Bleaching and stabilize antlers?

E

Eriksen

Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
181
Are there any ways to bleach and stabilize the black core of a carved antler knife handle in order to get it whiter and to fill the pores? Will it be possible with the Cactus juice solution, or will the heat process damage the antler?
 
There is no way to make the core3 white that I know of ... without ruining the antler. I can't imagine why you would want to.

Stabilizing the core is OK. Cactus juice, CA, wood hardner, etc. should all work. Most folks just drill it all out and fill the void with epoxy to make it hard and stable.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
There is no way to make the core3 white that I know of ... without ruining the antler. I can't imagine why you would want to.

Stabilizing the core is OK. Cactus juice, CA, wood hardner, etc. should all work. Most folks just drill it all out and fill the void with epoxy to make it hard and stable.
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I have knife handles with engravings into the porous core and it doesn´t look as good when the black color shows up. Therefore I wanted to bleach the black parts in order to get a lighter color and stabilize it, but do you think the bleaching process will make it soft and brittle?
 
Pretty wide answer - Sambar, red, mule, whitetail, sika, etc. ???
Some deer antler is pretty solid ( Sambar) while others have lots of pith (whitetail).

Anyway, the short answer is that bleach would likely ruin any type of antler.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Pretty wide answer - Sambar, red, mule, whitetail, sika, etc. ???
Some deer antler is pretty solid ( Sambar) while others have lots of pith (whitetail).

Anyway, the short answer is that bleach would likely ruin any type of antler.
Click to expand...
OK! I understand. But what about bleaching buffalo horns? Do you have any experience with that?
 
Bleach destroys bone and antler. If your wanting whitening I'd soak in strong Hydrogen Peroxide you can buy a beauty salon supply house. It comes in a liquid and a paste. I use the paste HP to whiten European mounts. Brush on and leave 24 hours in a WARM area. Rinse off and leave in sun light for a few hours to dry.

I have no clue if it will do what you are wanting though. But above method really whitens skull and I know you have to be careful not to get it on the antler
 
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