natural purple stain

[koan]

hey all, been playing with mullberries trying to make a dark purple stain.tried mushin em, boilin em down to goo, mixin with linseed oil, paint thinner, lac. thinner. it always seperates. Oh, did try mixin with rubbin alcohal, didnt seperate but came out 2 light(looks good on lighter woods) but not on osage. any suggestions?
                                                       Brian

[Hillbilly]

If you live where pokeberries grow, they will make a pretty potent purple stain/dye. They should be ripening in within the next month or so.

[Justin Snyder]

Try vinegar.  Dont know but it sucks everything else out.  Justin

[koan]

never heard a pokeberry, ill see what i can find out and let u know. thanx
                                                                                     Brian

[Hillbilly]

Where do you live?

[koan]

Hallsville, Mo. Hillbilly- pretty much right in the middle of the state. What does pokeberry look like? Is it a wild berry?

[Hillbilly]

You should have pokeberry, then. It's a common weed around here, grows about head high, big and bushy, has a purplish-red stem and purple berries in late summer. Lots of birds and animals eat the berries, but they're poisonous to humans if eaten in large quantities. People around here eat the young shoots in the spring, called "poke salad". The juice of the berries used to be used for ink, dye, etc. Here's a link to a site with some photos and info: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHAM4

[koan]

Thanks

[mullet]

 koAn,Ever hear of the song"Poke Salad Annie" by Creedence Clearwater Revival?

[koan]

  Ya mullet, im a big CCR fan.lol-couldnt find any thing on Gov. websight so I pulled out the big guns(called Grandma).she said come on down we can walk right to it.... after she warned me how poisenous they are! She lives 20 min. from me. It pays to know the right people.lol
                                                                                                                                                            later Brian

[Hhop]

Poke berries should provide a nice dark stain for you.

I have to check in on the "Poke Salad Annie" song though. As I recall, the song was by Tony Joe White. He did the original version that I remember anyway, kind of a One Hit Wonder. That was probably a few years before CCR hit the charts. My mind is full of useless trivia like that!

Harold

[billy]

I've used pokeweed berries to stain my arrows.  One thing to be sure to do before you rub it on the wood: sand the area where the berry juice will go.  That way it will soak into the wood.  Once that's done, then burnish it by rubbing a bottle over the area.  That should help seal it in.  The color might not be uniform, but it will help the wood retain the color.  then you could restain it several times.  Pokeweed berries make a really vivid purple/dark pink color.

[mullet]

  Harold,Yep you're right there.Forgot about him.And my wife reminded me Creedence was called Willy and The Poor Boy's When they first did it.

[Ehkahk]

Buckthorn berries will give a dark purple-black stain as well

[koan]

  got my poke berries, getting purple goo on my com. keys right now. Thanx Hillbilly.- never heard of Buckthorn Ehkahk, what it look like?
                                                Brian