# Animal Blood Wood Stain



## bobro (Oct 24, 2014)

Well, you learn something new every day. According to the old folks out in the country around here, animal blood used to be used to stain interior pine and spruce in farmhouses. The old Turkey Red color for cloth has calves' blood and sheep's dung as well as sumac and so on, so I would guess that there must have been some process and other ingredients involved.

At any rate, I thought it was interesting. Going to try ebonizing for the first time- the steel wool and vinegear sauce has turned good and dark after a week or so.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

The blood sounds like it would work pretty well, though I think I'd avoid using dung on anything.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

For wood, dung makes a crappy stain.
Many of the pieces I make have been stained with blood….mine.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Seems like that would smell after a few days, but probably not as bad as dung.


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## bobro (Oct 24, 2014)

Well, they must have done something to it so it would keep and not stink, some kind of chemical process. Look at milk paint for instance.


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## bold1 (May 5, 2013)

Ever hear of Oxblood Red.


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## bobro (Oct 24, 2014)

Yip, I had a pair of shoes in oxblood years ago. I don't know if the name came from originally being made with ox blood, or from the particular color of red it is.


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## Yonak (Mar 27, 2014)

Barns were traditionally red because they were painted with ox blood. I'm sure the smell would fade after a short while.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I think this would encourage bacterial growth.Things have moved on and have really taken a very scientific approach to stains and paints etc nowadays.Companies spend millions in research finding the very best products for todays woodworkers. I will stick with the newer stuff unless the old stuff produces a really miraculous result the likes of which could not be replicated with modern methods.Alistair


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

> I think this would encourage bacterial growth.Things have moved on and have really taken a very scientific approach to stains and paints etc nowadays.Companies spend millions in research finding the very best products for todays woodworkers. I will stick with the newer stuff unless the old stuff produces a really miraculous result the likes of which could not be replicated with modern methods.Alistair
> 
> - SCOTSMAN


+1


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## Yonak (Mar 27, 2014)

> I think this would encourage bacterial growth.


I think we're talking about historical usage here.


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## bobro (Oct 24, 2014)

These historical stains, dyes, and so on, were formulated to DIScourage bacterial and fungal growth.

Take the traditional barn paint: whether or not blood or some other coloring agent was mixed in, the main ingredients were linseed oil and lime. That's preservative.

I have no intention of staining wood with blood, but I don't think looking into old methods is futile at all. And what really got me interested in these things is that where I'm at, there is a radical disconnection from even perfectly normal do-it-yourself methods and people in the city.

I have yet to meet a single city person in the region under the age of fifty who is familiar with these basic materials of household, kitchen and shop:

steel wool
lime
cheesecloth
mineral oil

That includes the personel at the home-improvement stores. I used to think I was just getting grumpy, but talking to older folk and people in the country, it turns out that I'm not alone in this assessment, and not exaggerating.

I'm sure many processes are lost and forgotten for very good reason. Using mercury in the process when making felt hats, for example, which is where the expression "mad as a hatter" comes from" (brain damage, actually). But when you meet people who've never heard of steel wool, it makes you wonder just how much of the excellent gets lost and forgotten, too.


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## GBalkam (Aug 6, 2020)

From what I have been reading, salt or other preservatives were added to the oxblood as preservative. As for the smell and bacteria, since you would only be applying a thin layer it would dry much faster than bacteria could form, and then a sealer such as lacquer or shellac or even wax would have been applied. Once sealed, no air or moisture could penetrate so the oxblood would be preserved for centuries.

*painter for over 20 years*


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