Bolsters out of antler...

dirtyphil

dirtyphil

Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
165
...can it be done? Background, gotta guy saw some puukko knives I did on a fly fishing website and he wants one. Actually he doesn't care that it be a puukko as long as it has some blue spacer and antler of some kind. I'm getting frustrated with fitting the brass bolster perfectly without spaces on the hidden tang and I'm about ready to scrap puukko for awhile. I was thinking about making two bolsters from antler and having blue liners and making it full tang. How do I get the antler cut without having the pith show? I got some really nice moose rounds from Scandinavian Knife Supply, couple of which don't even look like there is a pith to the center I'm not worried about keeping the outside of the antler showing. How to do it? Just figure the thickness theyll need to be, rough shape, and grind? Anyone got picks of antler as bolsters on a full tang knife? Thanks, Phil
 
I avoid working with antler if at all possible myself.
 
i guess antler bolsters are not too popular. as you mentioned i do not know how you could do it without the pith showing by the ricasso.. sambar stag is supposed to have no pith, that might be the way to go.
 
I make near exclusively those style knives.
Bolster & pommel of reindeer horn. Usually birchbark stacked between.
Sometimes other material, even made a few Soviet airplane knives !!

Anyway, reindeer horn has very little marrow. Dont just cut a disk, but cut a slab lengthwise off the horn.
Sometimes the webs where the horns branch off is fully solid too.

Its still fiddely work to fit tight a bolster, no matter what its made of.
 
I suppose you could use the knobby end where the antler attaches to the skull, that's pretty solid down there and it has the added benefit of being fairly round already, so you wouldn't have to round it off near the ricasso area, if that was part of your design.


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I just completed a knife with front bolster area/front half of scales out of Whitetail Deer antler. I cut them at a 45 degree angle, and matched them to the back half out of Cedar scales. the scale thickness was probably slightly less than a 1/4 inch, and I tapered the front of the whitetail antler down to the blade and they were plenty solid, and finished to a nice clean finish. I think if you aren't getting them to thick Whitetail, Mule Deer, Sambar, Reindeer, Elk and Moose will all do what you want then to do. I'll try and get a couple pics of the knife I just finished it you want--just let me know.
 
Fish30114 said:
I just completed a knife with front bolster area/front half of scales out of Whitetail Deer antler. I cut them at a 45 degree angle, and matched them to the back half out of Cedar scales. the scale thickness was probably slightly less than a 1/4 inch, and I tapered the front of the whitetail antler down to the blade and they were plenty solid, and finished to a nice clean finish. I think if you aren't getting them to thick Whitetail, Mule Deer, Sambar, Reindeer, Elk and Moose will all do what you want then to do. I'll try and get a couple pics of the knife I just finished it you want--just let me know.
Click to expand...

Fish: Yes, I would love to see some pix of this knife, please!
 
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