just finishing up my first knife, an antler handled skinner, and was wondering what kind of finish i can use. i had intended to use CA on it, but after looking it over i found i would have a hard time spreading the CA into the raised areas and low ones. any thoughts on this or an alternative finish?
I would just use mineral oil or a paste wax and rub down with clean cloth.
I have dyed antler a little using kiwi shoe polish but just a little applied with a Q-tip and then rubbed down with cloth.
If you want color best to use potassium permangnate before assembling the knife.
thanks. im probably going to leave the color as it is, it has really nice color variances. i had wondered if tung oil would work, i use it alot making bows and like the results but wasnt sure about using it with antler.
To me,the more natural an antler finish looks the better.That is why I would stay away from CA or tung oil.
I wipe a coat of Danish oil on mine...some use mineral oil on them. I think mineral oil is suggested for bone and antler. Some use Renaissance wax also.
A good coat of paste was or danish oil both work well. Buff them a bit and your done.
thanks for all the replies, im going to try the paste wax and see how it turns out.