Stag finish

I'm wondering how to get the "burnt" stag look. Some stag I've seen has a sort of golden tan color running into the dark brown grooves. I guess it's called burnt stag, but do people really burn it? Seems like some sort of die would be more controllable. I've tried mixing brown and yellow Fiebing but only got a muddy color.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Earl

I believe potassium permanganate can be used to color stag.

Potassium permanganate mixed up with water stains very well. Don't let the purple colour put you off, it comes out brown, the longer you leave it the darker it is.

Some people swear by black tea to darken stag, others use butternut husks brewed up in hot water.

Blade or KI ran an article on it. I've done the tea, and the method I liked best was...

Black shoe polish wiped on with excess wiped off leaving it in the lows. Brown shoe polish all over, leaving it on fairly thick. Then get a propane torch, and from a distance, heat the polish. The stag sucks it up. Wipe off the excess before it sets back up and polish by hand. Leave a rich dark color in even a bleached out drop if you want.

If you are talking about a random brown mark on the antler, it comes from getting it too hot when buffing. You can easily burn an edge by the friction created, if you stay in one spot too long.

To turn it brown all over I dip it in brown leather die and draw a vaccumm on it to draw the liquid deep inside. Dry it and lightly sand the peaks for contrast, then buff.

Thanks for all the help. So far I've tried tea and that worked pretty well. I also did the black and brown shoe polish with the torch. I think that turned out the best so far for the color I was trying to get. Haven't yet been able to find any potassium permanganate, probably tomorrow I'll be able to get some.

My original message wasn't too clear. What happened was that when I ground off the stag bark the white or cream colored part underneath was just a dirty looking grey. First I thought my fingers were greasy. So I thought maybe I could improve it by making it more of a tan.

Both things I tried fixed the problem, but now I'm curious to try the others.

Thanks again,

Earl Parker

Couldn't you also use Walnut shells?? I think the inside also does a brown stain.