This arrived recently. Pretty apple shape, but someone--I guess--took a knife to the stem and did a little carving.
There's nothing much I can do with something like this. Nonetheless, I smoothed out the divots with a circular file wrapped in sandpaper and worked the button over a bit. The stummel cleaned up alright, but didn't show any sparkle. I sanded it down to bare wood, finishing up wet-sanding with alcohol and 3000-grit. I then dyed it with mahogany, wiped it quickly with alcohol, and then dyed it with red. Now it sparkles!
The stem/button:
There's nothing much I can do with something like this. Nonetheless, I smoothed out the divots with a circular file wrapped in sandpaper and worked the button over a bit. The stummel cleaned up alright, but didn't show any sparkle. I sanded it down to bare wood, finishing up wet-sanding with alcohol and 3000-grit. I then dyed it with mahogany, wiped it quickly with alcohol, and then dyed it with red. Now it sparkles!
The stem/button: