Darkening Walnut

[JosephThomas]

Thx @wtnhighlander But to clarify I'm just leery because I don't know exactly what it leaves behind in the wood...I expect to use the normal precautions when working with liquid chemicals. But I'm worried about leaving behind wood furniture that pets or kids might chew on...perhaps long after I'm gone and unable to explain what's in there or why it can't be chewed on. One of the many reasons I prefer to not use anything to stain/dye wood, seems safer to stick with clear finishes that cure to "plastic".

[Tpt life]

Lye has been used for many years to cure several types of traditional foods. You’d have to drink it to be hurt by it, not just chew on stuff that has been touched by it. 

[Chestnut]

Isn't lye used to make soap? It's not really dangerous in that it will kill you, more that concentrated lye will cause chemical burns.

Think of it like chlorine , strait out of the bottle that stuff is nasty, diluted in a pool how many of us haven't drank some of it involuntarily.

Or alcohol, 100% ethyl alcohol is pretty harsh stuff but at 4% combined with hops it's only kinda bad ...

[wdwerker]

4% ? Try 7% -9% Belgian ! Or 40 % tequila.....

Lye is used on corn to make grits. With a few spices and some shrimp grits are really tasty. 

[wtnhighlander]

Don't get the impression I started experimenting on a whim. Lye is a very old method of coloring wood, I just wanted to try it myself. Interesting fact: lye itself is a wood by-product, made by seeping hot water through hardwood ashes. 

A lot of my experimentation revolves around old methods and materials. Things like shellac or soap finishes, chemical coloration techniques, etc... are still perfectly viable ways of doing things. In general, the more modern techniques and materials we use have been developed to "improve" some small thing, and they certainly do not invalidate older methods.