Jsega51
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2015
- Messages
- 8,999
I’m going to make this easy so that anyone doing this for the first time won’t need to be worried, as I had never done this before today either! Lol.
My stag 86 had great scales when it arrived a month ago and it went right to use.
Then on Super Bowl Sunday, I decided to make my own sour mix and used said pocket knife to cut up 2 bags of lemons and a bunch of limes. After I washed it, I was surprised that the stag had gotten so light colored. I was squeezing by hand so the knife was constantly covered in the juices as I was going back and forth to the cutting board. I was bummed that it looked so different so I decided to do a little reading on how to revive that nice contrast. Notice how the black is gone.
If you just want to change how your scales look because they came lackluster from the factory, this will work as well.
Potassium Permanganate. I had read up on a few methods that different knife makers used but this is the one that many agreed was the best way. Keeping this whole process simple, Potassium Permanganate is a salt that’s a strong oxidizing agent. It burns organic material. (Hopefully the term ”burnt stag” is coming to mind
). Please do your research on this chemical! Also, it should be noted that I ordered a small jar of the powder on Amazon. Despite reading multiple times that it could be bought in hardware/farm type stores, I couldn’t find it.
I washed the knife in hot water and dish soap to remove any oils and dried it with a towel. Next I mixed about a 1/4 tsp of the PP powder with some very hot water and stirred it. You don’t need much of either for pocket knife scales. Wear rubber gloves! This will burn your skin! Don’t drink it when you see how purple it gets, I don’t think it’s grape flavored lol.
Working one side at a time to limit any mess, I then applied it with a q-tip into the channels of the stag where the black is usually found. Let it sit for a minute or two, wipe it away with a paper towel section to check for darkness, then reapply as needed.
My stag 86 had great scales when it arrived a month ago and it went right to use.
Then on Super Bowl Sunday, I decided to make my own sour mix and used said pocket knife to cut up 2 bags of lemons and a bunch of limes. After I washed it, I was surprised that the stag had gotten so light colored. I was squeezing by hand so the knife was constantly covered in the juices as I was going back and forth to the cutting board. I was bummed that it looked so different so I decided to do a little reading on how to revive that nice contrast. Notice how the black is gone.
If you just want to change how your scales look because they came lackluster from the factory, this will work as well.
Potassium Permanganate. I had read up on a few methods that different knife makers used but this is the one that many agreed was the best way. Keeping this whole process simple, Potassium Permanganate is a salt that’s a strong oxidizing agent. It burns organic material. (Hopefully the term ”burnt stag” is coming to mind
). Please do your research on this chemical! Also, it should be noted that I ordered a small jar of the powder on Amazon. Despite reading multiple times that it could be bought in hardware/farm type stores, I couldn’t find it.I washed the knife in hot water and dish soap to remove any oils and dried it with a towel. Next I mixed about a 1/4 tsp of the PP powder with some very hot water and stirred it. You don’t need much of either for pocket knife scales. Wear rubber gloves! This will burn your skin! Don’t drink it when you see how purple it gets, I don’t think it’s grape flavored lol.
Working one side at a time to limit any mess, I then applied it with a q-tip into the channels of the stag where the black is usually found. Let it sit for a minute or two, wipe it away with a paper towel section to check for darkness, then reapply as needed.
Last edited:
