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Hi Fellow Romans!
I've got an Oedenburg-type knife with wooden handle.I want to color the handle,from the raw colour of the wood,to red.Can you recommend something relatively easy and cheap to get,wich works great?I,sadly have no experience with this kind of work.Looking forward for any answers.
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second try at posting .... the modern way would be to use an alcohol based wood dye followed by a few coats of wax polish. You can buy a wide range of colours and some are safe to use on childrens' toys. They are cheap and widely available in DIY shops or on the internet. make sure to use bees wax polish (edible!!) and not a modern synthetic 'wax'. It may be possible to use the natural red dye - madder. I have seen tutorials on how to dye fabrics using madder on the internet. Assuming the wood is light in colour and has not had any other surface treatment, this should work. If the wood is treated the the dye may not 'take'. If the wood is darker than, say, yellow, you will just get s reddish brown. if you are using a water based dye, remember not to get it too wet or the wood will split. also remember that using a water based dye will raise the grain of the wood, making it feel quite rough. If you want a smooth finish, either use an alcohol based dye or rub it down with fine sand paper and then apply wax with very fine (OOOOO) wire wool, leave to dry, then buff with a soft cloth. Leave to harden for a for a few days and repeat the waxing again at least twice more. The more coats, the deeper the shine and the more water proof it will be. Wipe clean, and re-wax regularly. An alternative to wax is an edible mineral oil. Visually olive oil would work, but the taste might be off-putting after a while.... hope this helps
