• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Logwood Blacking Iron .

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DuncNZ

54 Cal.
Joined
Sep 15, 2021
Messages
1,507
Reaction score
2,343
Location
Trout Country New Zealand
I have a couple of plastic containers of logwood chips . I have never used them but I believe these chips are boiled in water along with iron or steel to blacken the steel , Old Trappers used this method for darkening their new traps and chains before use , as well as other iron items to reduce shine . Has any one used logwood for any purpose . I was thinking of dyeing my hawk heads . and maybe a shiny lock
 
Hi,
Yes, logwood will darken iron and steel when boiled in a solution. I boiled and dyed many traps but it works best if the steel or iron is already finely rusted. The usual procedure for new traps was to wash them to remove any oil, let them rust for a few weeks, and then boil them in water with logwood. I used to melt paraffin wax on top of the water so when I pulled the traps out, they were coated thinly with wax. The darkening can be very black.

dave
 
I think I saw a video where Logwood was used as a wood stain on walnut - I could be wrong as it was some time back many moons ago.
 
Hi,
Yes, logwood will darken iron and steel when boiled in a solution. I boiled and dyed many traps but it works best if the steel or iron is already finely rusted. The usual procedure for new traps was to wash them to remove any oil, let them rust for a few weeks, and then boil them in water with logwood. I used to melt paraffin wax on top of the water so when I pulled the traps out, they were coated thinly with wax. The darkening can be very black.

dave
Thanks Dave , how tough is it , ie wear resistant . Would it be suitable as a firearm finish ?
 
I have a couple of plastic containers of logwood chips . I have never used them but I believe these chips are boiled in water along with iron or steel to blacken the steel , Old Trappers used this method for darkening their new traps and chains before use , as well as other iron items to reduce shine . Has any one used logwood for any purpose . I was thinking of dyeing my hawk heads . and maybe a shiny lock
I always used the bark and heartwood of Red Oak or Black Jack Oak.
 
Hi Cutfinger,
I don't really know how well it would work as a barrel finish. The black color really depends on the metal having a fine coat of rust before immersion. If the metal is clean and shiny the black color is usually uneven and very translucent. The rust protection for the traps really comes from the thin wax coating not the stain. The coloring is tough however and is not easily scratched off. I suspect the dye reacts with the rust at the temperature of boiling water to create ferric oxide much like boiling rust browning.

dave
 
Back
Top