Info on stag handle making?

[nc527]

I want to try and put some stag scales on a knife I recently made. Is whitetail antler suitable for this? also, how do I go about shaping it, so that it looks like what some of the makers here do, like on the ML knives, I cant imagine just grinding it for make it look this way.

 

[Patrickknives]

You can use about any antler, bigger the better. The trick is to picture how much of the top surface you want to sand away. Some makers and knives remove very little saving the rough surface, some go quite deep and leave only traces of the orginal surface. Hidden tang in easier than full tang since you will make your guard just a litte narrower than you stag roll or crown.

I start the shaping with a wood rasp, then file and then sandpaper. I have tough time using the ginder.

The first pictures in a crown where the guard in about 1/8" smaller than the diameter of the crown, this give me some stag to remove to match to the guard.

This is slabs with a little more removed, this allowed for the smooth section to move back a bit while still maintaining some of the outter roughness, this is tough to do unless you have a really large piece.

 

[mgordon]

I start shaping mine with "shop roll" type sand paper pulling it back and foward like shining a shoe. Once i get that i get the regular paper and hit the spots that i dont want he surface material showing. Any type of antler will work, my advise fwiw is to get it a little over sized.

MG

 

[sharpeknives]

If you want to leave as much of the stag texture as possible work the stag from the back. Keep flat grinding the stag until you get the desired thickness Then shape and sand the edges to the desired finish. What are ML knives?

 

[oldwolf]

Grinding from the back is the way to go alright, but realize that as you remove Material from the back the slab it will get smaller in width also. Frustrating when it doesn't fit the width of the tang anymore.

 

[CDH]

Grinding from the back is the way to go alright, but realize that as you remove Material from the back the slab it will get smaller in width also. Frustrating when it doesn't fit the width of the tang anymore.

Almost as frustrating as grinding through the front and getting into the pith...:foot:

As for the OP, whitetail antler works well. My problems have been with North American elk, it has a fairly thin enamel layer and the pith is ugly.

 

[tattooedfreak]

I am using some white tail antler right now. I use my grinder with an 80 grit belt, it removes material fast so be careful. Have a definite outline and dont go past it, you can always use sheet paper to finish off. Oh.. and it stinks no matter what mask you are using.