can you stain deer antler?

T

TATTOOMAN

Joined
Dec 2, 2005
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i'm in the finishing stages of a antler handle knife. it has a buffalo horn spacer
between the blade(bought from ragweed forge) and antler handle. i have one
brass pin through the handle. when i ruff shaped the horn to handle, i sanded
about 1" of the antler white. i have some minwax polyshade( stain/polyurathane in one) in mahogany. will it stain the antler? will it last?
any replies on this will be much appreciated. thanks, randy roberts
 
Yes you can but I'd use a leather dye that is cut with alchol mainly because it penitrates better. Also the older and more weatherd the antler is the better it will accept color. Its a good idea to seal it. I use Watco Teak finish. Linseed and mineral oil can also be used.
 
potasium permanganate crystals added to water is the traditional method (from most drug stores) leather dies as mentioned are also very good, or you can steep the handle in really, really, really strong tea, or you may at your own risk lightly, repeat lightly, scorch the stag with a propane flame. Or you could just buff the bone and leave it white, I generally prefer the contrast. Good luck with it.
 
Randy,
Fiebings leather dye works really well on antler. Clean the antler with soap and water, then degrease ( I use acetone). Soak the antler with the dye. You can use dark brown, med. brown, tan, even a little black to get the look you want. Let the antler dry at least overnight. Rub it well with coarse cloth to get the dye residue off. Like Ray said, you'll want to seal it to keep the dye from bleeding off. I use paste furniture wax, but the other products work well. Experiment on some scrape pieces to get the feel of the color you are looking for.
Rick
 
How red do you want them? I tried the "Eco Flo" brand leather dye in 'Canyon Tan' and it turned some well aged elk antler quite red.

P1120004.jpg


This was a first try, wipe on and let dry attempt. I didn't pursue it further...
 
Rey Garza said:
How to color knife antler handles in red?
Click to expand...

Tell it an off color joke...(sorry, I couldnt' help myself)...

Oops...I just noticed this was your first post on the forum...Welcome to our little group, and please overlook my odd sense of humor....
 
You can also boil antler in real srong dark coffe grounds to color it. When I do this I use Community Dark Roast. You have to let the antler dry really well before using it though. I also use Fiebings leather dye as was mentioned and it works well too.
 
Stag should be stained BEFORE it is cut and applied to the knife. If it is not done this way the staining is obvious.
 
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