Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: sleek on October 02, 2017, 12:43:49 pm

Title: Making a dye from osage
Post by: sleek on October 02, 2017, 12:43:49 pm

I have no idea what I am doing but boiling my bow tips for recurves in the same water, never changing it out is making some very dark osage soup water. It has dyed or stained my pine 2x4 recurve jig a very dark red. I like it. I am saving all my shavings and choppings, when I am done, I am going to put them all in that pot of osage stew, boil it all down as much as I can. I have lots of dust from the sander as well that I will do the same with. Afterwards it getting boiled down to condense it. Anybody else ever make an osage dye?

Title: Re: Making a dye from osage
Post by: leonwood on October 02, 2017, 12:59:21 pm

I beleive Simson does use his "osage soup" along with his fuming to stain other woods

Title: Re: Making a dye from osage
Post by: Hamish on October 02, 2017, 06:28:30 pm

I haven't used it but it osage was commonly used to manufacture dye for clothing, wool. Your best bet is to market it sawdust and shavings to DIY craft wool dyers.

Title: Re: Making a dye from osage
Post by: GlisGlis on October 03, 2017, 09:37:51 am

google for a site called folkfiber com post Jan 28, 2013
it's about osage as dye and it's iterations with mordants to obtain different colours

Title: Re: Making a dye from osage
Post by: simson on October 04, 2017, 11:59:35 am

Cook sawdust and scrapes from osage for some hours til you get a thick soup, add some alcohol (to prevent fungus infection) and you have a dye to age fresh osage to look like years old.