A January 'BLADE' publication question

[DaQo'tah Forge]

Hi this is DaQo'tah

On page 119 of the January 2002 BLADE mag. there is found the "Questions and Answers section.

This months article is about 'HOW TO MAKE TANGS FOR CURVED DEER ANTLER GRIPS' and as I read the page I came to one section I didnt understand.

Mr. Wayne Goddard writes... "Use wood shims glued to the tang to hold the blade in the proper position with the handle while the epoxy has cured."

QUESTION: What is being talked about here by Mr. Goddard?

I have another question. I have taken a few of my very first rough knives to my place of work to show the guys. My co-workers like to hear all about how each knife is made. But this week is also Whitetail deer hunting time here in North Dakota, and some of the guys have shot some big ones.

Now up till this year, the guys would just saw off the antlers and nail them to the wall, but everyone this year is asking about the chances that I could use some of the antlers for knife handles.

Im very new to knife making, I just finished my 2nd Ed Fowler type 52100 forged blade, so Im not sure I can do a deer antler handle yet.

I need to know if Whitetail deer antler is easy to use?

I need to know if this type of handle will work?

In that same BLADE article by Mr. Goddard, it talks about extracting the soft inner core of the antler, But I dont understand what this means?

Does this mean that you drill out lots of space around the tang, then just dump in lots and lots of epoxy?

 

[blackboogers]

I use whitetail all the time as it is cheap and easily had off Ebay. I've had the same questons and here is what I have found. If you want to get really gung ho and the ultimate strength is what you want look at the core of the antler and lets say there is about a 1/2 of soft material, go buy an 1/2 piece of micarta rod and drill out (setting your angle correctly) the soft part. Rough up the outer surface of the micarta and epoxy in place. Obviously the micarta has to bigger than the tang of the blade. I would use this on a large blade say over 6" that could be used for chopping and the like. But what I do mostly is use the crown,most of the time the soft part is around 1/4 of an inch and by the time I get it to size of the tang I'm into solid bone. When I finally glue it up I mix more than enough epoxy and drizzle it into the handle and when its full i slowly insert the tang pumping it a little to ensure all the bubbles are out. If you arent going to pin it than make sure you put some barbs on the lower end of the tang just for added insurance. I make my knives for skinning not for busting up pelvic bones and the like. I don't know what Wayne means by the sticks for alignment just make sure you cut your hole to size.

 

[Ed Fowler]

Don't try to use fresh antler, it has to cure for at least a year. The center of the horn is very vascular or sponge like. Once dried you can drill out enough horn to fit the tang in. Blackboogers had the right idea, you need to be sure all of the vascular protion is soaked up with epoxy, if you achieve this it will be very strong and stable. The wood shims are to center the tang if you have to remove too much of the center. Be sure to open the center enough to allow a good soak or penetration of the epoxy. The epoxy horn mix will be as strong or stronger than the antler if you use a slow cure epoxy.