Moose Antler

Centaur · Feb 27, 2002

The thread on oosic sources got me thinking. I went cruising on e-bay, and found alot of moose sheds for auction. I would imagine that you could get quite a few handles out of one of those babies.

What is the consensus on moose antler as a handle material?

mrd74 · Feb 27, 2002

Moose antler is tough as nails.It is quite solid up near the tine tips and some nice scales can be cut out of the palms.I have a big old chopping bowie that I made over twent-five years ago and the moose antler hasn't cracked,chipped or shrunk and this knife has seen a LOT of use.

L6steel · Feb 27, 2002

I love moose crowns for my big bowies. I've had several sets of moose racks and haven't had much success using the pans. There must be a secret way to cut and sand them flat so they're usable. I did use a section of the pan to make a straight razor once, came out pretty nice. If you let em age they turn off white and look alot like ivory. Anyone have any tips for working the pans into scales??

Gib Guignard · Feb 27, 2002

Now understand I have not done this, I was told of
this by a antler dealer that I trust. Cut the pan
into smaller peices put in a pressure cooker with a
some water, cook till thay are felexable, remove and
clamp between two steel plates till cooled off and
solid then procede with your program. He came across
this method at a knife maker shop in Utah who I dont
know never tryed it myself, hope this helps. Gib

Peter Atwood · Feb 27, 2002

This is very interesting because I was given two moose antlers last year and they've been sitting around. I attempted to cut one up last week and had a devil of a time finding any section flat enough to get a pair of scales out of. I may try the boil and press technique.

The sheds I have were in the woods a long time judging by the cracked and bleached look. I did manage to get one pair of mismatched scales out of one piece but encountered a lot of pith in the core. I said the heck with it and tried a wash of stain anyway to get a bit of color in them. Someone who came by the shop last weekend suggested bleaching the antler before staining.

Ed Fowler · Feb 27, 2002

The part of the crown that meets the skull is the closest thing to ideal ivory material that I have ever fooled with. Very dense, very tough and has a depth that transcends all. I have a rack off of a two or three year old bull that are designed to go into a two bowie set, right and left hand, complete with fast draw rig. I have been going to made the set for about 10+ years now. Maybe one day for fun. Meanwhile they wait patiently in my shop.

Bruce Bump · Feb 27, 2002

I have only used moose one time and the knife is still in use after 10 years but every time I see it I want to replace the scales. They look terrible all stained from blood and guts. It soaks up water too and becomes all sticky until it dries out. They should have been stabilized I think. It sure looked nice when it was new.

Possum · Feb 27, 2002

Howdy There.....!
I have used Moose and Elk with lots of sucess, I slab them out for fulltangs and I then fill them with superglue. Will keep coating them with glue until it won't take any more. Let them dry for a night or day and start your shaping, I also go back after shaping a seal all the edges that are now exposed that didn't get seal the first time. This seems to work great when you do your buffing for finishing it will keep allot of the compound brought getting into the pore area. give it a try. Good Luck

Later "Possum"