[Rod S.]

Oak fuming with ammonia was (and is) a common coloring technique used by Mission and Arts & Crafts furniture makers. It produces a browning of the light color of fresh oak. If the front door of our 1887 house is any indication, it takes many years of UV and environmental pollutants working upon an organic coating - shellac, oil or lacquer - to darken a surface. The inside of our oak door was nearly black, but a heat gun and plastic scraper readily removed the finish to reveal golden oak beneath.

I have ash and maple wooden garden and woodsman implements that are over 90 years old, and their unworn sections are "shaded" but nowhere near dark brown or black. I think it's the finish that darkens severely with time, and not the wood.

Rod

[Scott Woodruff]

Potassium permanganate (used in water softeners and such) is often used to accelerate oxidation in antiqueing. I,ve gotten good results rubbing a permanganate solution on oiled and burnished wood, but I have not yet been able to replicate that museum look perfectly. Permanganate is not too dangerous to work with but it will instantly antique anything it comes in contact with, and will leave brown stains on skin where it oxidizes the dead cells. Also, a shiny blackened surface can be created by fire-hardening. If carefully done, this technique can produce a beautiful and durable finish but is better suited to knife handles than to polearm hafts, but it could be done.