What is the recemended finish for Deer antler ?

Super glue

Boiled linseed oil.

Jon..... Why super glue ?
mike.... I had thought about that and true oil. Thanks

Never liked to use deer antler for knife handles for scales. They move too much.

Clear, dries fast, fills pores

I've used mineral oil on my heavily used Tim Olt elk horn knives. The set of knives he built for me using my elk antler is a favorite. No bolsters so shrinkage is not an issue.

I've used mineral oil on my heavily used Tim Olt elk horn knives. The set of knives he built for me using my elk antler is a favorite. No bolsters so shrinkage is not an issue. I won't argue super glue works but I prefer the natural feel of the antler over the plastic like finish of super glue. I've done it both ways, I ended up removing the super glue finish.

For me, any organic material that is not pressure stabilized gets a soaking in Nelsonite and dries for
4 days before final shaping and mounting on the blade. It is not a filler, but does a pretty
good job of minimizing structural material movement down the road.
Use on wood, bone, ivory, antler etc.
Just my 2 cents.
Tim

I appreciate everyone's opinions ! These antlers are 30 years old. Hard as rock and not porus at all.

Are you cutting them into scales? Or using whole as a a handle for a hidden tang?

Regardless how old, it's porous by nature. Most especially the vascular material inside. That's why so many guys only use stabilized antler.

I cut it into scales.