Stag handles fun

[firiki]

Are there any advantages in using stag for knife handles instead of other natural materials?

[dks]

Are there any advantages in using stag for knife handles instead of other natural materials?

looks       

variety

The animal does not die - the antlers fall off, so no guilt for the user

When wet Stag is supposed to be grippy, from what I rememebr    

[pfrsantos]

......and Ray knocks it out of the park again  with the marriage wrecker in a close second

I only have one stag handled knife........fortunately it's a Puma White Hunter 

General comment on recent slippy/traditional/Case threads..............YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME! 

 

 

General Comment!

 

[Sparky415]

DKs
I don’t know why you didn’t start this thread year’s ago? 

Here’s an oldie of mine 


 

[dks]

I was young, I did not think of such things, the women thread was taking up most of my online time.......   

[firiki]

Are there any advantages in using stag for knife handles instead of other natural materials?

looks       

variety

The animal does not die - the antlers fall off, so no guilt for the user

When wet Stag is supposed to be grippy, from what I rememebr   

Grippy sounds reasonable

Thanks for the info good to know the animal doesn't have to die.

No mechanical advantages in particular then? Probably better than wood, I should think.

[dks]

Wood will not crack if dropped

Stag and bone come in many variations (and animals, and part of the animal -not for stag, part of the bone/antler and country of origin of animal for bone) , so it is not possible to be absolute on their characteristics

[firiki]

I see. So the main advantage of stag over wood is that it won't swell when soaked in water?

I mean, is it comfortable as a handle material or is it mainly used for ornamental purposes, it's good looks? It does look good!

[Ray S]

I see. So the main advantage of stag over wood is that it won't swell when soaked in water?

I mean, is it comfortable as a handle material or is it mainly used for ornamental purposes, it's good looks? It does look good!

To answer your question: as I see it the main advantage of stag over wood is that the striations assist in gripping the knife when it is wet such as when dressing out a deer or other animal. Of course the shape of the handle has a lot to do with that as well but the natural shape of the antler(the crown or base acting as a butt cap)is very conducive to a good knife handle.
It has likely been used as long as wood handles and likely because of the ready availability back then.It's one downside in comparison to wood is it is more fragile if dropped.
Recently I found at a yard sale a bunch of antlers for sale for 50 cents apiece. I bought them all figuring I had a good supply of knife handle material.I had a set of fancy English steak knives that had originally sported handles made of some type of plastic that had over the years disintegrated. (I think they were made of casein plastic which is milk based and smells horrible when it gets warm). Using the bases of four antlers I constructed new handles;one of which I left on a side growth which acts as a perfect thumb rest.Although the handles look a bit uncomfortable they actually work quite well.

[firiki]

I see. So the main advantage of stag over wood is that it won't swell when soaked in water?

I mean, is it comfortable as a handle material or is it mainly used for ornamental purposes, it's good looks? It does look good!

To answer your question: as I see it the main advantage of stag over wood is that the striations assist in gripping the knife when it is wet such as when dressing out a deer or other animal. Of course the shape of the handle has a lot to do with that as well but the natural shape of the antler(the crown or base acting as a butt cap)is very conducive to a good knife handle.
It has likely been used as long as wood handles and likely because of the ready availability back then.It's one downside in comparison to wood is it is more fragile if dropped.
Recently I found at a yard sale a bunch of antlers for sale for 50 cents apiece. I bought them all figuring I had a good supply of knife handle material.I had a set of fancy English steak knives that had originally sported handles made of some type of plastic that had over the years disintegrated. (I think they were made of casein plastic which is milk based and smells horrible when it gets warm). Using the bases of four antlers I constructed new handles;one of which I left on a side growth which acts as a perfect thumb rest.Although the handles look a bit uncomfortable they actually work quite well.

Thank you for your input

Well done on those steak knives, they are certainly unique now.

[Ron Who]

Puma Medici, Fox 500/3 CE and Gerber Stockman.

[Poncho65]

Some nice stuff for sure in this thread

[an0nemus]

@dks -- hello sir! I just bought a Gerber Stag Stockman and not sure if mine has genuine stag, but I do think this one "talks" to me. I've read somewhere that soaking a stag handle in mineral oil for 24 hours will help maintain the stag's quality. is there truth to this? I'd appreciate any info you can provide in maintaining a stag handled knife. you have beautiful collections!

[Zed]

Lovely stag here guys  I've only 1 stag ,This Linder Dagger 

[dks]

all natural materials may shrink but stag in modern knives should be already treated so as to be stable.

regarding the stag staying the same, many people like the fact that aging and use, through many years, mellows and slightly changes the look of the stag.

I do not know how much effect soaking it will have. in theory you can use chemicals to fill in the pores of the stag stabilising it but this is not an area I now enough about.

[an0nemus]

all natural materials may shrink but stag in modern knives should be already treated so as to be stable.

regarding the stag staying the same, many people like the fact that aging and use, through many years, mellows and slightly changes the look of the stag.

I do not know how much effect soaking it will have. in theory you can use chemicals to fill in the pores of the stag stabilising it but this is not an area I now enough about.

Thank you, sir. I may try soaking mine as see how it goes and report back here.

[an0nemus]

Lovely stag here guys  I've only 1 stag ,This Linder Dagger 

That's a real beauty you have there, sir!

[an0nemus]

Will let this soak for 24 hours and see if the stag gets rejuvenated

[nicolaeb]

Handle it's been made by me on a custom blade made by a romanian knives maker

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

[an0nemus]

After being soaked for 48 hours, here's my knife. The scales look fatter and more dense, I think.

Will do this again in 3 months.

[an0nemus]

Handle it's been made by me on a custom blade made by a romanian knives maker (Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

Beautiful

[dks]

good work

[AimlessWanderer]

Just one fixed and one folding here

[Zed]

Lovely stag here guys  I've only 1 stag ,This Linder Dagger 

That's a real beauty you have there, sir!

Thanks mate 

[Zed]

How about staglon 

[pomsbz]

[Poncho65]

My carry today

20170725_103856 by Poncho 65, on Flickr

[ColoSwiss]

Staggering Stag!   

[an0nemus]

Superb stags

[Zed]

Very nice guys  coloswiss what is the bottom hunting style folder