All About Pocket Knives

I got a request to put a set of bone handles on a knife and he requested they have an "old yellow lacquer" look to them. Having a bit of trouble getting the look and was wondering if any wood workers or other artists on here has any input on the issue. I tried my normal oil soaks to get a yellowed/greasy look without proper result. Any ideas? Was thinking of slow cooking the scales in some animal fat.

You can get the antique yellow part by boiling red wine vinegar with the outer papery peels from yellow onions. After it has cooked for about 7 or 8 minutes immerse the scales and let soak for several minutes. Pull them out every minute or so to judge how yellow they are. I learned this from a guy who hand scraped and antiqued old powder horns. He could make a carved horn look like it was 200 years old.
Then maybe you could get the lacquer look with some Tru-oil/Armor All finish ( excellent for finishing gun stocks).

sounds good, will it penetrate oily bone you reckon? Love old aging tips like this

I use Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment on bone & stag.
It helps maintain athat aged look and preserve the material as well.
I haven't used it to dye bone, but it does impart a slightly aged look to old stag.
I imagine it would do the same to bone.

In the guitar world they use an aging toner with the lacquer to give it an aged look. Probably available at Stu-Mac.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... vents.html

I have used the onion skin in vinegar to age cow bone, camel bone and the white on stag where you sand it off. Worked great on all of them. It does kinda stink the kitchen up, tho. Unless you like the smell of bolied vinegar.

I typed out a reply to this last nite but it failed on posting. Trying again but shorter

During the '40s, while working as a hoist engineer for the Iron King Mine, my Dad had a little home leather business. (He hadn't yet become a "Registered Arizona Saddle Maker" That came in the late '70s). We always had horses, hunting rifles, knives tack and saddles so there was always some kind of repair needed. His shop contained all the leather stuff to make chaps, scabbards, taps and do some saddle repair. One thing I vividly remember was the dyes that he used onthe special orders. Billfolds, purses, saddles, belts, holsters etc. It was the most permanent stuff I had ever seen. "Don't get it on your hands " he would say. Right - - if you did it took weeks to wear off.

It might be good for staining bone also ? ? ?
Tandy leather has a large selection and at reasonable prices . .

Hows a bout Neat's-Foot-Oil ???
I used it before and it yellowed them up.
Neat's-Foot-Oil is also made from cow bone.

JW