- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
- Messages
- 5,533
Folks the OP asked about maintenance of elk as a scale material.......well, my Buckish friend, generally wax or just handling them is plenty of scale maintenance. Too much blade/spring oil is not good and will tend to color the scale. Most elk is picked up as a shed antler, "fresh" antler is hunter taken, killed for slaughter or harvested by sawing from live bull. Usually, farm raised elk bulls are more valuable for their 'fresh' antlers so would not be considered to be a slaughter animal. (They cut them off just above the burl). As sheds the 'better' ones are recent, or picked up soon as possible after shedding in late winter.
Folks with ranches in the west that winter elk herds do pick up the antlers, some for a profit and some cursing them cause they get in hay machines. It is a long tradition in Jackson Hole, WY area (Yellowstone herd) to allow the Boy Scouts onto govt and other local wintering sites to collect elk antlers for sale. One day each spring they are bundled in groups and a town festival occurrs ending with a auction. A considerable number are bought from foreign buyers "grind up to powder" for the use in Asian medicines. Sort of old time Viagra......those are usually the biggest and the freshest.........so to speak. They like to take fresh antler just sawed off a live bull and cut a thin wafer of antler and use that to brew a cup of tea. I have not had any but spoke to someone who did and they felt no exceptions from a single cup.
Here are two Buck elk scales from the 80s. They recently reissued the two blade 309 for a short run. The new 309s come up on the auction sites fairly often... some sellers may still have a stock..........300Bucks
I think the one on the right has received too much oil before I got hold of it.
Here is one of the recent elk 309 two blades below a 303 stockman from run of stag offers back in 1989. As is typical the off side of the stockman is the 'less pretty' side but the elk is not so bad, side to side.
Folks with ranches in the west that winter elk herds do pick up the antlers, some for a profit and some cursing them cause they get in hay machines. It is a long tradition in Jackson Hole, WY area (Yellowstone herd) to allow the Boy Scouts onto govt and other local wintering sites to collect elk antlers for sale. One day each spring they are bundled in groups and a town festival occurrs ending with a auction. A considerable number are bought from foreign buyers "grind up to powder" for the use in Asian medicines. Sort of old time Viagra......those are usually the biggest and the freshest.........so to speak. They like to take fresh antler just sawed off a live bull and cut a thin wafer of antler and use that to brew a cup of tea. I have not had any but spoke to someone who did and they felt no exceptions from a single cup.
Here are two Buck elk scales from the 80s. They recently reissued the two blade 309 for a short run. The new 309s come up on the auction sites fairly often... some sellers may still have a stock..........300Bucks
I think the one on the right has received too much oil before I got hold of it.
Here is one of the recent elk 309 two blades below a 303 stockman from run of stag offers back in 1989. As is typical the off side of the stockman is the 'less pretty' side but the elk is not so bad, side to side.
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