Howdy y’all. I am currently in the process of making a couple of knives and is the first time ever working with deer antlers for scales. After working on them for about a week, I noticed that my hands and arms are really itching. No hives though and no respiratory issues. In my 74 years, I’ve never been allergic to anything…even poison oak. I eat venison with no issues. Just wondering if any of you have experienced this while working with antler material?
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Allergic to deer antlers?
- Thread starter 6Sally5
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Bill DeShivs
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Never.
Hengelo_77
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Me neither
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Welcome to Shop Talk 6Sally5. Kudos on filling out your profile when registering!
An allergic reaction to antler would be extremely unlikely.
It may be from irritation not an actual allergic reaction. The fine particles from grinding can have tiny sharp points. That would be similar to the reaction from sanding fiberglass.
Is the antler from a harvested from a deer someone shot recently? That could have bacteria on it in the velvet, blood, and base bone that may cause a skin infection/irritation.
To lessen skin irritation from grinding wood, metal, bone, ivory, fiberglass, etc. Dust off your hands and arms gently or vacuum them, rinse well with running cool or warm water (not hot water), then wash with a mild detergent like Dawn. Try not to rub hard in the washing. Rinse well before drying.
It is also possible that the cause is from something unrelated to the knife work. Mild eczema in older folks often appears as itchy skin on the arms and especially between the fingers.
As a fellow septuagenarian, I can sympathize with you about the itches we get all the time. I have found Cera-V to be one of the best treatments for the "itchies". The other advice is DON'T SCRATCH THE ITCH ... gently rub in some cream.
An allergic reaction to antler would be extremely unlikely.
It may be from irritation not an actual allergic reaction. The fine particles from grinding can have tiny sharp points. That would be similar to the reaction from sanding fiberglass.
Is the antler from a harvested from a deer someone shot recently? That could have bacteria on it in the velvet, blood, and base bone that may cause a skin infection/irritation.
To lessen skin irritation from grinding wood, metal, bone, ivory, fiberglass, etc. Dust off your hands and arms gently or vacuum them, rinse well with running cool or warm water (not hot water), then wash with a mild detergent like Dawn. Try not to rub hard in the washing. Rinse well before drying.
It is also possible that the cause is from something unrelated to the knife work. Mild eczema in older folks often appears as itchy skin on the arms and especially between the fingers.
As a fellow septuagenarian, I can sympathize with you about the itches we get all the time. I have found Cera-V to be one of the best treatments for the "itchies". The other advice is DON'T SCRATCH THE ITCH ... gently rub in some cream.
Horsewright
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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- Oct 4, 2011
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I’ve worked about as much antler as anyone, I guess. Mostly elk but others as well, moose, red deer, fallow deer, whitetail, blacktail mule deer, sambar etc. I’ve not had any problems, nor have I’ve heard of anyone else. I’m three years away from joining the in the 70s club. I’ve found long sleeve shirts to be helpful.
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2000
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- 1,957
Different people are allergic to different things. Over the years I have developed certain allergy's, for example I once sawed up a lot of cocobolo and had a nosebleed for two days. Previously cocobolo had no effect on me. It's a good idea to wear a respirator when working with any kind of dust.