Processing a lot of bone

R

Randy3000

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Jun 3, 2017
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I have gotten better making slip joints and feel it is time i stop using cabinet grade hardwoods for handles and move on to bone. I have used bone from Culpepper, but i am cheap, and considering the fact i just give the knives away, i want to keep cost down.

So i have this 30 lbs dog and she loves chewing on cow bones but she isnt strong enough to break the bone. So i have about a dozen of these bone pieces laying around the house and decided i would cut one up.

VJiKiTJ.jpg


I always bought bones with flat sections, and this one bone can make two sets of scales. So i have maybe 20 or so sets of scales just laying around the house.

I flattened one set on both sides for the most part on my disk sander. I have used two sheets of sandpaper, and this one set is at about 0.150" thick. I would like to get it down to about 0.125" before i begin shaping, contouring, jigging, etc. So looks like i will be going through about 50 sheets of sandpaper on the disk sander to flattened all the bones!

50 sheets of sandpaper isnt really cheap. I mean, i can afford it. But i highly doubt Culpepper is flattening their bone on a disk sander, or else they would be selling at a loss. Plus sanding takes a pretty long time. I am careful not to get the bone hot, and the sandpaper doesnt get junky it just honestly loses its grit.

Cutting on a saw seems dangerous because the pieces are irregular shaped and only a few inches long. Grinding with an angle grinder seems very crude and difficult to keep uniform across the surface. They really should make a bone planar.

I have tried filing and it is painfully slow. Would a ferriers rasp work on hard bone like this? Any other ideas?
 
A rasp or float will work yes, depending on how hard the bone is, but you're certainly not gonna be saving ANY money when you factor in your time.

Places like culpepper process bone and antler, do a large amount by sawing, but they have jigs, and specialty equipment that makes it easier and quicker. They cut as close to dimension, and then if things need to be sanded flat, they use large "thickness" sanders, which are wide flat belt sanders with a conveyor feed. Smaller versions use 18-24" wide belts, the heavier duty versions of these machines like a business would depend on, cost $$$.


You could make a LOT more progress with this using a belt grinder, cheap, aggressive AO belts will hold up much longer, and remove material much more aggressively than a disc will. These belts from Pop: http://popsupply.bizhosting.com/az_x_2x72_aluminum_oxide_zirconia_belts.html In 36 and 60 grit, I use one belt for rough shaping dozens of handles. As long as you never use them for metal, or any other hard material like stone, they'll last a VERY long time.

I process a lot of my own handle material, mostly because the stuff I want to use isn't readily available (you couldn't pay me to do what you're asking bro), and this is what I do. Cut it on a vertical saw as close as I can, the trick is to glue the workpiece to a board or something so you can handle it, then hog any inconsistencies off with a course belt on a belt grinder, then, do the final adjustment on a disc to get it completely flat.

I should mention, you should be able to get LARGE sets of bone for like $5-10 a set if you shop around, and even cheaper if you buy any quantity. It's good to know how to do it yourself, but, maybe it's time to start charging enough for your knives to at least cover the cost of some materials? That way, you can spend less time with tedium, and make more knives, thus, progressing faster?
 
I purchased a used 4 X 36 belt/disc combo sander for processing bone and stag as well as some leather sheath work and since this is dirty stinky work its all done outdoors. I use double sided tape to attach work piece to flat board for better control and use 60 grit AO belts for hogging off material. I don't do much bone and stag I prefer to buy it processed it's to time consuming, but the occasional need for something not available I have the tools to get 'er done.
 
A hand held belt sander may be just the thing. Tape or glue it down on something.

I am doing this mainly because i know i am going to mess up. I want to process my own bone because i want to shape and contour the handle before jigging and dyeing. I like handle scales 0.125" or so in the middle and tapering off to 0.062" at the ends, and you just cant find preprocessed bone like that. I know it is a dog bone, but it is that fact that makes me not afraid to try anything to these bone pieces.
 
Randy3000 said:
A hand held belt sander may be just the thing. Tape or glue it down on something.

I am doing this mainly because i know i am going to mess up. I want to process my own bone because i want to shape and contour the handle before jigging and dyeing. I like handle scales 0.125" or so in the middle and tapering off to 0.062" at the ends, and you just cant find preprocessed bone like that. I know it is a dog bone, but it is that fact that makes me not afraid to try anything to these bone pieces.
Click to expand...

*shrug* You actually can find contoured bone pretty easily. Call Pop up, last time I was there he had boxes and boxes and it was dirt cheap.
 
Also, just want to say Randy, I'm not saying you shouldn't process your own bone. I'm just saying that if it takes you more than 10 or 20 minutes to get some ready to use, you're losing money. If you have a 2x72 grinder and buy the belts i mentioned, you can rough them out real quick after sawing, but if you're having to glue them down to something, and monkey around with a hand held sander or a rasp, then disc grind just to get them close, there's no way that's not costing you more than just buying a large set of bone for $10 or something.
 
Randy for the past 10 years or so I've done my own. Platen on my bader with a 36 grit belt then to the disc.
Dome the outside, clean up the edges,-- ready for jigging. Croc Pot overnite on low with xylene in a jar (jar
in water). Check for transparency next day, if both bones in the set are close (no chalky spots) go into the dye.
Oil based leather dye.
Ken.
 
Woah woah what does this xylene stuff do? It is a solvent, right? Probably should do that outside... Does it prep the bone for dye? I planned on using fieblings (sp?) dye.
 
Randy prepping the bone for dye is exactly what xylene does, plus its pretty good at eliminating
the "chalkiness" in bone. I've had some success using gasoline instead. I prefer xylene. None of
this stuff is any kind of joke but is it any more dangerous than knifemaking itself? probably not.
I buy the big dog bones for under $3, so for $10 now we are @ 3 sets of bone for handles.
Ken.
 
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I can see how warming the bone can open it up some, i guess the solvent helps pull some of the chalky stuff out so dye has somewhere to go. I have a piece of glass i can squeeze clamp it to to help keep it from warping too much. When sanding the bone, i tried to keep the grain parallel best i could, i dont know if that helps minimize warping but it cant hurt i guess.
 
I usually regrind the back flat on a disc after the overnite bath. Can't say I've ever had much for warp
problems with bone though.
Ken.
 
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