Clean it, let it dry fully, then apply a thin coat of food-safe mineral oil or a hardening wood oil, let it soak in for twenty to thirty minutes, and wipe off everything that has not absorbed. Repeat over several days rather than trying to fix it in one heavy application.
Pale, chalky, slightly rough to the touch, and the grain looks lifted. That is wood that has lost its finish and its natural oils, usually through washing, sun, or years of dry storage.
Left alone it eventually cracks, which is why this is worth doing rather than ignoring.
Clean any dirt off and let the handle dry completely. Apply oil thinly with a cloth, wait twenty to thirty minutes, then wipe off all the surplus. A handle left wet with oil goes sticky rather than absorbing more.
Repeat daily for three or four days. Wood takes oil gradually and a slow build gives a far better result than one soaking.
Food-safe mineral oil is the simple, reversible choice and is the right answer on any knife that touches food. Hardening oils like tung or a proper gunstock finish give more durable protection but change the look and cannot be undone easily.
Avoid vegetable and olive oils, which go rancid.