Advise Please on Good Choice For Antler Scales -

R

rlinger

Joined
Mar 29, 2002
Messages
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Looks like I may be making my first antler scale knife and it appears, so far, the customer is interested primarily in quality as opposed to a particular beast from which it comes. Except for exotics, can you please advise. NO, go ahead and include exotics if that be your choice.

Thanks.

RL
 
Sambar Stag would be my first choice,If you can actually see the antlers many of the other species can offer excellent scales,one of my favorites are Elk.I find it very hard to find what i want without viewing the product.
 
Yeah, I was wondering about that. It would be good to see it first or get it from someone who knows the stuff well.

Thanks.

RL
 
Roger,
What I have found is that sambar stag is THE premium stag. Axis stag, if available, is just as good. If Dan can help you with the sambar then you are ahead of the game.

I am sure I don't have to tell you this but will anyway. Get it as thin as possible from the side that is next to the tang. You will be amazed how thick it is if you don't. I try to get all of the marrow out as well.

This is a personal opinion but I don't particularly care for native whitetail, mule deer or elk. Only the crown is usable on the deer and the elk is very thin and porous but doesn't look too bad if done right.

Craig
 
Is antler ever treated such as that for stabilized wood , and if not how durable is it over time ?
 
They stabilize ivory Mete. I don't know either but if not, why not.

C.L., I think I lost you on the 'thin against the tang'. Are you speaking of the tightness of fit to the tang. I just can't understand what you are trying to teach me. Please repeat transmission. EDIT: I think I figured it out. Are you saying the bark is thick??

Thanks.

RL
 
I think what C.L. is refering to is get the thickness you want by removing material from the backside to preserve as much texture as you can.

Antler can be stabilized, but I don't have mine stabilized because I like the natural feel and look and all it really needs is a wipe down with mineral oil.

Stag has been used for handles since there were knives and is very durable. I've got an old K-bar trapper that my grandfather caried for close to 30 years and the blades are worn thin but the stag is still there, though worn smooth and shrunk slightly.

My personal preferance is Axis because I don't care for the heavy texture and it's nearly solid. I love elk and can sometimes find it in thick sections, but it's mostly real thin.
 
Roger, I have used whitetail antler since '91, with excellent results. I have used some elk, but the elk has too pourous core for my liking. Almost all my earlier knives included antler,metal spacers,wood, 'glassed. One knife, an Osage Orange,brass shim stock spacers,and two 1/2" whitetail antler spacers laid in the back of a pickup truck bed after field dressing a deer.The knife was left there all fall, winter,spring, in the open bed in the weather. Except for some L6 blade rust, the knife was just fine. It was my first custom sold knife, also. There was no seperation of the handle and the materials were in excellent shape. For further documentation I can furnish the customer's name and contact for you, Roger. Good stuff, whitetail antler (and of course, the Acra Glas).
 
I haven't used stag in quite a while. I quit using it when I would order 5 pieces and only get 1 or 2 that I could use. Where do I find quality stag ??? I make internal knives so I can't use scales.
 
Will52100 said:
I think what C.L. is refering to is get the thickness you want by removing material from the backside to preserve as much texture as you can.
Click to expand...

Yup, what Will said.

Craig
 
I'll throw in my $0.02 for Sambar also. I do have trouble finding it at affordable prices though.

Is antler ever treated such as that for stabilized wood

Bruce Evans used to stabilize it and I tried it a few times. It worked fine but like Will said, I didn't like the feel.
 
Roger, I'll throw in my $.02 for Sambar as well...is this something Dan carries? Also, for stabilizing, try Nelsonite, it leaves the wood/bone/antler feeling natural while helping to protect against movement...I don't mind the stabilized look/feel of some woods stabilized with stuff like MMA, but for bone/antler, I too prefer it to feel natural and Nelsonite is the best option for this... Alex Daniels turned me onto this stuff and I'm glad he did...

:)

-Darren
 
I have had good luck using elk antler. If it is fresh antler, it works just fine as is. If it is old, it gets porous and I rough out the scales and stabilize them by soaking in polyurethane glue, eg. Gorilla Glue or a similar product. This is low viscosity and dries slowly and penetrates well.

With the fresh antler, the color is good. On the old stuff I use brown leather dye. If you use the dye before stabilizing it makes the antler much darker than after. Both look good, you just have to try out the different methods to see what you like or want to use in a particular knife.
 
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