Deer antler questions

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Paul-R

Joined
Nov 9, 2000
Messages
26
Hello all,
I got a call last night asking if I'd make a couple of knives with deer antler handles. He said whitetail or mule deer is what he is looking for.
I've worked with sambar stag and different horn materials, but not whitetail or mule deer antler.
A few questions,
Does this work like stag?
Does it hold up well?
What problems should I be aware of before starting?
Is there sources for this material other than finding a hunter that has some? I've looked at all my usual suppliers with no luck.

Thanks in advance for any help. :-)
Paul-R
 
Working with some deer horn now. It has a very thin hard layer as thin as 1\16 inch doesnt leave much room for sanding. You need to find some that has the right shape as far as matching up to your guard and butt cap.The inside is very soft as George says. It is fairly easy to grind out I use a rotary rasp in a drill press.I soaked mine in Min-Wax wood hardener and it helped some.
Trouble is you can't tell untill you cut it.
My experence
Take Care
TJ Smith
 
My experience with deer antler is not so bad, though the pieces are very different. I had some with very small spongy core in it and others with a bigger sponge. Whitetail and mule are not the same antlers as from daim or fallow deer. They are normally much denser and good suited for knife grips.

Go to

http://hideandfur.com

They have it all. Or take a look at ebay. there's always people selling all kinds of antler.

Achim
 
Hollow out the sponge and fill with JB weld
biggrin.gif

I use the jb weld when I have aarger area to fill vs, drill to "fit" tang and epoxy

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Sola Fide
 
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