India stag, desired or not?

A.G.,
I bought this stag from you at Blade,and quite a few other pieces too. It also bought some more at your show and enjoyed talking to Bill about it as we'll.
This is the only set I've used so far. I will definitely be buying more from you at this years Blade show if you are selling it again.
 
Great thread so far.

Special thanks to Ed Fowler for his perspective, and for always standing behind it by consistently sharing his methods over the past decades.

Back to the original post, I am always interested in good stag and a fair price. For years I saw sub par material at an inflated price.
 
I could use some education as to what constitutes good stag. I am not familiar enough to know what quality's differentiate the good from bad.
 
I'm just getting started with knifemaking so I wouldn't dare try to tackle a piece of genuine stag. I've got some whitetail antler to use while I'm learning and I hope you're still selling genuine stag and it's still available when I've learned enough to try to tackle a few pieces.
 
Ed Fowler said:
AG: this is a good post!

While at Blade Show last year I saw some beautiful stag. I asked the dealer how he worked it, he told me it is a secret. I walked away!
Later at the same show I saw some that looked like it had been worked over in a kindergarten class. I asked the dealer how he worked it, I got the same answer " It is a propitiatory method". again I walked away.

I had no intention of working with stag, was just curious, when I got the answer that their methods were "secret" I immediately lost interest. I hate secrets and have no respect for those who keep them from the rest of the knife community.

Still the image that these "secrets" are hard to develop, I would suggest first: the newbie is afraid to try to equal the beauty the one with the secret has 'discovered' and lacking the theoretical skill, shies away from buying stag.

I feel you would not only be doing the stag market a favor, as will as the new makers if you posted some of the methods you have found useful in working stag.

By sharing you will be doing all a favor.
Click to expand...

Ed,

It is my intention to do that on my stag web site when I get it built. The only "Secret" that I keep is my sources. The folks who make knives for me have a limited number of workers who can make the quality I must have, so, I do not want others to find them.

Right now I am searching for a source for the center post for my drill press table so that I can tell those who want to use solid stag how to drill holes just where they want them. I have had one since 1970 but have never seen another.
 
Thanks AG, I would also like to see various alternatives for finishing the surface of the stag after the handle is completed.

From what I see many makers are afraid to work with the surface of the handle for fear of damaging the beauty of the stag a purchased.

As an example: Rudy Ruana used to coat the surface of his elk horn handles after he had shaped them with oil, then burn it with a torch to develop a unique color.

There are many other methods, if you could add surface treatments to this web site, I believe it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Ed,

I do not believe in scorching or burning stag surfaces. When the knife is complete, then after the stag has been polished it can be waxed and hand rubbed with a soft cloth.

Rudy was using Elk, Elk has a much thinner skin with way more pith than almost any other antler. If you are willing to put lots of labor into the sleaning out of the pith and the boiling/steaming and flattening it would be worth while for scales.

I have not been able to find mych use for any part of WhiteTail except the crowns. It is rare to find a stright enough piece to use for a handle. I used a lot of it in the 50s but those knives would not sell today. It can be used for pocket knives.

A. G.
 
A. G. Russell said:
I took beautifully matched pairs of stag scales to the blade show and sold less than $500 worth.

Wrong kind of stag or wrong place?

I will soon anounce a web site for selling all kinds of Sambar and Axis antler.

When I put stag handled knives in my catalog the sell really well, have makers been turned off because it has become so rare?

A. G.
Click to expand...

Not sure why sales at the show were slow but personally, I'm not using as much as in years past because of the quality (or lack thereof) that has been available recently. Exhibition grade stag still sells well on a knife but lesser quality stag does not and can bring down the value of a quality knife. I am another who won't buy stag that I can't inspect first hand.

Gary
 
Big Mike said:
AG, you would have to bring up are mutual friend Bob Dozier, the man that inspired me to rise to the challenge of knife making.

But, your words speak volumes. Those not use to working the backside of the slabs to achieve the proper fit will ruin some slabs grinding too much bark off. A very expensive lesson at today's prices.

