Need Stag help!

coyote711

coyote711

Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
1,679
I've never owned a stag handled knife, but I'm looking! The more I look, the more I realize how little I know about stag. "India Sambar Stag", "Burnt Stag", 2nd Cut Stag", "Genuine Stag" ........ and that's just a start! I'm confused. :confused:

Can anyone describe the differences between the various choices available in stag handles? Any particular types of stag to stay away from, or lean towards? And if it just says "Stag", how do you know what you're getting?

I know there's probably a lot more to this than I realize, but any basic level help would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
I just started exploring this myself. Sambar stag is the most prized stag; naturally falls off the animal so i guess harvesting it is labor-intensive. Burnt stag has been burnt; purists would go for "Genuine Stag" instead. I suppose the term "Genuine" had to be tacked on because of confusing terms like "stag bone" which is jigged to resemble "genuine stag". And then there's European stag (I've got a German Eye whittler with a rather handsome example of ES, though the knife has other F&F issues), which from what I've gathered, tends not to be as dark or groovy as American or Indian.

I am a novice but I think I am on the right track. More knowledgeable folk will chime in I am sure.
 
How dramatic the stag can be depends on the size of knife and how much you have in your budget, also whether you want custom or manufactured. If you go to the knives for sale forums you'll see some great stag from some of the custom makers. If you want to look at old stag check out the sheffield thread that Wellington started. Dan Graves who sells on the fixed blades for sale forum makes some beautiful stag handled knives as do some of the other makers. The price of stag has gone way up in the past couple of years but there still seems to be some beautiful pieces available. This didn't really answer your question but you can get to see what's out there in stag, it may help you decide.

Regards

Robin
 
Stag is like snowflakes. No two alike. Burnt stag they take a flame and color it, second cut I think is below the first layer and then jigged? Someone keerect me if I'm wrong. Bone stag is bone made to look like stag.I've never been sure of India sambar stag except that I don't think it looks as nice.
 
sambar is most prized stag due to figure & lack of porosity. american deer & elk stag is much more porous in the interior. therefore american stag is not as strong or as stable.india has always been a big supplier of stag to the world market. stag that has been flame or dye colored is still good stuff it's just not "virgin". 2nd cut means stag remaining after the highly figured top [premium] layer has been sliced off. bone stag is usually shin cow bone that has been jigged to give a stag appearance.really with the improvements with american adhesives american stag is certainly not a poor product. if you are considering a custom knife your maker can supply a premium handle if you request so.stag is pretty stable since i've handled 100s of old knives with great stag over 120yrs. old.mike latham on the forum is an expert on stag .
 
The thing to always keep in mind is that stag is a natural material, so each piece is unique. Some pieces are gnarly and highly figured, others are pretty smooth and white. If you see a knife with a piece of stag that you like jump on it, you won't get another chance.
 
Thanks to each and every one of you who have posted so far! Great info! I feel like I have enough information to at least make an informed choice when it comes to stag now. I think "bone stag" was confusing to me before, as well as the term "genuine".

I'm not up to a custom knife (in more ways than one), but I do plan to look around and find a production knife with some stag that I think looks nice. I've also learned that I want to see a pic of the actual knife that's being sold, and not just some "standard" pic of a knife with stag handles.

Thanks again for the help, guys! :thumbup:
 
Burnt stag is still real stag...it has merely been "burnt" to give it "better" color and character.

Usually, only the most unique and attractive bits are left in their natural, unenhanced, unaltered condition; these are sometimes labelled "genuine" stag to make this distinction.
 
Did India ever release their embargo on Sambar stag? I know for the last several years quality Sambar stag has been as scarce as frog hair. Occasionally I'll see a production knife with stag but the quality is nothing like the stuff used to see on Case, Puma, and Gerber knives back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
 
Production knives, if you find the right one, can also have nice stag scales. Quality stag is not exclusive to the custom realm. I suggest taking a look at GEC, they offer knives with great sambar, like the middle one in this picture.

stagproductions.jpg
 
kamagong said:
The thing to always keep in mind is that stag is a natural material, so each piece is unique.
Click to expand...
Keep this in mind if you ever decide to order a stag handled knife on-line. Unless the seller provided pics of both sides of the specific knife being sold, I would not buy. I got stung a couple times by sellers using "stock" photos of stag knives, and then sending me something that looked vastly inferior. :(

Caveat emptor. ;)
 
At the moment, GEC seems to put out the best stag on production knives:thumbup:

The two I have are deep and Staglicious:D
 
mdauben said:
Keep this in mind if you ever decide to order a stag handled knife on-line. Unless the seller provided pics of both sides of the specific knife being sold, I would not buy. I got stung a couple times by sellers using "stock" photos of stag knives, and then sending me something that looked vastly inferior. :(

Caveat emptor. ;)
Click to expand...

Good advice to heed. I'd never buy a stag handled knife unless I saw pics of both sides of the knife I was ACTUALLY getting.
For that matter, I want to see both sides on any knife I buy.
You can never be too careful when you have to rely on pics to make a purchase.
And always ask/know what a seller's return policy is.
 
Boozoo Chavis said:
Did India ever release their embargo on Sambar stag? I know for the last several years quality Sambar stag has been as scarce as frog hair. Occasionally I'll see a production knife with stag but the quality is nothing like the stuff used to see on Case, Puma, and Gerber knives back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Click to expand...

The embargo is still very much in place, and probably always will be. While shed antlers are the most common, it's in such demand that poaching continues to be a problem - thus the embargo.

This situation is only going to get worse. My advice to everyone: If you want a knife in stag, do it sooner rather than later. Five or 10 years from now, it's going to be even more scarce than it is now. (That goes for ironwood too.)
 
If you are looking for Sambar Stag on a slip joint, look for some of Herman Williams on Ebay. He always shows comprehensive shots of both sides, and puts a nice torch to it, if you like the rich reddish color. His stag is always nice and thick, and most of them are done on knives with 1095 carbon blades. every now and then he will offer one with file work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Schrade-USA-194...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efce6b765

Here is an example of one he did recently.
 
Thanks again for all the help so far, guys! I'm seeing that buying a stag handled knife throws another dimension into the whole knife selection process that's not necessarily present with other handle materials! I'm having a good time looking, and while I don't have any specific stag that I'm looking for, I think it'll fall under the category of "I'll know it when I see it".

In fact, I think I saw it last night on the bay, but that was right after I started this thread, and I hadn't received any of your responses yet, so I didn't feel confident enough to bid. Now I wish I had, because that sucker was pretty! Had pics from all sides of the actual knife too, which I now realize is not only important, but absolutely necessary. I guess we've all "been there, done that" when it comes to regretting not pulling the trigger on a knife! Next time! :D

I have one other question: A lot of the knives, in addition to showing both sides of the stag, also show a top down view so you can see the thickness of the stag. Does the thickness just come down to personal preference, or is there any other reason to favor a thicker or thinner slab of stag? :confused:
 
I apologize for the poor photo quality (I took this with my old BlackBerry), and it's not a slippie, but if this doesn't get your motor running, nothing will:

picture.php
 
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