Bone handles

stephensee

stephensee

Joined
May 17, 2002
Messages
353
Last year I've sold in France a 15.5" khuk with brass inlays in the blade and a very nice bone handle. The problem was some bone handle cracks.

I'd want to know if bone handle cracks are very common... Does wood or horn is more robust than bone for Khukuries handle ?

Thank you forumites,

Regards,
Stephen.
 
Wood, horn, and bone handles will all crack if not cured properly. Bone needs the most attention for curing and many times doesn't get it so is more prone to crack than the other two materials.

Bura is the only kami in the shop who uses bone handles and he cures the bone himself -- you can't hurry the curing process.
 
It's been my experience that nearly half of all bone and ivory handle materials crack with time (some take longer than others)...a sad but true side effect of using nature-made materials. Gives character, though.
 
Bill : could you describe the curing process of a bone handle please? In France bone is boiled to be more stronger. Does Bura do the same thing?
 
Bura does the same. He boils and then dries and supposedly ages the bone bor some time. Village kamis who use bone will boil it (they make soup -- nothing wasted) and then toss the bone up on the roof to be sun dried and weathered. I "think" this is Bura's method.

The reason we don't use more bone is because we have to buy it commercially and it is never cured properly and cracks even before the kamis can get the knife to DHL for shipping. If we wanted to offer bone as a handle option we would have to hire a "bone" man who did nothing but cure bone for handles and we don't know where to find a good one.
 
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