I have learned through the years to treat any bark-on material very carefully, as there is no room for over finishing; I guess that's a lesson the young guns can learn from us older fellows.




Big Mike
Click to expand...

So glad I stumbled upon this thread...Hey Guy's, I'm Duane and I like to do a little Modding/ Refurb on mostly Bucks...Ive got a few Elk rounds that came my way and want to re handle some knives with it. My thoughts were to make a "cradle" to carry the rounds through the band saw along a fence to get an even slice to make slabs (sacrificial cradle of Balsa wood)...Then I assumed that I would use the opposite removed grip to make my cutout and sand to lines for fitment, working on the flat surface. I plan on using Loc Tite 326 for adhesion forgoing any pins...
I've been holding off working with this material because...A. I fear screwing up a limited supply that I have
B. don't know the best method for pre cleaning and finishing ( these were drops) and have decent character.
C. haven't found redily available info on tequniques for working with this stuff...
Any guidance woud be greatly appreciated, this is a new area of the forums for me...so TIA for your patience and understanding.
Duane
 
Gary Mulkey said:
Not sure why sales at the show were slow but personally, I'm not using as much as in years past because of the quality (or lack thereof) that has been available recently. Exhibition grade stag still sells well on a knife but lesser quality stag does not and can bring down the value of a quality knife. I am another who won't buy stag that I can't inspect first hand.

Gary
Click to expand...
I feel exactly the same way.
One more thing I,ve found out the hard way is to be careful buying scales that have been paired up. They may look ok but when bolted to a knife and polished you may find they are from two different animals. I like to buy the extra large rolls and tapers and cut them into scales myself.
 
I use stag sticks and crown sticks but rarely use scales. Always looking for good but not overly expensive stag, but my typical knife is between $150 and $450 with the upper range being hand forged Damascus so I can't get too much invested in handle materials unless it is a custom build

-Page
 
If I’m buying stag scales by the pair, I want them to be well matched in color and figure. I’ve never liked a knife whose scales didn’t match. Especially stag scales. Not that they have to mirror each other. But they should have the similar color and similar texture. Both with popcorn or neither. Both the similar in color.

There is matching and there is matching.

I once bought two stag scales to fix up a Busse SAR 5. Both cuts had good figure and color, and matched nicely. But…one scale had an oily or waxy look to it. I don’t know how else to describe it. There is an almost translucent depth to that piece which is quite lacking in the other. What a beauty! This wasn’t the first time I’ve noticed stag with that look. It’s just the most dramatic, in knives I own.

When I was shopping I would have paid extra for two well matched stag scales that both had that waxy depth. Consider setting aside stag slabs with that look, and only matching them with each other. You could add a surcharge for your trouble.

I’m guessing the premium makers would value them. Any bladesmiths are welcome to add their two cents.
 
sitflyer said:
So glad I stumbled upon this thread...Hey Guy's, I'm Duane and I like to do a little Modding/ Refurb on mostly Bucks...Ive got a few Elk rounds that came my way and want to re handle some knives with it. My thoughts were to make a "cradle" to carry the rounds through the band saw along a fence to get an even slice to make slabs (sacrificial cradle of Balsa wood)...Then I assumed that I would use the opposite removed grip to make my cutout and sand to lines for fitment, working on the flat surface. I plan on using Loc Tite 326 for adhesion forgoing any pins...
I've been holding off working with this material because...A. I fear screwing up a limited supply that I have
B. don't know the best method for pre cleaning and finishing ( these were drops) and have decent character.
C. haven't found redily available info on tequniques for working with this stuff...
Any guidance woud be greatly appreciated, this is a new area of the forums for me...so TIA for your patience and understanding.
Duane
Click to expand...

Duane,
White Tail, Black=tail and Mule Deer antler can be colored using, potassium permanganate. I used to dye it cooking it in a mixture of leather dye and lemon oil.

I rarely found any need to clean the antler, if I did warm soapy water and dry well and then leave to let the moisture go. Once you finish the knife then was and polish with an old tee shirt.
 
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