Bone, horn or stag in a sweaty pocket?

sogflash

sogflash

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Aug 28, 2011
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Sometimes pockets can get sweaty. How will it affect a knife with bone, horn or stag handles?

I'm considering buying a northwoods forest jack with rough cut bone, but I'm not familiar with bone, horn or stag.
 
I've never had it affect any of my knives, although i've heard that buffalo horn can be a bit touchy... but any material can be if it's not properly stabilized/kiln dried. I had a forest jack and the scales were perfect, but I think the part of the country and what not affects a knife more than anything. Washington state (where I live) is super easy on knives (except the coast).
 
I carry my SBJ with me in Chestnut Bone with me sometimes. I usually am sweating through my cammies by mid-day when I am working outside and it has held up fine for me in NC.

Just my .02
 
It's never affected any of my knives except for one with wood covers. It has caused that one to darken, but the wood was not stabilized or finished in any way that I could tell. Sweaty pockets have caused some of my carbon steel blades to develop a dark line in the patina or pepper spots on the part of the blade that is exposed in the closed position. The steel is really more of an issue than handle materials when it comes to sweat.
 
sogflash said:
Sometimes pockets can get sweaty. How will it affect a knife with bone, horn or stag handles?

I'm considering buying a northwoods forest jack with rough cut bone, but I'm not familiar with bone, horn or stag.
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You are probably aware that the Forest Jack comes with a very nice pouch. I always carry mine in the pouch and have had no problems whatsoever.


 
I have little experience with horn, but I've carried bone and stag for years with no problem. Given that I live in a humid environment, and a salt atmosphere from the Chesapeake bay, that says something about their durability. From early April to October, we spend a good deal of time messing about with small boats. So things get wet. No problems.

Carl.
 
Thank you for all your answers.

My next knife may just be with horn or bone.
 
Elephant ivory gets sticky when wet. Almost like glue and then when dry it goes back to normal. Amazing stuff.....
 
I have been carrying a bone handled queen for months commercial fishing. it has been typical hot humid new england summer weather for most of that time and raining for the rest. The knife is exposed to sweat, rain, sea water etc. No problems with the handle scales. Like others have said, I think the blade would be more likely to be affected in sweaty damp pockets. Bone and stag, and I think even checkered horn have been used on folding mariner's knives for centuries.
 
I have carried bone knives for more years than I care to admit. They just get better with age. And if there is anything I can do, it is sweat!
 
okbohn said:
I have carried bone knives for more years than I care to admit. They just get better with age. And if there is anything I can do, it is sweat!
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LOL! Right there with you. I haven't ever had problems with bone and I have one old CASE knives that have been carried by me so much over the last thirty years that the beautiful dark cranberry bone is now a mottle brown. The jigging is pretty smooth and even a couple of pins have lost their heads. But the scales are fine and show no signs of cracking or failure.

Had great luck with my stag handled folders, but they did turn a dark tobacco bone color at the bolsters (white when new). No failures, but have heard different comments off and on that would lead me to inspect a new stag handled knife carefully before buying.

No real luck with horn. I have Puma 4 star from about '78 that has been great with its buffalo horn. But other horn knives I have owned have had problems with horn shrinking, and then cracking away from the scale pins. I have a Benchmade with (reported by Benchmade) Kudu scales. They seem OK. But that knife hasn't seen days and weeks on end in my pocket as a work knife, either.

So for all around "drop it in your pocket and forget it" I would go with bone and not give it another thought.

Robert
 
I have never had it affect bone or my stag.

Really, unless you are swimming in very hot water, it should be fine.

Buy that sucker and toss it into your pocket.

I do use slip sheaths on many of my traditional pocket knives. Not because I have had sweaty pocket issues, but to keep them from scratching each other when I obsessively carry more than one per pocket!
 
Smooth Bone in particular will darken, all bone and stag should actually benefit from this 'treatment' Believe me, dry lack of humidity is their worst enemy. Try leaving them in a fiercely centrally heated room in winter sunshine...DON'T!

Horn could be more sensitive to varying types of humidity, very damp could soften it I suppose.It certainly can shrink or curl in the dry.
 
Here's a Vic with cow horn covers that I carried on my job for at least 15 years, scuffed up from pocket change, etc. It's at least 25 years old...a gift from a Swiss textile equipment vendor.

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The 68 white owl in buffalo bone no longer joins me during yard work (it's about the only time it's out my pocket) because I got the suspicion the sweat was affecting it, nothing major but the figured side scale started to feel, dryer, somehow, didn't need much of a warning, true or not it's easier to switch to an alox sak and have my peace of mind :)



figured side

 
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