Handle From Hollow Horn

J

joseph vitullo

Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
9
Hey all,

Im new to the Forum so if this is not the write place for this thread please let me know!
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with making knife handles from hollow horn like Springbok horn for example. What do you fill the inside with? Epoxy? Bondo? just a thought...
 
Joseph, I have a friend here in Bakersfield who is also a knife maker with years of experience. I have not tried this myself but my friend says he whittles or carves a piece of wood to roughly fit into the horn as close as possible but keeps the wood gouged and rough. He then fills the horn partly with epoxy and pushes the wood in all the way and then fills the horn to almost overflowing. When the whole thing has set up he cuts the wood and excess epoxy off flush and now has a handle that can be drilled and fitted with a stick tang and since the wood takes up the middle of the horn it is easy to use a broach tool to cut out the opening the shape of the tang. You can also hog out the pithy part of a horn like Elk with a drywall bit or 1/4 inch drill and fill the antler with epoxy. When that has set the antler can be band sawed so the concave space under the scales is filled and can be sanded perfectly flat and make strong ( relatively) scales for full tang knives. I have seen his knives and they are professional so I know these techniques can work well. Use G-flex epoxy by West Systems or Accraglass from Brownell's gunsmith supplies. Larry
 
In talking with one old smith, I was told that pewter or lead was sometimes cast around the tang to anchor it in place.
 
That was back in the old days:) Today, pewter is probably a more socially acceptable choice.
 
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