doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Alkanet Staining Technique

Good question, Mike. I didn't know the answer for sure, but I was able to find some interesting info.

Alkanet is an ancient dye, with many names and many uses through history. There are dying recipes going back to Egyptian papyri. Here's a transcript of one:

"Grind some walnuts with some alkanet of good quality. This done, place them in some strong vinegar; grind again; add some pomegranate bark to this; lay aside three days; and after this, plunge the wool in it and it will be dyed cold. It is said that there is a certain acanthus which furnishes the purple color; moistened with some natron of Berenice in place of nuts, it produces the same effect.“

interesting side note: Another recipe calls for some drachma of urine, as a solvent I reckon

All that to say, it looks like the Egyptians ground it up before using it, so the idea of powderized alkanet is not new

Sorry for the delay in replying my PC decided to go over to the enemy for a time.
Traditional Red Oil and Powdered Alkanet> There is quite a difference between the two.
Traditional Red Oil is obtained by Leaching the colour from the Alkanet root with oil sadly this takes many months of waiting, though now a days people want things yesterday. The Major benefit of the traditional method is that the end results is a very pure dying oil with extremely little root debris because this is left in the container when the oil is removed so not to form darker areas in the more absorbent places in the wood.
Alkanet powder is what it says ground alkanet root containing all the fibre partials and any other contaminants that may be around during its processing. Because of the high contents of insoluble partials it could be compered more to paint rather than a dye. In my experience it does not produce that eye catching contrast on Walnut like the traditional Red Oil. But like all opinions there are differences so you do have to try both and make your choice though my opinion is the Victorian gunmakers got it right with traditional Red Oil.

I find that the root powder settles out and forms a thick sludge in the bottom of the can leaving the oil which is relatively free of particulate matter at the top.

Woodredaux,
I wonder if "drachma of urine" is Ammonia. This comes to mind because of memories of raising our children before disposable diapers.
Mike

Has anyone ever tried putting alkanet powder in tea bags?

Mike-- I mistyped one thing: should not have said 'some drachma of urine'. I meant to be writing 'a drachma of urine'. I don't know what the measurement is exactly, but a drachma was a unit of weight. So it seems that it was really just urine. a whole drachma of it...


As for the powder vs root, I see no reason that the little particulates and such cant be filtered out, either prospectively as Brent suggested in a tea bag, etc, or after the bulk of the powder has settled at the bottom, as SKB suggested.