after reading a good deal of posts herein about alkanet - many from our brit members - along with references to "london red stains"...i decided why not? i do a fair amount of general buying on ebay, and i will make this simple for you;

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...mp;_nkw=alkanet+root+powder&_sacat=0

i put up two different items; 1) a couple of quarts of mineral spirits with about an ounce and a half of the ground power in a 2 liter soda bottle, and 2) about half an ounce in a pint bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol. it takes a fair length of time for the color to diffuse into the liquid, and the advice was to shake it often, or regularly upend the bottles. my supply is probably 5 or 6 years old now. the solids, of course, will settle and it is easy to gently pour off what you need for use. the alcohol based solution penetrates a bit better than the mineral spirits, and is a bit handier for darkening a small area.

if i want to considerably darken the wood, i will use the alcohol to whisker the wood and/or soak in a bit prior to starting the pilkington soak/sand/slurry process. nowadays, i automatically put a test spot of alkanet on any stock blank i handle to see what it does to that particular piece of wood - some show little change, and others are quite dramatic.

best regards,

tom

"it's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."
lewis carroll, Alice in Wonderland