Preserving Bone Handle Covers

Boxer .45

Boxer .45

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Jan 11, 2015
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A lot of us have bone handle covers on our traditional or fixed blade knives. Whats the best way to maintain and preserve them besides putting the knife in a drawer? We oil the joints and wipe down and sharpen the blades, etc. surely theres something you can do for the bone handles.

What can you do to bring them back if they haven't been maintained preserved?
 
waynorth said:
A touch of oil, maybe an oily rag once or twice a year is all I ever do. Too much oil makes them muddy-looking!!
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Thats all I've done, even on my G10 actually. I was just making sure there wasn't some better care I was missing?
I thought about a quality car wax as silly as that sounds, but don't want to find out the hard way. Plus I'd like it to age gracefully, but gracefully not nasty and cracked ya know? :)
 
I dip them in kerosene and linseed oil.
All the museums use renaissance wax on everything. I don't see why Johnson's paste wax wouldn't work, but I don't know what's in ren wax.
 
I use a food-grade mineral oil with beeswax and carnauba wax on my cutting boards. Made by Howard, I get mine at my local Ace. Tried it on a stag handled knife that needed hydration a month or so ago and it worked very well. I don't see why it wouldn't work on bone as well.
 
Juts rub it on, doesn't take much. Guessing soaking it would make a heckuva mess. I left it over night, wiped it dry then buffed. The stag knife was sawcut, and you could feel the difference in texture after I did it, and it closed up small gaps that had occurred from shrinkage.
 
So a little oil will help prevent cracking? I’ve never thought about maintaining bone for some reason.
 
I have used Renaissance Wax on most of mine when I first get them after initial cleaning and sharpening. Doesn't take much. I don't worry that much about my daily users, though if I were doing a full cleaning and maintenance on one I would probably finish up with some more of the wax.
 
kamagong said:
I don't know about that. Bone covers cracks because they are dropped.
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The “closing gaps” comment above made me wonder, but that’s on Stag. I have noticed some small cracks on an old TC sawcut that I have never dropped, so makes me wonder about shrinkage over time.
 
mb> said:
So a little oil will help prevent cracking? I’ve never thought about maintaining bone for some reason.
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I would think it depends on the individual material. I think most modern handle scales are stabilized, and I'm not sure you need any oil. Older knives may not have been and then it could be useful. Hopefully someone that knows a lot more then I finds this thread and tells us for sure.
 
Use caution when applying oil or any kind of liquid on bone, horn or antler. Saturation can cause swelling, curling or warping and can put stress on the pins and crack or loosen the covers on the handle.
I use a light coat of lemon oil furniture polish on a clean soft cloth and you can repeat on stubborn areas. The lemon oil cleans and the wax will give a level of protection and keep them bright, clear and new looking. I’ve done this for decades and haven’t had any problems and they still look like new.
 
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Here’s an example (small crack from bolster to the pin). Makes me wonder if this is inevitable or preventable. 6 year old knife, and I believe this has happened since I’ve owned it.

WyeRnJo.jpg
 
I'm no expert but I've read some and had some experience with my knife collection. Different stag types and bone types have different porosities. Sambar stag is very dense, that's why it's so highly prized. Cattle shin bone is very dense, so is giraffe shin bone, other bone maybe not as much. Many stag and bone handles are not stabilized, even the newer stuff. Stabilizer is mostly used on wood.

In general, any stag or bone can dry out and that can result in cracks. Finding a way to hold in some moisture or introduce some moisture is not a bad thing. Wax will help, mineral oil in small applications will help too (no soaking!). I bought a little tin of Renwax years ago and I've still got most of it. A little goes a long way. I've also used Formby's Oil, which I think was recommended by Kerry Hampton.

I did an experiment one winter a few years ago. I had some stag and mammoth handled knives that I'd noticed had shrunk. I could feel it in the meeting of the covers with the liners. I found an old tobacco humidor, with the porous stone in the lid and dropped some water on it. I sealed the knives in the humidor overnight and the next morning both the stag and the mammoth had absorbed enough moisture to restore the cover to liner fit. I applied some Renwax afterwards and that seemed to slow down subsequent shrinkage. I've seen no ill effects on the knives I treated.

Don't be afraid to use some good quality wax or mineral oil to treat your knife handles. It can only help.
 
Well said, Peregrin. As I said before, the stag on this knife is sawcut, and I could feel the dryness and see where it had shrunk slightly. Normal application of this stuff on anything I use it for is about 10 minutes, then wipe and buff. With the added waxes it doesn't soak in immediately like mineral oil.

Boxer .45 said:
Heres something interesting. Yes I know it pertains to museum pieces, but it discusses which materials are more durable or susceptible, how to clean, light, temp, etc. Worth looking through.

https://www.canada.ca/en/conservati...titute-notes/care-ivory-bone-horn-antler.html
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From the article you linked: "Artifacts of ivory, bone, horn, or antler should be well protected from sudden changes in temperature and relative humidity (RH) when they are removed from the museum". That is just unpossible on the Texas coast. And the reason I often carry stainless in the summer. All useful info though, keep it coming. There are unconfirmed, unsubstantiated, and downright malicious rumors that I may or may not have another stag-handled knife headed my way. And possibly one in jigged bone. Only the postman knows, and he won't tell. I basically pay his salary every year. :D
 
Peregrin said:
I'm no expert but I've read some and had some experience with my knife collection. Different stag types and bone types have different porosities. Sambar stag is very dense, that's why it's so highly prized. Cattle shin bone is very dense, so is giraffe shin bone, other bone maybe not as much. Many stag and bone handles are not stabilized, even the newer stuff. Stabilizer is mostly used on wood.

In general, any stag or bone can dry out and that can result in cracks. Finding a way to hold in some moisture or introduce some moisture is not a bad thing. Wax will help, mineral oil in small applications will help too (no soaking!). I bought a little tin of Renwax years ago and I've still got most of it. A little goes a long way. I've also used Formby's Oil, which I think was recommended by Kerry Hampton.

I did an experiment one winter a few years ago. I had some stag and mammoth handled knives that I'd noticed had shrunk. I could feel it in the meeting of the covers with the liners. I found an old tobacco humidor, with the porous stone in the lid and dropped some water on it. I sealed the knives in the humidor overnight and the next morning both the stag and the mammoth had absorbed enough moisture to restore the cover to liner fit. I applied some Renwax afterwards and that seemed to slow down subsequent shrinkage. I've seen no ill effects on the knives I treated.

Don't be afraid to use some good quality wax or mineral oil to treat your knife handles. It can only help.
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Very good post Gary. Tony Bose also recommends Fromby's.
 
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