Bone Scales?

E

eminart

Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
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I'm planning my first knife. I got the idea that I'd like to use some bone (and wood too) for the scales. I'm not sure if that's a great idea though. Any problems with bone? Does is come out looking alright? I got a cow femur from a coworker that I thought would work great. I sawed it in half today on the table saw just to see what I was working with. I know one thing, it stinks when you use power tools on it. Anyway, the walls of a cow femur aren't as thick as I would have thought. I think I could get a couple of thin slabs to use though, unless anyone here thinks it's a bad idea.

Thoughts or experiences?
 
I'm working on my first knife and was thinking the same thing - using bone. I know when I was in high school I cleaned out the shop class cutting bone. That's been nearly 30 years ago, but that smell never leaves you. :D Wait until you put it on a belt sander.
 
I have had bad experiences with using bone before, I dont trust it, just my opinion. I made pool cues along time ago and every inlay I used with bone would eventually shrink or expand real bad in the pocket, and sometimes it would check after time. Plus it stinks to high heaven. thats the only experience I ever had with bone, wish I could offer more info but Im learning myself, hope I helped alittle and goodluck on the knife,Charlie
 
I have made a few knives with bone handles. The first was a kitchen knife for my mom that gets used daily. She has had it for about 1 1/2 years with no problems. However, I am sure if it got dropped on the tile, it would not end well. One other one was to someone who will likely never use it, so not a good test. The most recent also went on a kitchen knife, but was just finished a few weeks ago.

No joke about the stink. It sure is easy to work, and in my opinion looks really nice when polished.

-Mike
 
There were threads here a while back about bone handles. The guys were going to PetSmart, etc. and buying the packaged bone for dogs and cutting those up and making knives. The price was very reasonable for bone from the pet store.

You might try stabilizing the bone, by sending it to WSSI. This would help tremendously with the shrinkage issues.
 
The pet store........ I go there all the time but I never would have thought to go there for bones. Good to know.

Also, AcridSaint mentioned shin bones........ I saw that mentioned somewhere else too. I'm wondering if shin bones are more solid and that's why they seem to be desirable as scales?
 
eminart said:
The pet store........ I go there all the time but I never would have thought to go there for bones. Good to know.

Also, AcridSaint mentioned shin bones........ I saw that mentioned somewhere else too. I'm wondering if shin bones are more solid and that's why they seem to be desirable as scales?
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was talking about in the "Trends" thread. I read through this thread...saw that I could contribue and did. ;)
 
Eminart - I think the reason the shin bones are used is because they offer more flat surface area to saw off thin folder scales from and are not expensive.
 
I have used various types of bone on several knives. Bone can be stabilized which will largely address the problems, shrinkage, warpage and cracks. Untreated bone will likely shrink and change color over time.

Make sure your bone is good and dry. I have actually used bone from the pet store. I cleaned it up good and then left in out in the sun and weather for several months before I used it though. The sun did a pretty good job of bleaching it white.

Yes, bone and ivory does stink to high heaven when you cut it, drill it and especially when you grind it. Your shop, your hair and your clothes will reek from it. Almost as bad as buffalo horn. It makes a very fine dust that will go everywhere.

Other than that you work it pretty much like you would with wood. Go slow and easy when drilling it. Drilling a smaller pilot hole first releives the pressure and helps prevent chipping when the drill bit breaks through the backside.

DO NOT get it hot either when grinding, drilling or buffing. Heat WILL cause cracks, now or later.

Good luck.
 
Bone has been used for knife scales for a couple of hundred years.
 
Thanks for all the great advice, everyone. I do appreciate it. I'm beginning to think that I may leave the bone for a future project and work with wood on my first attempt. I also have a small, rooty hornbeam stump that I'm going to try to cut some blocks out of. Hornbeam is also called "ironwood" but I don't THINK it's the same ironwood that gets used all the time for scales. I'm going to have to look into this particular wood to see how well it will work. Anyway, thanks again.


Bill DeShivs said:
Bone has been used for knife scales for a couple of hundred years.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know it's been used forever - I just didn't know if it was a good material for the home hobbyist to attempt using.
 
I do probably 70-100 sets of shin bone scales per year with dyeing and jigging them, as Bill said above its been around a very long time. I haven't had a lot of luck with the local
stuff, most of it I use is for dogs, chicken, beef, peanut butter flavor and it almost all comes from south america. You can take a look at in in the folders for sale section. I get most of it from either the local "farm and barn" type store or yes pet stores.
Ken.
 
There are differnt types of ironwood but the one most used on knives is desert ironwood. Desert ironwood only grows in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico and Southern Claifornia. It is an endangered species and no longer allowed to be harvested. It takes 60 years for a desert ironwood tree to mature but it is some of the hardest and most beautiful wood you can get. There is still plenty of it avaiable to buy but it is expensive.

Desert ironwood is only type of ironwood I have used so I can't tell you anything about other types or hornbeam.

I didn't mean to scare you off of the bone. It's really not hard or bad to work with. The main thing to remember is to not get it hot. Bone and ivory will develop cracks if you get it too hot.
 
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