Toller wrote:
You can try lye for darkening; I have never had any luck with it. It sorta
works, but looks like wood that has had lye on it.

I'm with you there...in my experience it adds a tremendous amount of
red to the wood...a very unatural look.

Myself I prefer to fume it in order to speed up the darkening process.
No artificial look to it at all.

However, if I were the OP I would definitely try to get hold of some to
experiment with. That's the way I learned, and I've found there is no
better teacher. And there may be some opportunities where that red
look might just fit the bill.

And hey...what's the harm? If you don't like it, you just pour the
rest down the drain!