Case Bone stag handle aging

S

Sebrw

Joined
Oct 2, 2019
Messages
16
I've got this Case 6.5375 large stockman with bone stag handle for 3 years now. It quickly became my favorite and I have been carrying it every single day since.

I recently found a picture I took of it the day it arrived and I was impressed how much color it has lost.

Here it is 3 years ago (Dark burnt orange color):
https://ibb.co/mHK2XSh
mHK2XSh

And today (light yellow butter-ish color):
zRHx78k

https://ibb.co/zRHx78k

I really love the bone stag handle. It is gorgeous and I also like the extra thickness compared to synthetic knives (I have the 10375 in black canva laminate) and the classical amber bone (got a trapper with it). But I wonder, will I ultimately end with an ivory bone handle? Or that kind of color loss is expected and my knife will keep its butter-ish color for a long time?

Any feedback from long time bone stag case knives owners?

Thanks!

EDIT: Sorry I could not find how to insert images in the post
 
Looks great. :thumbsup:

I don't have any bonestag to compare, in Case knives. But I couldn't help but notice yours in the most recent pic looks a lot like my 6375 CV in amber bone, which has 'yellowed' in a very attractive manner as well. Jigging is different, but the warming of the bone color is still there. Color shifts a bit, when viewed in either natural daylight or in 'warmer' interior lighting. Either way, very attractive.

e8dbNRv.jpg
 
Very beautiful amber bone! Yes the "yellowing" looks like a lot what I see on my Bone stag. I actually prefer the current color of mine compare to what it was, I was just wondering if the handle will persist loosing color and become just "bone" :)
May I ask you how old is your knife? My 3 years old amber bone trapper is still very dark and pinky on the edge of the handle but I don't carry it almost never.
 
Sebrw said:
Very beautiful amber bone! Yes the "yellowing" looks like a lot what I see on my Bone stag. I actually prefer the current color of mine compare to what it was, I was just wondering if the handle will persist loosing color and become just "bone" :)
May I ask you how old is your knife? My 3 years old amber bone trapper is still very dark and pinky on the edge of the handle but I don't carry it almost never.
Click to expand...

Mine is stamped for 2012, so it's about 9 years old now. I think a good part of the yellowing/warming also comes from handling and/or pocket wear (and mine shows a good bit of that, as I've been carrying it everyday for a while). The handling and pocket wear is all part of the character that will enhance the look of the bone over time.

(Edited to add another pic below...)
5HVj3Xf.jpg
 
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Only have one Bonestag 6.5 CASE knife left, sold one and gave another away. It's very attractive material but a lot depends on how gnarly & thick it is originally. Some examples have deep grooves others not.

Yours shows true Pocketworn aspect as you've carried it a great deal, my suspicion is that the 'butter' colour will continue to take hold and it will be like a yellowish Ivory bone colour, very good to have. The black markings tend to vanish as I think they're a surface colourant or dye, not likely torching but even that disappears with carry on genuine Stag knives.

NXyWZSP.jpg
 
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Thank you all for feedback!
I will keep my trusty little companion in my pocket for a couple more years and I may come back here to post some updated pictures of how the aging went!

Will Power Will Power : That's some deep grooves! It's gorgeous!
 
E9578F81-0FD7-40E2-A5F2-2439BA26C9E4.jpeg 841F5285-B5D5-4F12-9DD3-3E9AC50E99A0.jpeg 2018 Case 6.5 T.B. teardrop. I don’t carry it very often, and really like these particular scales. I will eventually find another to do so, as this one was the finest of the bunch in hand. Haven’t seen many like this one as f/f is perfect, flush on all stops, no blade play or wobble and well centered. It’s a Keeper. As mentioned prior, most bone and stag scales I’ve experienced do fade over time. This adds a unique character to each and every one of them. Enjoy :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Un-Chained Un-Chained : These are the most beautiful scales I ever saw on a case knife! That rich brown color is absolutely fantastic! Too bad they don't stay that way forever... ;)

For those interested, I did a little stain job on my 6.5375. I wanted to get rid of the really "white" part of the bone that appears over time so I went for a 2h bath in strong black tea + coffee. This gave a real antique look to the scales and also stain a bit the bolsters to a very light golden color (I don't know if visible on the picture). Then to recover a little contrast, I rubbed some black shoe polish (mainly to darken the grooves) and fix everything with water resistant coating. I'm quite happy with the result and the colors seems to withstand standard soap washes. I will see how this behave over time.

Pictures:
https://ibb.co/Dgbs513
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