Burning Stag?

C

catcalls

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May 7, 2012
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I am making a neck knife and I am using stag for the handles. The stag is fairly white, and I would like to put some more Color(dark brown?), and I have heard of other people burning stag. Can I use a Mapp torch to put a little color into the handle?
Jack
 
Burned stag always looks like you were trying to make it something it isn't-and it looks terrible!
The preferred method for darkening stag is potassium permanganate.
You can use inks and leather dyes, too. When using them, I like to seal the colored stag with clear Krylon spray. Polishing the stag removes the Krylon from the high spots and leaves it in the low spots to keep the dye/ink from running.
Tip-only color the low spots.
 
Potassium Permanganate is the way to color the stag. After coloring it, it will look awful, and you will think you messed up. But, after clean-up , sanding, and buffing, it looks great. Try it on some scrap antler first.

You can find it at places that sell water softening/treatment chemicals and pool supplies. It is used to remove iron from well water.

Leather dye works, but the color never looks quite right to me.
 
Yes, you can.

As suggested, try it on a scrap piece first to practice and see what effect you can get. you can easily try it alongside the chemical or dye methods to see which method in *your* opinion looks best or looks either awful or terrible.
 
Thank you to all who responded. I put it in a bag with some leather dye and swished it all around until I felt it would have been fully covered, and I will finish the handle today, and tell you how it looked.
Jack
 
Burning stag makes the colors exactly opposite of what they should be-dark high spots and uncolored low spots. It also drys out the stag and makes it soft and brittle.
Perhaps I should have suggested using a Q tip and applying the dye to the lower areas of the stag, rather than soaking it. Most leather dyes penetrate deeply, and it's possible the stag will be colored through.
 
I had good luck with the "mahogany" feibings leather dye followed by some aggressive steel wooling. What I dont know however, is how well the finish holds up, or if it will need to be re-dyed again at some point in the future.
 
Try rubbing a little oil and burning it lightly with a torch, this was Rudy"s Ruana method in the 30's.
 
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