So last weekend I made up a bunch of test pieces or walnut for staining. My wife liked a 1:1 mix of birchwood Casey walnut with their rusty walnut. I slept on it for a week and I figure after all this work it deserves something with a bit more character.
I bought a jar of alkanes root powder, and have a couple tablespoons soaking in 8oz of turpentine right now. Next weekend, I'll heat up some raw linseed oilicon and some of this mixture, then strain it - and put some on a test piece.