a question about sheephorn handles

on_the_edge

on_the_edge

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2006
Messages
11,706
You don't see a lot of them, and I get the impression that at least part of that may be due to folks not liking them. Am I mistaken? For folks who don't like them, why not? Is it aesthetics, comfort, durability, shrinkage/cracking issues, required care, or something else?
 
Chris,

I love sheephorn scales / handles. There's just something about the rustic look and feel that just does it for me :)
 
I am also curious. They have a transparency that makes them look great. I am sure a knowledgeable knife maker will chime in. Great question!
 
There is sheephorn, and there is sheephorn.

Bighorn is very rare and expensive, as well as many of the asian species that you only see in very large trophy rooms.......the kind you see the most is domesticated sheephorn.......pretty easy to get......

One of the drawbacks to using it is the prep time........unless you are putting on a whole piece intact, it is a time consuming process, and in the case of the wild exotic sheep, their horns are VERY large.
 
I like bighorn sheep handle material. Looks great to me left with the natural bark or polished smooth.

I find most collectors either like it or don't. Not much in between.
It's provides a good grip wet or dry.
Very durable and not much risk of cracking but will shrink (similar to stag) if not cared for properly.

Here's a few examples of a couple I used to own and one I wish I owned. One is rough bark, one semi smooth and the last polished:
Fisk_B07_01-ww-1.jpg


orig-1.jpg


DSCN6966.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'm a big fan of Big Horn and had several with bark and still own three with polished Big Horn. I know makers find it difficult to work with since it heats up very fast.

That Johnson is a beautiful example of polished sheep horn.

Win

My Loveless fighters:

standard.jpg


Bill Ankrom small Chute:

standard.jpg
 
I like it. The domestic stuff is ok but Rocky Mountain Bighorn outer bark (see WD Pease) and sometime Alaskan Dahl Sheep can be lovely.
It does tend to shrink (especially on full tanged knive's). I have had a couple of racks with Game Tags still affixed, sitting in my shop for years, Normally cut to shape of scales,boil or steam,flatten,superglue and pray.

Dave
 
I love the look of sheep's horn, but don't own any knives made with this material. I do own knives with buffalo horn and it's pretty good stuff in terms of absorbing impact like you get with big knives like goloks and khukuris and the like. It shrinks like most natural handle material, but seems to rehydrate pretty easy at least in my experience.
 
Win Heger said:
I'm a big fan of Big Horn and had several with bark and still own three with polished Big Horn. I know makers find it difficult to work with since it heats up very fast.

That Johnson is a beautiful example of polished sheep horn.

Win

My Loveless fighters:

standard.jpg
Click to expand...

Win, that black horn is beautiful and RARE.
 
Overall, I'm not a fan. I don't hate the stuff by any stretch - it's just that the list of materials that rank above it (in my personal preference) is pretty long. I have seen some dark, blackish sheephorn (on a couple Bill Burke pieces, if memory serves) that I thought was just beautiful. But the greenish stuff doesn't generally float my boat. I don't presently own any sheephorn-handled pieces, but I suspect that will change when I come across the right piece with the right "look" for me.

I do like that polished horn and wonder why we don't see that more often.

Roger
 
I really like sheep horn(obviously) Good black horn is very hard to get and expensive. the stuff that shows up on ebay seems to be junk, (at least the four or five pieces that I have bought were.) I am with Roger in that most of the green stuff is my least favorite but I have seen a few pieces of green that were exquisite. In my opinion the best form to use sheephorn in is in it's natural form in one piece. this will result in the least movement of the handle. scales that have ben boiled and straightend seem to move the most. I find that for scales the horn needs to be straightened then allowed to dry completely. During this time they will move some. When ready to use they should be sanded flat with as little heat buildup as possible.
 
Bill Burke said:
I really like sheep horn(obviously) Good black horn is very hard to get and expensive. the stuff that shows up on ebay seems to be junk, (at least the four or five pieces that I have bought were.) I am with Roger in that most of the green stuff is my least favorite but I have seen a few pieces of green that were exquisite. In my opinion the best form to use sheephorn in is in it's natural form in one piece. this will result in the least movement of the handle. scales that have ben boiled and straightend seem to move the most. I find that for scales the horn needs to be straightened then allowed to dry completely. During this time they will move some. When ready to use they should be sanded flat with as little heat buildup as possible.
Click to expand...

I don't care for horn with the green tint either. I have been told it's the result of the particular Ram's diet. Is that true Bill? The Fisk Sendero depicted above appears to have a partial green tint in one area, however it's brown on the actual handle.
 
I realy love it. Especially with the natural roughness still on it:thumbup:

Hers a Sub Hilt Herb Derr did for me. First Sub Hilt Herb ever did..Then the Second;)

Picture021.jpg
 
Gday fella's,
I have used quite a bit of merino on hunters/skinners and it is nearly always the 1st knife to sell at a show and have never taken one home from a show.
Definitely have to let it do its thing as far as warpage goes for about 12 months then sand flat without building any heat and it appears to stay very stable with little shrinkage in our Aussie climate, much more stable than buffalo thats for sure.

Cheers Bruce
Barnett Custom Knives-Australia
www.barnettcustomknives.com
 
I like it, especially the natural bark stuff like on Kevin's first pic.
 
Kevin Jones said:
I don't care for horn with the green tint either. I have been told it's the result of the particular Ram's diet. Is that true Bill? The Fisk Sendero depicted above appears to have a partial green tint in one area, however it's brown on the actual handle.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin, I have not heard that. I have seen horns from sheep that were raised and ranged together and only one of the six had any green in its horns but that is my only experiance.
 
Not a big fan of domestic sheep horn kandles IMHO kinda like useing a domestic bulls horns not my cup of tea although they can be very lovely.

AS for Wild sheep horn I really like that and as Tom Mayo pointed out some of the big asian sheep horn is just about impossible to get.

I have found many North American horns of bighorns and white sheep that had winter killed or been done in by predators but you can not keep pick ups usually and who wants to try and pack them out when you can not keep them. Any ram horns I ever brought from Canada had to have a marking plug drilled abd hammered into them and apropriate paper work

The largest pile of sheep horns that I have seen was in the Pamir Mtn's of Tajikistan at the base camp of the Hot Springs Camp 15300 ft elevation on the border of Afganistan. After many flights and a 17 hour off road drive make this a very hard area to reach.

These are Marco Polo Argali pickups that you can not take out of the country or transport without a tag and cities permit. These are next to impossible to bring out of the country unless you want to put your tag on it.

I layed awake many a night wondering how to smuggle a piece out for these will litterly never leave the mountains. But had such a good trip and did so well and had to cross so many borders coming out that where watched by ak 47 handleing boarder guards where you need alot of paper work just to pass and you need an interpeter to communicate I did not want to bother trying. Wish I would of:D
horns009.jpg


The Handsome guy on the left is me the other 2 are long time hunting partners Craig and Brown
horns007.jpg
 
Last edited:
wow, Joe! What a pile of horns. Great photo.
 
That is impressive!!!!!! What year were those pictures taken???

I have heard tales of the like, but this is the first picture I have seen that testifies to the veracity!!!!!

I have a book on the wild sheep of the world........and it has an outline of all the places that sheep are found thruout the world.........and it has the perfect curve of a sheep horn....

If I can reproduce it and upload it I will

I love big horn and dahl..........and Steve Johnston knives with Big Horn are the best of the best (well, I like ivory a lot too!!!!!!!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top