Home made non-toxic stain.

[Morgan88]

Hello all
I have finished a couple kitchen utensil on my wood lathe. Now I am looking for some non-toxic stain. I will then finish up with mineral oil. I know walnuts are out of season. That would be easy. I have tried coffee and tea and the stain is way too light. See the sauerkraut/tater smasher. Can't seem to get the photos right side up. Argg!

Morgan88 View attachment 55867

 

[MRockwell]

Hey Morgan88,
What type of wood are your utensils made from? If you are using oak, beech, cherry, or butternut...you could try fuming with ammonia.
Here is a link to get you started: Lee Valley Tools - Fuming with Ammonia

 

[Morgan88]

MRockwell
Oak , one of the kraut smashers is oak sandwiched between two pieces of pine. Really hard to turn. The one in the pic in the 1st post is from a 4x4 of an old barn that was torn down. Not sure what kind of wood it is. Thank you very kindly for the response. As you can see I wasn't getting much input.

 

[Nojoy621]

Have you taken a look at Linseed oil? Boiled linseed oil has a nice dark finish, and it 100% non toxic.

 

[MRockwell]

MRockwell
Oak , one of the kraut smashers is oak sandwiched between two pieces of pine. Really hard to turn. The one in the pic in the 1st post is from a 4x4 of an old barn that was torn down. Not sure what kind of wood it is. Thank you very kindly for the response. As you can see I wasn't getting much input.

I can't see the grain structure of the one in the picture, but from your description it could very more than likely be oak.
Here is a link to a discussion I found:I was mis-informed about fuming!! - by TheWoodsmith @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community
Does not seem you need to use a high %concentration of ammonia to get the results, it just takes more time.

I have never done any fuming, but have known about the technique for years. If you do decide to do it, take all safety precautions(not preaching, just reminding).