Why sambar?

kamagong

kamagong

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Why is sambar stag so desirable? What makes it superior to the more easily available European red deer? The reason why I'm asking is that I recently picked up a new Eye Brand stockman with red deer scales. The stag on this stockman is beautiful and looks as good as most of the pictures I've seen of sambar. Naturally I want to know why it is not considered as good as the India stuff.
 
The way I understand it, is that Sambar stag is dense all the way to the center, where other stag is pithy in the center. This is not going to make any difference in a pocket knife scale as it uses the top layer and is thin by virtue of what it is. But in a fixed blade knife with a stick tang, like say a Randall number one, it could make a difference there. Then they need a large piece of very dence to the core materail. With a pocket knife all you need is a 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide by about a couple inches long of good dense materail.

I have a Eye-Brand stag stockman, and the red deer scales have held up just fine now for a bit over 5 years. Eye-Brand is good stuff!
 
My old stag eye brand from '86 is holding up fine, a bit darker with age perhaps, but I used to EDC it for the first ten years or so.
 
Selecting natural materials for slip joint handles can be tricky business. You want it to be as flat as possible so that it doesn't run out or get too thin in spots. It also just needs to look good. Sambar stag is the best stag to use due to the size that it gets plus it's stability and density is the about as good as it gets. Couple that with the beauty of the material and the fact that it is expensive and you have what makes stag so popular. If something is too easy to get, it isn't as fun to have.

A knife that has been properly hafted with sambar stag is, in a word, amazing.
 
" A knife that has been properly hafted with sambar stag is, in a word, amazing."

Great analysis Kerry and Jackknife. Thanks. I certainly agree with that last statement.
 
While I certainly won't say no to Sambar and certainly agree with the statements of Jackknife and Kerry, within its range of use I've too have found some Red Deer Stag to be quite attractive to me. Boker raises their own in Argentina and uses it on their full tang Argentine fixed blades and on some of their German made slippies. I have some of each and really love the way they look. Given that all are essentially scales and nor full rounds, I don't expect any trouble out of them over the years as long as I bath 'em a time or two each year in mineral oil.

Then again, you might consider the analogy of Sambar Stag as being wild pearls and Red Deer Stag as being cultured pearls. Sambar has that little edge and is harder to come by. So, it rates bit more desirable as do quality pearls from the wild versus cultured.
 
What is the current status of the Sambar embargo? I knew several years ago that India imposed some kind of an embargo. I though I remembered that it had been lifted. I then read a post somewhere around here recently that gave me the impression that it is still on or has been reinstated. So whats' the straight story on Sambar?
 
Kerry Hampton said:
Selecting natural materials for slip joint handles can be tricky business. You want it to be as flat as possible so that it doesn't run out or get too thin in spots. It also just needs to look good. Sambar stag is the best stag to use due to the size that it gets plus it's stability and density is the about as good as it gets. Couple that with the beauty of the material and the fact that it is expensive and you have what makes stag so popular. If something is too easy to get, it isn't as fun to have.

A knife that has been properly hafted with sambar stag is, in a word, amazing.
Click to expand...

Hello,

Any issues with this material - drying out and cracking? Around the pins? Anything the owner should do for maintenance?

Thanks
 
j22knife said:
Hello,

Any issues with this material - drying out and cracking? Around the pins? Anything the owner should do for maintenance?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'll ask around in the knifemakers forum and see what they suggest.
 
Here is the thread I started in the Shoptalk forum titled "Stag care" with a couple of responses. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465035

The best information I can give you comes from someone with many years of experience with old knives. T.Bose says:

Just put a little lemon or cammela oil, 3 in 1, peanut, mineral or about
any kind of oil once in a while will keep it in good shape. If it's handled
a lot the oil from your hands will help. When they check or crack is when
they been in a drawer for 50 years. the cracking around pins is usually
caused from the stress of the pin or too close to the edge.

Most of the bad looking stag I have seen is just from what Tony says, layed around for eons or was just installed improperly. If stag is overheated during preparation or the pins not installed properly, that is a recipe for a ugly knife down the road.
 
jackknife said:
The way I understand it, is that Sambar stag is dense all the way to the center, where other stag is pithy in the center. This is not going to make any difference in a pocket knife scale as it uses the top layer and is thin by virtue of what it is. But in a fixed blade knife with a stick tang, like say a Randall number one, it could make a difference there. Then they need a large piece of very dence to the core materail. With a pocket knife all you need is a 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide by about a couple inches long of good dense materail.

I have a Eye-Brand stag stockman, and the red deer scales have held up just fine now for a bit over 5 years. Eye-Brand is good stuff!
Click to expand...

JK is right on the money, I have used red deer stag for my stick making , you have to remove the pithy inner and replace it with wood or similar core to provide a stable centre.
 
Rob,

I was looking for some stag scales online and the seller said the embargo had been briefly lifted at some point. Don't know when that was or for how long. Found some nice stuff online but haven't bought any so far.

It does seem to be showing up more of late with production companies like Canal Street, Case and others offering more models in Sambar.
 
Sambar stag is simply stronger. Simple as that. It is less likely to crack or chip.
 
QUOTE=Mike Robuck;4493786]....the seller said the embargo had been briefly lifted at some point....[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that is what I was able to find out, Mike. If I read correctly, the Indian government placed the embargo on stag in 2000. They lifted the ban for a one time only, short term period in 2005, and then reinstated it. I remember seeing photograph in one of the knife magazines a few years ago. It was an Indian government warehouse just packed with the stuff.

I wonder if you can import the Sambar deer? I'll bet the would do OK in Tejas. I should start a herd and sell "Goofy Doofus Lone Star Sambar".
 
Kerry Hampton said:
Here is the thread I started in the Shoptalk forum titled "Stag care" with a couple of responses. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465035

The best information I can give you comes from someone with many years of experience with old knives. T.Bose says:

Just put a little lemon or cammela oil, 3 in 1, peanut, mineral or about
any kind of oil once in a while will keep it in good shape. If it's handled
a lot the oil from your hands will help. When they check or crack is when
they been in a drawer for 50 years. the cracking around pins is usually
caused from the stress of the pin or too close to the edge.

Most of the bad looking stag I have seen is just from what Tony says, layed around for eons or was just installed improperly. If stag is overheated during preparation or the pins not installed properly, that is a recipe for a ugly knife down the road.
Click to expand...

Great information - thanks. I'll hold onto this fow when the knife arrives.
 
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