Dyeing a stag handle

[David Stifle]

Hey folks! I took a very large sambar stag block down to handle size, and in doing so, all of the bark was removed, leaving a smooth white ivory like handle. It's nice, but I want an amber colored stag handle. Can I dye the handle when all the bark has been removed? I'm not sure how it would take. Any advice?

 

[rustyrazor]

tea works if you want a slight darkening or you can use any shade of wood stain for varying darknesses. I have had great luck with leather dye however you really have to watch where you put it because it seems to go deeper than the rest and if it's on a high point, the high point won't sand down as white/ivory as it normally would as it will be stained deeper. that being the case, it doesn't rub off ever! last one that a friend of mine swore by but I haven't tried personally is potassium permanganate (spell check that one) that works for a really dark contrast but it will turn your skin blue for about two weeks if you're not careful.

hope this helps a bit.

 

[David Stifle]

tea works if you want a slight darkening or you can use any shade of wood stain for varying darknesses. I have had great luck with leather dye however you really have to watch where you put it because it seems to go deeper than the rest and if it's on a high point, the high point won't sand down as white/ivory as it normally would as it will be stained deeper. that being the case, it doesn't rub off ever! last one that a friend of mine swore by but I haven't tried personally is potassium permanganate (spell check that one) that works for a really dark contrast but it will turn your skin blue for about two weeks if you're not careful.

hope this helps a bit.

Thanks, I've tried those methods, to varying degrees of success. Of all of the methods, potassium permanganate is probably the best. I meant to add that's what I would be using if I decide to go ahead with this. Next time, I'll get a more suitable size so I have some bark left on the piece.

 

[NWAlabamaHiker]

I dye all of my antler handles with Fiebings leather dye or leather finish in different colors. It works the best of anything I've tried. Here's a couple of pictures of a couple I've finished.

But also sometimes I take a torch and "burn" the antler a little sometimes. Hope this helps.

 

[Salem Straub]

Fiebings oil dye works well for me too, even on areas that have been ground/sanded bare.
This whole taper was a rather blah color before some acetone, and Fiebing's dark brown leather dye mixed with alcohol. Many applications.
Hopefully this pic works, I'm so tired of shifting all my pics to photobucket...

 

[Andy Lewis]

David, you didn’t mention what handle configuration your were shooting for but next time if you wish to preserve some oversized stag’s popcorn/texture, you might split the “block” on a V-sled in your bandsaw, then remove material from those fresh sawn “inside” surfaces to reduce bulk and thickness before pairing again appropriately around your tang. Works well enough for both full-tang and stick-tang setups. Some nice benefits are that you usually end up sawing out a lot of the softer pith on any roll larger than say ¾” diameter and you end up with a more grip- and eye-friendly oval x-section covered in characteristic texture as opposed to rounded-over bland grey surface that’s similar to the original shape. No dye can cover that issue in my opinion.

And on topic...I have had good luck with potassium permanganate washes followed by controlled applications of spirit-based leather dyes down in the cracks and crevices. I usually clean the stag with EtOH first, then soak for a minute in hot tap water before brushing on diluted PP. No need to soak, just rinse immediately. It goes on as a crazy magenta color but quickly turns a natural looking range of brown as rinsed. The PP doesn’t penetrate but a few thousandths and makes for interesting highlights that match the texture when polished back after drying. The darker leather dyes do their job down in the lows. This can look pretty good after some light sanding and a hand buff with polishing paper.

And there’s always Culpeppers in North Carolina….

Below is an example of the above coloring process, before and after, on a simple patch knife idea I straight up stole from MS Lin Rhea 3 or 4 years back. Thanks Lin!

 

[David Stifle]

David, you didn’t mention what handle configuration your were shooting for but next time if you wish to preserve some oversized stag’s popcorn/texture, you might split the “block” on a V-sled in your bandsaw, then remove material from those fresh sawn “inside” surfaces to reduce bulk and thickness before pairing again appropriately around your tang. Works well enough for both full-tang and stick-tang setups. Some nice benefits are that you usually end up sawing out a lot of the softer pith on any roll larger than say ¾” diameter and you end up with a more grip- and eye-friendly oval x-section covered in characteristic texture as opposed to rounded-over bland grey surface that’s similar to the original shape. No dye can cover that issue in my opinion.

And on topic...I have had good luck with potassium permanganate washes followed by controlled applications of spirit-based leather dyes down in the cracks and crevices. I usually clean the stag with EtOH first, then soak for a minute in hot tap water before brushing on diluted PP. No need to soak, just rinse immediately. It goes on as a crazy magenta color but quickly turns a natural looking range of brown as rinsed. The PP doesn’t penetrate but a few thousandths and makes for interesting highlights that match the texture when polished back after drying. The darker leather dyes do their job down in the lows. This can look pretty good after some light sanding and a hand buff with polishing paper.

And there’s always Culpeppers in North Carolina….

Below is an example of the above coloring process, before and after, on a simple patch knife idea I straight up stole from MS Lin Rhea 3 or 4 years back. Thanks Lin!

That's a tick of the trade I would never have thought of, thanks for sharing.:thumbup: Do you think I should dye a stag handle that has been ground down to the inner coating? i'm worried it might come out blotchy.

 

[Willie71]

The analine dyes from Lee valley work well. They have an amber that looks really good.

 

[WaltE99]

I dye all of my antler handles with Fiebings leather dye or leather finish in different colors. It works the best of anything I've tried. Here's a couple of pictures of a couple I've finished.

But also sometimes I take a torch and "burn" the antler a little sometimes. Hope this helps.

Man, I bet that burning thing smells good[emoji3] Seriously, those knives look great!

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

[jdm61]

The problem with stag is that it is not uniformly dense/porous, so if you go the "fake ivory" route, you can get some spotty results.

 

[NWAlabamaHiker]

Man, I bet that burning thing smells good[emoji3] Seriously, those knives look great!

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

Yeah if you burn them very much it smells awful! But it actually didn't take much to just barely scorch or burn it to give it just a little color. You don't want to burn it too much because it'll dry the antler out too much. Just a few seconds is all it takes.
And thanks for the compliment!

 

[David Stifle]

The analine dyes from Lee valley work well. They have an amber that looks really good.

Thanks Willie. I just got two pounds of Potassium Permanganate I'm eager to try out.