Thank you all for the compliments. This one was so fun to make I will be doing others as fill-ins between other projects.
For those that want to know the color and finish:
I soaked the antler in alcohol, after filing and scraping, for about 20 min or so. took it out, let it dry and brought the dye to a boil and shut it off. Hung it on a wire in the dye. now my intention was to leave in for 5 minutes but got involved making a cup and it was in there for 2 hours.
Took it out and WOW! I liked it...while the antler was still hot, I rubbed it down with a heavy coat of paste finishing wax and covered it in black powdered tempera paint. applied heat and the paint mixes with the wax. rubbed it in the crevices and applied a bit more wax..a little more heat..and repeated until I got the patina I was looking for.
applying the heat to the paint/wax mix seems to pigment it a bit and caramelizes it to the product. works well for me..I use it on my boxes, wood bases, plugs, lids, horns...heck it works well for aging just about anything. even adds a bit of patina to the copper rings.
Regards, John
