Author Topic: discolored osage  (Read 1743 times)

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Offline osage outlaw

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discolored osage
« on: April 23, 2014, 11:23:17 pm »
When I split the osage tree that my grandpa used to hunt out of I had to pull some nails out of it where he had the 2x4 steps attached.  When I split it into staves I found this at every spot where there were nails.  I was expecting some scaring and staining but not this much.  Has anyone made a bow out of osage that had this kind of discoloration?  It seems like solid wood, just stained a dark gray/green.


I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline koan

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2014, 11:57:13 pm »
Wow...never seen that color. Its usually brown/purple. I wonder if they were galvanized nails or something out of the ordinary?... Brian
When you complement a lady on her dress.....make sure she is the one wearing it.....

Offline Gsulfridge

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2014, 11:57:34 pm »
Makes it very distinct and unique. You gotta make a bow outta that to preserve the hunting heritage passed down. I love it when staves have history and storylines.  8)
Greg Sulfridge, Lafollette, TN

Offline Wiley

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2014, 12:09:34 am »
I'm going to say that if you can work around the nail holes it will probably be alright, but i've never tried it myself. I think it is definitely worth a try given it's history.

It is a reaction between the iron in the nails and the tannin in the wood, and it gets darker the longer the exposure is. The process of this reaction is called "ebonizing", you can exploit this reaction to stain any wood with a high tannin content using a solution with a lot of iron in it, typically it's done by soaking steel wool or other sort of non-stainless steel in vinegar and painting it onto the wood. This is the same reaction just over a long time of iron leeching into the wood. As far as I know I've never heard of it affecting the integrity of the wood.




Offline bubby

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2014, 12:18:56 am »
I figure if anybody can it's the Outlaw >:D
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline Josh B

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2014, 04:15:10 am »
Its fine Clint.  Just a stain.  You ought to see what railroad spikes left in an oak tree does.  They will turn the entire trunk black through and through!  Josh

Offline Crogacht

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2014, 04:28:56 am »
I wish I had a stave I could say my grandpa stained before I cut it down :D

Offline Pappy

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2014, 05:21:42 am »
It will be fine,the nails change the color,the first bow of the year I got was called 3 nail for that same reason and had the same color. My timber guy told me a saw mill won't take a log with that color in it because they know there is a nail or steel in it somewhere. I worked around the nail holes just like you would a knot. :)
  Pappy
Clarksville,Tennessee
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Offline Bogaman

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2014, 09:49:51 am »
Great history, for what I would imagine to be a great bow;^)

Offline autologus

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Re: discolored osage
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2014, 01:41:09 pm »
The Iron in the nails probably reacted with the acidity of the wood and the tannin's to create a vinegroon stain.

Grady
Proud Hillbilly from Arkansas.