Antlers 101?

V

Vinny203

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Nov 24, 2006
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Hey Guys. Hows everyone been. I've been pretty busy with stuff. Any way
my brother went to Maine and brought me back 2 sets of white tail antlers.
I need to get as much info as can for working with this material. I have some
cable damascus and was waiting to get some material to use. well now i do.
so basicaly i did a search on the forum on antler handles and keeps loading
a blank page. I need to know every thing how to press them how to cut them
how to finish how to stabelize the whole nine. Any info will help, and theres
no better place to ask.

Thanks Vinny :D
 
Potassium permanganate dissolved in water to dye it brown. Experiment with with mix amounts.

You can use a saw, file, sand paper, grinder... whatever to cut and shape it. I fill in the pith with super glue (after I drill the tang holes) and the cracks, too. Others drill out all the pith and fill with epoxy. One of the primitive ways to mount the blade is to boil or soak the antler till the pith is soft, set it or the blade in a vise and push the tang in. When the antler cools or dries, the blade is securely mounted. Keep checking around. You may want to have some benadryl handy- anlter dust always makes my nose run, even with a respirator.
 
The antlers are green, so they will have to be cured. They can be dyed and stabilized as others have stated. Be aware that selling Whitetail antler products is illegal in several states.
Stacy
 
Thanks allot guys. and i will not be selling any thing. Its for my self but good looking.
also these antlers are pretty old the person who gave them to my brother had them
in his closet for who knows how long. he gave my brother 3rd set but there really big
nice and colored too... he wont give em to me =)
 
David Wesner said:
Where is a good place to get small ammounts of potassium permanganate Guy ?
Click to expand...

Dave get it at your sears store in the water soften dept.
one little container of the crystals will last almost forever,
mix a little at a time.
if it dries out just ad more water

look this over before using it.
http://www.knivesby.com/Potassium-Permanganate.html
do not mix sugars gasoline or antifreeze with it, Bang!!

back in the day of school lab
we'd mix permanganate water and sugar together cost a piece of paper with it and let it dry out, after it was dry
we'd throw a pencil or something on to it and it would blow up,,
Boommm:eek:

BTW I think they still use it as a antiseptic over seas..

Vinny
this red deer atler was almost all white before I started,,
it's totaly colored with permanganate
http://www.knivesby.com/handles/gray-irwin2.jpg
http://www.knivesby.com/handles/gray-irwin1.jpg
I'll take some of that back, the antler in front of the Sub hilt is Indian Sambar stag :)
 
Just FYI , coffee and even tea can be used to color antler , and it's a hell of a lot safer than Potassium P. :)
 
awesome! this material has to be stabilized correct? does anyone know a method for antler. ill try the search right now put its been loading allot of blank pages for me last few days. thanks
 
Any hardware store carries the potassium permanganate- its a water softener?!? Its crystalline like sugar crystals and comes in a plastic jug. Turns the water purple, then brown. I better not tell my wife about the coffee/tea staining...she already does that on fabric for arts n crafts. Hey, maybe I should just let her find me with a bucket of coffee grounds or a bunch of wet tea bags on top of antler- she already goes a little nuts when I'm making antler soup seasoned with potassium permanganate.

You could do a search on vacuum stabilizing. Try the super glue-its not just for cuts in the shop anymore. The super glue will just keep running down into the pith, so put a piece of tape on the bottom of the antler round once the glue starts running out. Get a bunch of the glue, or get a few bigger bottles at a knife supply site. Use it the same way on antler slabs, too. Oh...don't do this over carpet, couches or anything that you don't want to be potentially spattered with super glue. It will get on your skin, no matter what. The only question is how much and where. The crazy glue brand seems to work well for me. On the vacuum gimmick, maybe a super glue fuming gimmick would achieve a similar but shallow surface result. Of course, just straight out of the bottle on the surface achieves a shallow coat. Any comments?
 
Vinny, I have worked with antlers alot, and have found that after the softer marrow is removed from the inside core it will need dried under a lamp for at least a couple of days. You will then find a small amount of resien "goo" that needs removed. Staining with leather "oil" dye will give you good results in the color. Use a Q-tip, and a drop of dye. If you have the good fortune to have the crown of the antler, this can be sanded down and polished out to look like marble. Use the green hard polish that sits on your shelf for the steel, and a brown sharpie marking pen. Yep sounds goofie but it works. The brown sharpie stays in the small natural veins of the crown and blends to a black/blue while the rest turns cream.
 
Thx guys you've all givin me lots of good info. I think what im gonna do is practice all this new knowlodge on the tips of the antlers and save the crown
for when i feel good about what ive learned. one last question whats the common method of securing the blade into the antler. some form of glue
or pin? also i know someone said you could boil the antler and quikly insert
the tang right into the material and as it cools and drys it will grab hold.

thx again.
 
like I said in any sears store :D ;)

Dangerous :confused:
hey permanganate is no more dangerous than most of what we do in knife making everyday , it's the knowing that counts most :D

Vinny203 said:
i know someone said you could boil the antler and quikly insert
the tang right into the material and as it cools and drys it will grab hold.

thx again.
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: you kind of defeat the purpose of drying the antler don't you that way..:confused: :) if you are doing a hidden stick tang , barb the tang even put some holes in it for epoxy to grab..
if the antler is good and dry, just hollow out the pith and fill with epoxy.
you don't have to stabilize it but giving it just a good soak in minwax wood hardener will work but remember, the wood hardener has acetone in it and it will after a short time remove your epoxy for you :D
I use it with vacuum if I feel the need to do so on some of it..
 
make sure your old lady is out of the house before you start sanding in horn or you knife making days will come to a end pronto. ie it stink to high heaven do wear a mask;)
 
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