arrow dye question?

[Jon Stewart]

I made a liquid out of black walnut shells and would like to stain some arrows with it.  Do I have to add anything to the stain before I apply it to the arrows. Thanks,

Jon Stewart
Semper Fi

[Tom Leemans]

You don't have to. Stain is stain and you may need several applications to get the hue that you want but it'll be fine. It has more to do with how well the species of wood accepts the stain. There was once an article on staining arrows with walnut hulls, in PA magazine, I believe.

[Sharpster]

Naturally made walnut stain has to be very consentrated to achieve the dark brown/black that we think of. You may be disapointed when your shafts come out with a greenish hue. You will need to put several coats on and still may not be able to get that deep choclate brown that you are looking for. you can darken the home made walnut stain by adding a good amount of rotten log dust/chips. Trappers call this logwood dye and it will dye steel just about jet black. I haven't tryed it on wood but it sure works on steel, also helps prevent rust from developing on traps.

-Sharps