recipe for natural black stain?

[Hawkdancer]

I need recipe for a natural black stain for my latest hickory bow, somebody posted one a while back, I think. . Thanks!
Hawkdancer

[mmattockx]

You can blacken most woods with a mixture made from vinegar and steel wool (it forms iron acetate, I believe). It isn't really a stain, it causes a chemical reaction with the tannins in the wood that makes it go black.


Mark

[stuckinthemud]

Pre-soak the wood in tea to raise the tanin  levels

[GlisGlis]

Hickory should react well with iron acetate
If you want a darker tone you can paint it with a dense tea and after, when dry, use iron acetate
the tannins in the tea will produce a darker color. I tried that and it works well

Still have to try black carbon with wax, lineed oil or maybe fish glue . It should provide a true black color.

[GlisGlis]

same reply in the same time. nice 

[Eric Krewson]

Osage turns black if you put iron nitrate on it (aqufortis), hickory turns a nice brown, not black.

In the picture the stain has been applied and heated with a heat gun to make it react with the tannins in the wood.

[Buckskinner]

I would make a black walnut hull stain, very easy to make and very sun resistant.  Perfect time of year to do it!

[Hawkdancer]

Sounds like some good ideas, luckily, I have some test pieces I can work with.  Buckskinner, you got any spare walnut hulls?  I haven't seen a walnut tree around here!  Thanks for all the info, and if anyone else has a different idea, send it on!
Hawkdancer

[Buckskinner]

Sounds like some good ideas, luckily, I have some test pieces I can work with.  Buckskinner, you got any spare walnut hulls?  I haven't seen a walnut tree around here!  Thanks for all the info, and if anyone else has a different idea, send it on!
Hawkdancer

Yep, how many do you want???

[Fox]

Yeah walnut hulls are great. Darkest stain I’ve made with them is to crush them up super fine and leave them in a ziplock bag until they “melt” usually only takes like a week or two, you’ll get incredibly dark goo from them breaking down in the bag. Make sure it’s somewhere warm. You can also make a ink like stain from acorns, if you’d like details on that Lemme know..

[Fox]

Untitled by Livvydog, on Flickr


Heres a bow with the walnut stain. It could be darker but I sanded it off a bit to give the camo pattern. Still not totally black though. Im thinking the acorn t stain would be darker

[Eric Krewson]

I have found that crushed walnut stain will get moldy over time, to prevent this I mix denatured alcohol with the slurry before I store the stain. I have had the same qt bottle for 20 years now, the alcohol will evaporate over time, I add more when I want to use the stain. I never filtered my slurry so it is like a thick paste, I boiled the hulls to break them down.

The arrow is poplar arow stained with my walnut slurry.

 

[GlisGlis]

you can obtain iron acetate very quickly
just put some iron wool (the one it's used to clean pans) in vinaigre and wait 3-4 days
Vinaigre will dissolve iron. In contact with tannins will produce a dark color.
You can use old bits of iron (like old rusty nails) but the bigger the longer they need to left in vinaigre before dissolving

[TimBo]

Eric, that is a really gorgeous walnut stain on the arrow.  Poplar probably takes a stain well I bet.

[SDBurntStick]

Do any of you have pictures of osage stained with iron nitrate?