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I have a Solingen "big n little" set (I'll have to figure out the picture thing here shortly) that I have been told has Sambar Stag scales.

I know the hot needle trick to discern plastic handgun stocks from the real McCoy, but it's kind of hard to find a hidden spot on a knife to try it.

Is there a way to tell just by sight or sound?

Thanks!

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Attempting pics...

.. while the stamping is nothing to write hm about .. looks like a cold stamp ..

If that's plastic .. they did some convincing work .. check out the cracks on the larger knife .. on the small one .. look @ the color variation .. near the butt where its been contoured & polished .. an antler's grain pattern, color, & other characteristics vary through out a cross section ..

.. I'm voting for stag
Andrew .. the "solingen" stamp has been used on a variety of knives .. that have never been in Deutschland .. I probably own a few ..

I'm still voting for antler/stag !!
Also .. use a high power magnifying glass .. you should see "pores" .. if bone / antler
I do have a 10x loupe, hmmm...

I wondered about the stamping looking worn. I hadn't thought about a cold stamp but a forgery did cross my mind. OTOH I gave $30 for the set last year as I recall so if they ARE fakes, it's no big loss.

I say stag too for the reasons mentioned. The fissures on the ends of the scales on the larger knife and the semi trasluscent colour variations from some age and wear. One point if I may in response to an earlier post. Pores will only be seen in bone scales and not antler or synthetic. These pores indicate fine blood vessels which supply bone but not external antlers and horns. I think you did well acquiring the two for $30 IMO.

p.s. it may be some sort of European stag rather than Sambar.  

I can always tell in person, by pic is much harder.

Agreed on this being bone, at least on the big knife.  Cracks are something that won't likely occur on plastic knife handles.  They can be damaged, sure, but it's more likely to have bone just crack on its own from exposure to air &/or light (not sure which is the culprit here -- other than the fact that it's no longer attached to the animal, of course).

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