Making Your Own Bog Oak Axe Haft

[Eric McHugh 23]

Here is an essay I posted on my site about how I made a faux bog oak haft for one of my recent projects. I apologize for making you follow a link, but I don't have the time to copy it into a forum post with all of the images:

Making Your Own Bog Oak Haft

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Eric McHugh

[Charles dP 474]

Thank you for sharing this Eric. I wonder if you carved designs into the wood before the treatment if you would get deeper shades in the recesses due to pooling.

[Eric McHugh 23]

5 minutes ago, Charles du Preez said:

Thank you for sharing this Eric. I wonder if you carved designs into the wood before the treatment if you would get deeper shades in the recesses due to pooling.

That's a good question.  I'll have to try it.

[Charles dP 474]

Sweet. Please let me know how it turns out.

[C Craft 177]

After reading this I am intrigued! I knew a bee keeper that treated his homade bee hives and the frames with somthing similar to what they do pressure treating on wood so it is not as susceptible to rot. Something about using pressure treated lumber the bees would die off when exposed to it.

He had his own mix of chemicals that did not effect the bees. He was also a welder and he built a tank from aluminum that he could put the pieces that he wanted to treat in this tank. It had a pressure seal and once all parts were in the tank he would pressurize with air and the pressure within the tank would force the chemicals into the wood. He said he could force the treatment thru a 1 x 4 but not all the way thru a 2 x 4, after 3 days! Any way just thinking out loud here!

I know when trying to stabalize wood they do it by pulling a vacuum on the tank holding the materials to be stabalized! I now that works! Anyway once again just thinking out loud!

Thanks for the info Eric. It has got the wheels turning in my head!

Edited May 26, 2017 by C Craft

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

Very cool!  I have done this using ferric nitrate and no additional tannins, and it makes a nice black on oak.  You do have to use heat to completely catalize it, though.

[Eric McHugh 23]

16 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

Very cool!  I have done this using ferric nitrate and no additional tannins, and it makes a nice black on oak.  You do have to use heat to completely catalize it, though.

Did the ferric nitrate penetrate the wood deeper?  On a slightly different note, the Quebracho bark powder instructions said that denatured alcohol could be used instead of water.  I wonder if the tannic acid solution will go deeper with alcohol than water.  I'm gonna have to try it.

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

No, it's about the same depth.  Have you tried heat on your process?  I use a propane torch with a flame spreader and get the wood just shy of scorching.  Although, if you're going for jet black a little scorching can be a good thing!

[Eric McHugh 23]

No, I haven't tried the heat (yet) only because it seemed to work fine without it.  I do have plans to try different techniques and heat was one of them.  Much like the concentrated solutions speed up the reaction, I image heat would do assist in speeding up the solution too.  Do you have a photo of the wood you darkened?  I'd like to see the finished product just for reference.

[D. Giagni 8]

When I ebonize wood I use a similar process but, I think, a little simpler. First I make a pot of strong black tea. I wipe the wood with the tea and then use a heat gun to dry it till there is just a little moisture left. Next I apply the iron acetate (steel wool in vinegar) and let it sit for maybe 5-10 minutes and then use the heat gun again to dry it till there is just a little moisture left. Finally I wipe it down with the black tea again and let it dry naturally. After that I put the finishing coat of oil or whatever I'm going to use. Walnut and red oak turn jet black.

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

Here you go.  I was shooting for a not-totally-black on red oak.

[Eric McHugh 23]

I think that is very attractive Alan.  Nice work!  I'm going to give the heat technique a shot.

[grpaavola 30]

Eric,

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been trying to do this, and just about gave up because I was doing this in a vacuum. 

Again Thank you,

Gabriel

[Jon Cook 55]

8 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

Here you go.  I was shooting for a not-totally-black on red oak.

Nice maille. Did you make it?

[Alan Longmire 2,723]

Yep.  I used to spend a lot of time living out of hotels and it gave me something to do in the evenings.  

[Jon Cook 55]

5 hours ago, Alan Longmire said:

Yep.  I used to spend a lot of time living out of hotels and it gave me something to do in the evenings.  

Perfect way to scratch the metal working itch when you have to be quiet and fireless. That's why I own a hauberk. 

So as not to derail the thread, this is very interesting. My son wants an oak bastard sword, and tea staining might be the perfect way to class it up.