I recently bought a Mazaki KU gyuto from CKC. I love the knife so far, but like many I'm not a huge fan of the aesthetics of the magnolia/walnut handle. I had been looking into buying a new wa handle for it, either ho/magnolia or maybe ebony/rosewood with black horn ferrule, but started wondering about what I might be able to do with the current handle. Any advice for potentially staining the walnut ferrule black? (including whether it's even worth a shot?).
I have literally zero woodworking/staining experience, so have no instincts here. I've seen india ink recommended for staining walnut, I'm also intrigued by the vinegar/steel wood method (which seems to turn walnut quite dark - but not quite sure what that effect would end up looking here). Also read that poly sometimes isn't great for staining certain things as it ends up glossier, but I wouldn't mind the ferrule being a bit glossy - gives a look somewhat similar to a horn ferrule.
Other limitation is that I'm not going to be staining to many other things black, so ideally don't want to be buying gallon buckets, but that's a bit of a secondary concern after figuring out what approach would even make sense.
Thanks!
I have literally zero woodworking/staining experience, so have no instincts here. I've seen india ink recommended for staining walnut, I'm also intrigued by the vinegar/steel wood method (which seems to turn walnut quite dark - but not quite sure what that effect would end up looking here). Also read that poly sometimes isn't great for staining certain things as it ends up glossier, but I wouldn't mind the ferrule being a bit glossy - gives a look somewhat similar to a horn ferrule.
Other limitation is that I'm not going to be staining to many other things black, so ideally don't want to be buying gallon buckets, but that's a bit of a secondary concern after figuring out what approach would even make sense.
Thanks!