I bought the Harnds Viper after seeing all the positive reviews on the forum, and I got to say that I am impressed with the quality and build of this knife, the only thing I didn’t like was the brown scales, so I decided to color them black using RIT dye powder.
I thoroughly washed the scales with soap and vinegar to remove any oils that might interfere with the dye then boiled the scales in the dye for about 1 hour and while it was boiling I polished with a dremel the area of the steel liners that contact the washers, the steel pivot screw, the steel blade inside and around the pivot hole and the teflon washers, put a drop of lubricant and assembled it back.
It now opens and closes super smooth, here are some pics of the finished scales on the knife, I like the black color much better!
Looks great! `I remembered you said you were gonna do it.
So, how long did it take to get it from fasttech?
I’ve hesitated to order from them since the slow down.
Are you completely satisfied with the fit and finish of the Viper?
Looks like you got a good one.
Streamer, I ordered it on 12/1 and received it on 12/23 but I did had to open a ticket because the tracking information they gave me was erroneous, they were fast to reply and send a tracking number (It was different than the first one). Other than that I am very pleased with the knife, It came sharp out of the box and the blade is well centered, I did notice slight grittiness when opening but nothing major and that got fixed after I disassembled and polished the rubbing parts.
Chloe, I had already read that the screws were not that good, so I was very careful in taking it apart and pressed hard against the screw before turning, so there were no problems at all.
There are some YouTube videos about RIT dyeing knife scales, I just went for 1 full hour to make sure the color went all the way in, there is absolutely no hint that the scales were originally brown.
I have used surgical grade G10 before and it wouldn’t take dye at all. Never tried boiling it though. This was a large 3/4” plate that was made as a stable base to mount the machine on that the hospital used to replace knees and hips. Has to be very stable cutting the knee/hip joint for the Titanium replacement parts to fit properly.
I made handles for a Ruger Vaquero in .45 Long Colt from this stuff. Didn’t want to shoot it in gravel pits with the rosewood handles.
I still have a couple of 12” round 2” thick pieces of it. Green, it’s natural color. Incredibly dense stuff.
Nice job with the knife, looks perfect.
Edit: That disc on top of the blade looks like the old Emerson style
I’m sure the scales can be dyed in other colors, I’ve seen green, red and orange colored scales on YouTube, as long as the original color is not too dark it can take other colors, BTW this is my first dark scales knife, I have red and quincewood scales on other knifes, I might try orange, green or red for my next knife purchase
