Testing Natural Walnut Dye

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy all

                 For those looking for walnut hulls, the web site below is where I got my first bag of hulls from , just go to this web site , and give them a call, this a good source of hulls for those of you that don't have black walnut trees around, or just want to have them brought to your door.

                                               TW 





http://www.kylecarrollart.com/walnutdye.html

                                               

[Dalton Masterson]

Ok gents heres Day 2.
I am going to make a post of all the pics separately when this is done. Maybe the Marshall can put it up top in the stickied how to post. Might make a good chart to see how long you should leave them in for different colors.




Day 2 after 2 hours drying. There was also an abundance of sunshine on day 2 compared to the cloudy day 1. Is definately not as pale as day 1.

[Johnny Dingus]

Deffinatley more color.  Would be great to compare how long.  But that will change for everybodys own mixture.  We still could get an Idea if yours took 3 days to get to this color and mine took 5 days then the right color for me will be reached in 17 days....
give or take a couple. 

Great Idea,  how much liquid do you have out of how many walnuts that you cooked?  And did you squeeze the remaining juice out of the walnuts each night or at the end of your cooking?

So far I've only been boiling for about 1/2 hour a night and tonight will be my 4th night.

The other thing that is going to be hard for me is soaking the product for 3 or 4 days when I want to be done with it.  Gotta learn patience I guess.

Johnny Dingus

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Great link, 10W. Thanks for that. I'll order some. It'll be interesting to compare the results between the black and English walnut hulls.

Dalton, that holster is taking on a real depth, now. It'll be interesting to see what day 3 produces. Your color should be rich and lustrous when you achieve the shade you want. Looking forward to more real-time pics. Thanks for sharing.

[Dalton Masterson]

Johnny, this mix is not as strong as the one I am making now. I am using just a regular cook pot, a large coffee can full of the entire walnut, and enough water to start them floating. Boiled and boiled for basically 3-4 days off and on. If I was home, they were cooking. After that, they outer part was black, but it was still on the shell. That is the mix I am dying with now. I got 2 of the bigger peanut butter jars full of juice. All I did was scoop the whole walnuts out and pour into my jar. Its dark, but I can see light thru it.

The batch I bottled tonite was the leftovers from before. The outer hull became mush and the nuts were bare shell, but whole. I boiled them for a 2 days, but longer time. I got 1 peanut butter jar, but its VERY dark with no light thru it. Probably how it should be. I did put on rubber gloves and squeeze it into a strainer to get as much juice as possible.

The batch boiling now is the leftovers again, which are now mush. I also took the nut part and they broke easily into the pot, so I am gonna boil the shell and fruit into submission as well. Might as well I guess. Maybe I will get a different shade that way.

I would say you should boil then let it simmer until you go to bed. Just dont let it go dry. Keep adding a little water if needed.

DM

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I just ordered some of the black walnut hulls and will also gather some of the English walnut hulls locally. I'm really interested to see how the colors compare.

[Dalton Masterson]

Day 3. Out of the mix for about 4 hours today. Took it to work and laid it on my dash for a little suntanning. Is mostly dry for the picture, so is showing the finish color better.
It seems the cuts are getting darker, but the body is about the same as yesterday.


Day 3

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's starting to get some definition, Dalton. How dark would you like? You may have to boil it down more to get a darker shade. The cuts darkening are a nice look. It makes the pattern stand out. Remember that the color will be slightly darker after you oil it. That could be a great color without much else unless you are looking for a darker brown.

[Dalton Masterson]

Thats kind of what I am thinking Marshall. The color now does look pretty good. Its a single holster, so it dont really matter what I make it look like. I think that tomorrow may be the last day of this test.
I need to get more walnuts as my mush is pretty much done for. The next one should be darker from the get go, as this dye is probably more water than walnut. DM

[HorsePen Henry]

Thanks for the pictures along the way Dalton. It has been interesting following yer process. I am eager to see this holster when ya get it oiled and waxed up. It sure is a nice one.

Many thanks,

X Horse Pen

[santee]

Think I'll go with Ace!

[Dalton Masterson]

Ok gents. I pulled it out first thing this morning, and kept it on my dash all day turning it every once in awhile. At lunch, I gave it a shot of olive oil, and just gave it another coat of oil a few minutes ago. I will post some pics tomorrow after I give it a coat of skidmores and do my edges. DM

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Sounds good, Dalton. It'll be nice to see it finished.

After umpteen years with the same photo, you change it. I looked at your post and thought, "Who's this?" Then I read your name. LOL, shows you how used we get to something. Maybe I'll try another photo one of these days.

[HorsePen Henry]

Don't rush it Dalton, but I am lookin' forward to seein' it finished too.

[Dalton Masterson]

Yep Marshall. Its hard for me to pick out my posts now too. If you look close and squint, there is actually a big fireball in the middle of that smoke from the left hand gun.
I am wearing the holster around now, and dont think I like the ride of the Dodge City too much. Just feels different to me. Oh well. DM

[Dalton Masterson]

Well gents, here it is! I opted not (forgot) to sew the outer part of the loop, but its glued and edged, so.....

As neat as the Dodge City holster looks, it is not the style for me. I just dont care for the ride, and it seems hard for me to get a good grip on the gun to pull it out. Maybe the back is too high.

This is the final result with a good coat of Skidmores, then about 2 hours on the dash of my Galaxie cruisin around today.

Question for you experienced carvers.... Do you cut around the flower center??? I did, and think it looks terrible. Should I just bevel it and not cut? DM

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That looks really good, Dalton. The color is just right. I never cut around flower centers, but in the picture, yours look fine. Nice work. I also like the look of the Dodge City holsters but find the Slim Jim is more comfortable IMO.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Dalton

          Your Dodge City holster came out nice, and the dye gave you a nice shade, I have two holsters submerged in my walnut dye now, I'll take them out next Thursday, and hopefully I'll get the dark walnut color I'm looking for, I'll have to wait and see. Anyway good work Pard.

                                                                 tEN wOLVES 

[HorsePen Henry]

Dalton, that turned out real nice.

Flower centers? I don't cut or bevel them. I use a great big cammy to form the circle with a overlay of 4 placements and hits to make the circle then I use a seeder in there.



Don't mind the color reversals on the scrap. It was only an experiment. But....I think you can see how I treat the flower centers when using a seeder.

X Horse Pen

[Dalton Masterson]

Thanks HP! That looks a lot better than my version! DM