows died so I put the head and a lot of the bone in the heap. A great surprise when I got a load of useable bone for knife handles and pistol grips.

[@blueeyeswhitedragon9839]

I once walked the woods with my grandson, showed him a black walnut laying on the ground and proceeded to cut it open to show him the interior of the nut. The stain lasted at least a week or two on our hands, and my daughter was not impressed. Why not try black walnuts as a stain?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Sharp Knife, I’ve heard this from some others. It sounds interesting and might try it in the future. I heard similar about acorns. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching!

[@BigRedEDC]

The Kool-Aid dye job looked good right at first. Too bad it didn't hold up! Thanks for sharing Tobias!

[@UKLegalCarryKnives]

The Kool aid looked so good, it's a shame it wiped right back off! So much for that idea, the tea looked fine imo, gives the handle a little character when it's uneven and blotchy so long as it's not too bad, I think yours came out pretty good! Cheers for sharing the results!

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

UK Legal Carry Knives, thanks. I’ll be trying Rit Dye in the near future to see how it works.

[@UKLegalCarryKnives]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias I know it's worked out for Paddy on G10, be very interesting to see it on bone! Looking forward to that one 😁

[@timbo4374]

Interesting experiment..I must admit I've never dyed bone before, but I've done micarta FRN type plastics and G10. I just use RIT Dye, preferably the one made for synthetics. I would like to see how bone turns out using it. Maybe I'll buy a white bone covered knife and try it one of these days just for fun.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Timbo437, I believe Rit Dye might work well as well as dye for leather. I’ll be trying that in the future. I’ve heard positive for both of those. I use tea on white bone in tomorrow’s video. It turned out really good for “antiquing” white bone.

[@HobieonYouTube]

Gee, no wonder my teeth aren't white! Very cool- the tea seems to be the best material. I wonder how Ritz clothing dye might do.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

HobieonKZbin, I just picked some up. I’m going to give it a go in the next week or two and see what happens! I do Like the way tea ages the white bone, however.

[@alanpepsick8298]

Cool experiment.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I assumed it would fail but then right afterwards it seemed fine until I tried to seal it. The fact that it wouldn’t come off with cold water didn’t mean much. Hot soapy water or an acrylic sealant both will take the kool aid out of the bone. Looks great unless you have sweaty palms! The tea is a permanent stain.

[@roddyfowler2234]

The only home made dye I've tried were walnuts. Comes out very dark though if you leave it in the soup too long. I dyed wood not bone.

[@LibrarianBarbarian]

I have two questions: Do you have to sand the bone first before dyeing? and if I soak a D2 steel knife handle overnight, won't the steel begin to rust? My knife is built like yours with the scales and full tang, but it is D2 steel, not stainless steel.

[@jerseyknifeguy6382]

Oh shit that sucks it looked great

[@user-ov4um8uk6u]

Well I went down the rabbit hole on dyeing after you said you were going to make one. Already did it appeared. I'll avoid the kool-aid ; -)

[@johnburr7924]

I've used RIT dye on bone. Works a bit better than the kool aid but not great.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I also did a video with Red Rit Dye and the wonderful "Pink" Elephant Toenail I ended up with!

[@johnburr7924]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias i have a vacuum pump for my vacuum former I use to form Kydex. I just bought a big pressure cooker at a yard sale. My intention is to make a pressure pot to pull bubbles out of resin casts, but I think it may be how people dye and stabilize wood and bone. Ive looked at some expensive solutions but I like to try to go cheap. If I get it working I will share with you. I enjoy your videos.

[@johnpaulcliburn5239]

Try some wood dye, the powder form that you mix with water. You can get it in a myriad of colors. Let it dry good, buff lightly with 0000 steel wool and then seal it with some hand rubbed Tru Oil or Danish oil.....

[@allyouneedisluv53]

I have a toenail on order. I might try coffee. Ive been dying my insides with it for years.

[@s.e.hebert7307]

When I heard of people using dye, my mind always went to Rit dye. Hmmmm, just brainstorming now.... What about coffee -- brewed thick and/or pressed grounds against the handle like you did the tea? I'm disappointed the Kool-Aid didn't work, though. Perhaps, actual berries?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I think Berries might do a great job. They stain other stuff pretty well. I've never used coffee. That might be an option

[@flitdek]

Alcohol based leather dye should work well,

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Thanks. I will check it out!

[@thekelpayton]

Add salt to your kool-aid. That’s what sets the color.

[@Ron-Swanson]

You need to see lot with true oil

[@jerseyknifeguy6382]

Holly smokes!!!!!