Dyed amber stag

[Schuyler]

Steve,

At the Guild Show I picked up a few pieces of that dyed amber stag from Culpepper. I know you use that on some of your knives and I am wondering how you deal with all the excess dye/oil/residue covering the stag? I haven't used it before.

Thanks.

[Steve]

You just have to rub it off, thoroughly, with an old towel, until it doesn't come off on your hands, or not so much at least. Use surgical gloves, or your hands will be red! I used to get my kids to do it. I've heard of some cleaning it with paint thinner, acetone, or lacquer thinner, also.

Make sure the interior of the stag matches, as well as the outside, or bark, since often, one piece will absorb more, or less, dye than the other and they won't be close in color. Just grind off a little corner of the stag surface and see how they match. They can change color in an hour, as the dye soaks back into the ground-off spot, especially if you use a belt that gets it a bit hot, so wait a little before you decide whether they are close enough matches to use on a knife, or not. If they don't match, just get another piece with the same color, shape and texture and try again, putting the non-matching piece aside, as eventually you'll get a piece that matches it.

By the way, Fast Orange hand cleaner will take that dye off of your hands better than anything I've tried.

[Schuyler]

Thanks Steve. Mine is very knobby surfaced, so I may have to try a solvent and brush to clean it. I wonder about the dye, which appears to be oil-based, affecting the adhesion characteristics of the material.

Yep, Fast Orange seens to work good on lots of stuff. I use it for cleaning epoxy off my hands if I get to it before it sets completely. Guess I should use gloves more often.

Thanks again.

[Steve]

A fluffy towel will do a pretty good job. I clean mine with acetone, after grinding to thickness on the platen, before assembling. No problems with adhesion, that I've seen. Also, with two SS bolts and a thong tube that's serrated, things seem to hold together, whatever the adhesive.