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.

Not long after my last post here, I made up a batch of red oil consisting of 12 oz of raw linseed oil (Viking brand) and 1.5 teaspoons of food-grade alkanet powder. The mixture been in a jam jar in the window of my shop for just over 6 months, and I have shaken it occasionally to resuspend the powder in solution. It doesn't take long for a relatively thick sludge layer to form on the bottom of the jar, and the color of the oil went dark red fairly quickly as well.

Last night, I decanted the red oil into an separate container, straining it with a paint filter. The resulting oil seemed to be almost entirely free of powder, but not perfectly clear. To increase the purity, I then rigged up a mason jar with a coffee filter and repeated the filtering process.

The result, as far as I can tell, is an extremely dark red oil with minimal residual powder.

My conclusions:
1. With careful decanting and filtration, a red oil can be made without fear of contaminating the oil with significant solids
2. Alkanet powder yields a very dark red oil, and a much shorter dwell time would almost certainly have been fine.
3. Along those same lines, I would use less of the powder in subsequent red oil mixtures. 1.5 tsp to 12 oz seemed to be excessive.

Unfiltered:


Carefully decanting through a paint filter:


The sludge left over after decanting:


Not much alkanet powder in the filter (not fine enough?):


Coffee Filter on a Mason Jar:





The final product:


After 24 hours or so, almost no powder has settled to the bottom:

Jim,
You mentioned "food grade Alkanet", is it available at local grocery stores and if so, what is the brand name?
Mike

Mike-- I probably should have said 'cosmetic grade'. It is not in any stores around my area, but I bought a 1 oz packet from Amazon-- currently sells for $5

https://www.amazon.com/Raven-Moonlight-Herbs-Alkanet-Powder/dp/B005BWFVGU

I'm doing a followup experiment: 1/2 tsp of alkanet powder in 9 oz of raw linseed oil (I intended to do 8 oz but overserved myself). I am thinking of 24-72 hours total of steeping before decant and filter. I'll probably assess each day and decant as soon as it looks like the powder has fallen out of solution. I'll then compare the two oils for color on a paper towel just to see how much is gained by a long steeping process vs. the quick and hopefully not too dirty. Will report back.