Sambar Stag questions

Whit

Whit

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
729
I've heard all about the issue with the export of Sambar Stag. My question is how bad is this "shortage" really? I don't make to many knife shows at all. What is the going rate for good scales/ sticks/ crowns? I have some in my shop, I guess I better use it sparingly huh?
 
Well, as a guide, there is one knifemaker supply store that was selling tines, or just the points, at knife shows, for $50.00 each. I hope their customers remember, when this is over.:mad:
 
The ban on stag for export I'm told is because of the
way it's harvested.
 they burn the brush so they can find it. this was
screwing up the wild life there.
 so I don't see it getting over with..
  scales you can find if your lucky I sold them until
 I couldn't get any more from My
 supplier. I saved about 35 pair for myself.
 I can still get rounds and crowns and
 a few carvers but the price is always going up because
 the supplier keeps going up on it,as supplies gets low.
 Darrel Ralph had some scales for sale see
if he has any still.
 
This whole stag thing is crazy, Ive bought 3 whitetail racks of ebay for a total of 45.00 thats 6 crowns,12 streights,and about 20+ tines. Who needs stag?
 
I agree with Blackboogers. I shoot at least 4 bucks a year and I use last years racks. (They should dry a year). Other hunters throw away the smallish 6 pointers and down. In addition, I find at least another 10 drops a year.

I have never seen where Sambar was that much better than white tail or Elk. There seems to be plenty of Red Deer on the market as well as cow horn and so on. I'm not going to cry about the Sambar shortage.
 
I love Sambar Stag, for me there's nothing that comes close. I buy stag when I see it and supply it to the makers I work with that don't have it for the knife I want. Good stag is getting a lot harder to find. I have stag for four more knives, after that I'll go to makers that have a good supply of stag and some of course do.

I read an article back in 1998 that said that makers who offer stag knives needed to have in stock a ten years supply. I'm sorry I can't quote the source, but if that was based on what the makers were saying at that point, there should be makers that still have a five or six year supply on hand. I wouldn't blame them one bit if they charged a premium for that stag.
 
Whitetail just doesn't have the character that sambar does and anything that is wide enough for a long blade is usually hanging on a wall somewhere. Axis is a very good stag as well. There are a few folks raising axis here in the US for commercial purposes but not really enough to supply a market.

One problem with axis is that the bucks do not shed there antlers all at the same time of year like whitetail do so it is very difficult to even find "feral" axis stag drops even where they may frequent.

C Wilkins
 
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