All About Pocket Knives

Hey guys, I’m new here, I got my first case knife for Mother’s Day from my husband, it is a Caribbean blue sod buster jr. bone handle. I wore it on my person recently where it was touching my skin and the blue dye bled out a bit. I was concerned if it were normal or not because case is well known for their quality and I didn’t know if this was a defect or if I should send it in to be replaced.
Thankyou for reading.

Nice knife, I would take a cleaning rag and rub the handles. Harold

I’ve not heard of that before, but also haven’t encountered anyone that had a knife handle touching their skin for an extended time period. Maybe the dye reacted with oil or acid in skin and caused it to do that. You could contact Case (www.caseknives.com) and ask them. Or just carry it in a more conventional way (pocket or purse etc) where it’s not contacting skin for long periods.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

It's a nice knife, I was wondering if it might be option to seal it, nothing drastic but a light wipe that might preserve the bone and maybe seal the dye a bit more. I just googled sealer for natural bone and saw a few recommendations from pro-grade sealants to beeswax.
Any thoughts from the gang?

In any case thanks for sharing and enjoy blue.

Did you have anything on your skin like sunscreen, lotion, or bug spray?

glennbad wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 3:15 pm Did you have anything on your skin like sunscreen, lotion, or bug spray?

Good point. I have seen Off melt tiny pits into LCD screens. It might dissolve the dye on the surface of bone.

Dinadan wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 3:27 pm

glennbad wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 3:15 pm Did you have anything on your skin like sunscreen, lotion, or bug spray?

Good point. I have seen Off melt tiny pits into LCD screens. It might dissolve the dye on the surface of bone.

I can remember it removing huge chunks of paint from action figures I had as a kid, as well as chrome plating from Hot Wheels.

Also, some skin lotions and hand sanitizer will do it as well. I suspect hand sanitizer is part of the reason why many of my keys are fading.

Awesome looking knife, odd that it would do that. to AAPK!

I would try rubbing it down with a rubbing alcohol and then give it a coat of Renn wax to seal the dye in. Just my usual go-to fix. But, be gentle, otherwise that might take even more dye off.

It is not common, but in my opinion it is not too unexpected. New bone tends have a heavy coating of dye, in order get as much penetration as possible. I agree with others to wipe it down a few times, then try a type of wax. I would not expect it to bleed off much more.

You guys have helped so much, I contacted case for the third time and got someone on the phone with experience in the company and they said that it’s normal. I will look into a sealant! I didn’t know that was a thing! I’m still new to knowledge on knives, and I fancy it a bit also this knife is a retired model, but bought brand new from a dealers shop locally. It was the last of its kind in the store and it was the display! Thankyou all for responding so kindly!

Another option to consider: carry it in a pocket or somewhere that isn't in direct contact with your skin. Problem solved

Pretty blue soddy jr, BTW