Help with first antler handle

[built4life]

Hi all, im looking for some advice on how to make my first hidden tang knife using antler. I've heard that boiling the antler to soften up the core works well however that advice was not given to me by a master bladesmith haha.. this knife is going to be a gift to my father in law this fall for hunting season.

Basically I need to know the technique for drilling the hole /holes and or boiling the antler until the core is soft or whatever method you use that works well. If there are any threads that you know of that cover this already that would also be great!

Thanks in advance,

John

 

[pjackst]

I stuffed the tang of a Mora Classic 2/0 into a two-segment antler handle I threw together by drilling out the core with a 16v cordless drill. I used a piece of leather as a washer/spacer thingy between the two segments. I just locked the drill in "on" mode and kinda carefully blasted through the core, holding the antler and trying not to injure myself. I did it with two pieces instead of one big one bc I could only figure about 2" worth of straight "run" before the curvature of the antler took over, so to speak. I think I actually did this on my living room couch- so I prob used a saw from a Leatherman to laboriously truncate the antler segments. So, its like a stacked washer handle with only two really tall washers lol. My advice if it is your first- a dress-rehearsal before the real live event may help you sort out any shortcomings with equipment/materials/etc before putting an irreversable hurt on your final project.

 

[lastbrunneng]

I've made one antler handled knife before, I used a hidden tang with a threaded end, drilled an undersized hole through the antler and carved it out until it was close. Then I heated the tang and burned the antler on until it fit perfectly, which went really fast but smelled awful. I made brass plates for each end of the handle to hide the pith and used an acorn nut and epoxy to lock it all together.
That was one of my first knives and the only bone handle I've ever done so take all of that with a grain of salt.

Here's a recent thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...n-making-a-bone-handle-bowie?highlight=antler

 

[pjackst]

Thanks for the link to that thread lastbrunneng- I will be very happy to refine my clunky technique lol. And yes- what a lovely scent it is that emanates when you saw or burn antlers lol

I've made one antler handled knife before, I used a hidden tang with a threaded end, drilled an undersized hole through the antler and carved it out until it was close. Then I heated the tang and burned the antler on until it fit perfectly, which went really fast but smelled awful. I made brass plates for each end of the handle to hide the pith and used an acorn nut and epoxy to lock it all together.
That was one of my first knives and the only bone handle I've ever done so take all of that with a grain of salt.

Here's a recent thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...n-making-a-bone-handle-bowie?highlight=antler