Need help with rejuvenating old stag.

Jakeywax31

Jakeywax31

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This knife was my grandfathers and I cherish it dearly. I want to carry it from time to time but I’m worried about the stag. It feels extremely brittle and dry. Is there anything I can do to bring it back or is it a lost cause? Thanks for your help.

Paul

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Jakeywax31 said:
This knife was my grandfathers and I cherish it dearly. I want to carry it from time to time but I’m worried about the stag. It feels extremely brittle and dry. Is there anything I can do to bring it back or is it a lost cause? Thanks for your help.

Paul

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Lovely old knife Paul, glad you have it :) I think your stag will be OK, and just needs some lubrication. Folks here seem to favour all sorts of things from Ren Wax to Lemon Oil :thumbsup:
 
I use a leather product I bought from my belt-maker. A tiny pot cost £7, but it goes a long way, and smells gorgeous. Not exactly sure what's in it, but there's lanolin and beeswax certainly. I mainly use Ren Wax on blades :thumbsup:
 
store where the moisture varies? (AKA: "Someplace place without air conditioning.")
A/C dries out wood, bone, and horn over tyme, it may do the same to stag.

I'd also soak it some lemon oil for a few hours, followed by b's wax to "seal" all but the ends and back side.
 
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Nice
Paul where's the sheath?
Bit of leather conditioner while conditioning the sheath. Just the excess that's on your fingers.
 
mrknife said:
another possible suggestion is, id also condition it a bit first maybe. wrap a paper towel around it with mineral oil. bring some life back into that stag before you seal
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Thanks for the help!!
Bill DeShivs said:
No mineral oil on stag. It softens and darkens it.
Paste wax, car wax, neutral paste shoe polish.
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Thanks, Bill. I’ll heed your advice.
mitch13 said:
Nice
Paul where's the sheath?
Bit of leather conditioner while conditioning the sheath. Just the excess that's on your fingers.
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That’s thing is long gone I’m afraid. Thanks for your help, Bob.
 
What's the humidity level where you keep it? 30-70% is about alright. In winter in Scandiland it's VERY dry indoors, sometimes 9% which is terrible for everything, furniture, paintings, books, pets, people. So a humidifier is a must here, dry desert climates would be harsh on Stag too.

However, Stag is remarkably resilient, it will swell and shrink quite a lot and yet return to normal. What will help is handling it too, the salts, oils etc from your hands do a good job. I use a furniture polish that has beeswax and seems to work well. As Bill has emphasised, MO is not a good idea due to softening, especially on pithy areas, some people used to swear by prolonged MO soaking for days but I soon found this disastrous.....:eek::poop:
 
mrknife said:
i know its late over there Jack, but did they put something special in the lemonade? 😂
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Will Power said:
What's the humidity level where you keep it? 30-70% is about alright. In winter in Scandiland it's VERY dry indoors, sometimes 9% which is terrible for everything, furniture, paintings, books, pets, people. So a humidifier is a must here, dry desert climates would be harsh on Stag too.

However, Stag is remarkably resilient, it will swell and shrink quite a lot and yet return to normal. What will help is handling it too, the salts, oils etc from your hands do a good job. I use a furniture polish that has beeswax and seems to work well. As Bill has emphasised, MO is not a good idea due to softening, especially on pithy areas, some people used to swear by prolonged MO soaking for days but I soon found this disastrous.....:eek::poop:
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Im guessing the humidity where I’m at is really low during the winter months. It’s oretty cold here during the winter and the heater is basically constantly running. And in the summer it jumps up. But to answer your question….I have no idea. I kinda of like the car wax idea and also I have a wood polish made with beeswax I believe.
 
Will Power said:
It's a fine looking CASE for sure plus the associations. :cool:

Buy a hygrometer, I like the Old School analogue ones, no batteries to buy and no buttons to press yet they're accurate. Plenty of inexpensive digi battry ones too.

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I’m an idiot. I have a few hygrometers in my cigar Humidor!!!! Duh 🤦🏻. I’ll definitely check it out when I get home. Thanks, Will.
 
Really cool knife Paul. I’ve had decent luck throwing Obenauefs on old stag. At least it doesn’t seem to have any negative effects! Good luck
 
Super cool knife. Glad you have a knife from your grandfather. I agree with lots of stuff said above. I'd just try to keep it simple/basic if possible. If had good luck with just mineral oil. I've never used a paper towel like MrKnife suggested, but that sounds like a good idea. I've just applied liberally all over and then let it set. After a few hours (or the following day even) apply some more and let it set. Rinse and repeat. Good luck buddy.
 
I would try neetsfeet oil. I have used it on stag, horn, blonde and black. I've never had it darken the material. It's derived from the shin bones and feet of cattle.

Neetsfeet oil is used to rejuvenate straight razor scales. You can soak scales for days so it penetrates the material. I have a pre-1892 Sheffield razor with original black horn scales that was restored this way.
 
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