Henna as wood stain.

[westerner]

Anyone ever try it? If so, how was it applied.

           Joe.

[JTR]

This stuff?
http://hennamuse.blogspot.com/2008/10/henna-on-wood-experiments.html

John

[westerner]

Yes that stuff.
The reason I ask is, I saw Henna mentioned as a stain in an article about Joe Kindigs  Kentucky rifle collection. I had never heard of it or read Henna on this forum.   The article says red dye from boiled Henna root, chimney soot and Linseed oil was used to finish the rifles.  
If that's true Id like to try it myself. If it's not true Id like to try it myself.  

                     Joe.  

[FL-Flintlock]

For the HC/PC types, Camphire/Henna wasn't brought to North America in any substantial volume prior to about 1870 and that being primarily to certain ethnic groups on the central west & extreme southeast coasts.  From 1870 until the late 1920's it's use was very limited.  A book published around 1915 renewed some interest as a hair dye but it wasn't until the Great Depression that it got any serious attention as hair dye but even that was limited mostly by cost and lack of supply.  Henna only became somewhat popular in N. America until the 1980's with the surge of body art and at that it still wasn't widely known outside of limited areas.  It wasn't until the late 1990's that supplies of decent quality henna began being imported on a regular basis because of the increased demand created by the body art market.  Henna was used, although very rarely, because so few craftsmen actually knew how to use it - pretty much only by those immigrants who learned their trade before immigrating to N. America.  Henna use in N. American was limited by the lack of supply, the poor quality of what did get here and the lack of craftsmen who knew how to use it.  The market for wares done with henna was mostly limited by the combined time and cost factor associated with producing those wares.  Many claim that the more common "painted" items produced by N. American craftsmen were inspired by those done with henna, however, paint was more commonly available and more goof-proof although far less appealing.

[rick landes]

Henna as used for skin temp tattoos fades with time (a few weeks), one might be well advised to try a bit on wood and see what time and light might do to it...

[FL-Flintlock]

Henna is a UV blocker.  What it does on wood depends on how it's prepared, applied and the type of Henna used as well as its age and post-harvest storage environment.  Often the difference between high-quality and $#@* is the packaging & storage, I've gotten the same brand from different wholesalers, only difference was the storage environment ... lessons learned the hard (expensive) way, now I only deal with one reliable source.  On exposure to UV, it may darken or lighten somewhat, most will darken but again it depends on the combination variables.  The reason it's temporary on skin is because the stain is on the skin cells and as the skin sheds, the pigment goes with it.

FYI, there is no such thing as: black, negro, cobalt, indigo, jade, green, blau or any other color besides the reddish rust/brown.  Black is extremely dangerous as it is often made with toxic chemicals that are not only absorption hazards but can cause severe chemical burns on living tissue - all colors other than natural should be considered hazardous. 

[westerner]

The Kindig article mentions stain from boiled Henna root. I assume all modern Henna production is from the leaves.

Was Henna root boiled down?  Then mixed with alcohol? Oil?  Is the article BS?

                Joe. 

[westerner]

http://www.habibdriedinc.com/alkanet.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkanna_tinctoria

[FL-Flintlock]

Alkanet is not the same as Henna, it's a different plant within the same family but the bugloss extracted from it is considered only a temporary dye that is easily faded and was primarily used for tinting ointment oils.  IIRC, related is the Evergreen Alkanet, a hedge plant somewhat common in Great Britain that produces a temporary colorant exctracted from the root.  Alkanna Tinctoria roots of the same family produces a somewhat better quality longer lasting red dye when used on textiles but is very temporary on skin lasting only 24 hours or less.  Madder root is the most premanent of the root extract red/orange dyes - I believe there are two types, Lake and Rubia with the latter producing the more brilliant red.  IIRC Madder root extract is toxic but the Alkanna Tinctoria is not but can produce some side effects.

True Henna is a tall growing shrub with the dye coming from the gound leaves, the dye cannot be extracted until the leaves are ground.  Henna is the oldest most permanent dye and the least likely to cause any exposure side effects.  Henna is an anti-fungal and recent testing produced promising results in treatment of skin cancer.

The name confusion of "Henna" being applied to the European Alkanet and Alkanna Tinctoria root-extract varieties likely comes from the Muslim conquests of Europe where "Henna" was applied as a generic term for any red/brown dye.  The use of true Henna traced back to at least 1,500 BC long pre-dates the Madder, Alkanna and Alkanet use that didn't come about until around the 9th century AD in western Europe.  Henna did see at least some use in the Roman empire.