Pronghorn Handle

peter nap

peter nap

Joined
Nov 27, 1999
Messages
3,745
As usual, Chuck brought up an interesting idea. (He always does)
Has anyone used Pronghorn for handles? Any special problems or benefits. Any pictures ?
 
Availability? They're not exactly a glut on the market, and I can't remember when I last saw any for sale. Limited hunting season, coupled with a small take of those hunted.

You can't hunt them in this, or many other states.:confused:
 
If you're talking about Antelope Horns...we calll'em goat's in this part of Wyoming.

They are an interesting type of horn. They get shed every year. You can find them once in awhile out in the sagebrush.

As far as using them...

I think they do the "onion peel" thing pretty bad. Unless you have a rare solid piece...they are pretty thin. Guess you'd hafta fill 'em like some of the African horns.

I have always shied away from them. For those reasons.

It might make a cool handle!

Goats are way cool critters. They are faster than a greased greasy thing on a greased surface! Got eyes better than an iggle! ONe of the last great Ice Age species.

Like to see that handle.

Shane
 
Thanks Shane. I guess I'll have to cut one and see what it looks like inside. They seem to have possibilities but I don't think they will ever replace Deer Antlers.
 
pronghorn.jpg

Peter the above is a castoreum bottle I made out of pronghorn thirty years ago. Originally sealed with several coats of a linseed oil based varnish similar to Eric Kettenburg's. The surface has gotten a bit grody - the hair is separating a bit on the surface - over the years, but it will still hold liquid and I reckon with a bit of fine sandpaper it would be as smooth as a baby's bottom again. BTW - the butt cap is a piece of Catlinite, the stopper is missing - don't trap beaver anymore but one of these days.....
Stabilizing with something like Nelsonite or super glue might be "better" but I'm still stuck in the 19th century so...

Every piece of pronghorn I've ever handled has been hollow all the way out to the tip - in fact the tip off of this one is my 90 gr powder charger. Even the the little flat tip on this is mostly hollow. Know a few of buckskinners who made handles out of them by filling them either with a hard cutler's resin or with melted pewter, and have seen a few original Indian knives hafted with them. Thickness runs on this piece between 1/8-3/16".

BTW - if I remember correctly this piece of horn came off a Wyoming goat (the Mtn Men called them that as well) - got it off a road kill somewhere along the road between Medicine Bow and Casper, there were probably 10+ kills per mile along that stretch of road back during the summer of '74. The herds were quite large and we clocked some critters at over 60 MPH when they ran along side as we headed north. We gathered up maybe 50 lbs of the stuff (a LOT of horn) before getting tired of stopping.
 
Dall Sheep are similar to both the Rocky Mtn Bighorn and the Desert Big Horn. They inhabit the north west corner of British Columbia and South East Alaska primarily.
 
Edited to Delete..... :D Some mountain men may be touchy about sheep jokes. Sorry! :)
 
Thanks Chuck. I may try a handle. It would be unique if nothing else.

Now you have my curiosity up. Is that real catlinite from the sacred quarries or is it Jasper stone?
 
The Catlinite is the real McCoy...got it from Pete Caches, Hunkpapa medicine man. It was a piece of scrap he had lying around when I visited him on the Pine Ridge Rez in the fall 1973, the year of " Wounded Knee" - quite an interesting time, especially when one wasn't a Lakota....

As to the sacred quarries - well there's lots of stuff that comes out of there that never sees the "spiritual" light of day so to speak - like most things Ndn it's as much a matter of the how and why as to where it came from. What is sacred to one may be nothing more nor less than a hunk of rock for another.
 
You guys are sure using a lot of words I don't understand: "Nelsonite", "catlinite." How about an education? Thanks,
 
Nelsonite - per Kevin Cashen
Neslsonite is a great product for wood stabilization that Jim lucie put me onto a few years back, he has been using it forever. It is used by the furniture making industry in Grand Rapids MI, and can best be described as mutant Thompsons Water Seal on steroids. What it does, without pressure treatments or vacuum, is stabilize the wood so that it barely moves again, but does not turn your wood into a piece of plastic. You cannot tell it has been treated, it doesn't darken or change the color at all. The only way you can tell it has been used is if you really know what to sniff for, you can smell it a little when grinding a treated piece, and the end grain will not longer turn black if you apply a light brown stain.

I personally use the stuff on any natural material in my shop. Wood, stag, horn, some folks put their fossil ivory in mineral oil, I drop mine in a sealed jar of Nesonite and leave it there until I need to use it. It will turn white stag and ivory a bit of a translucent honey color, but I like that look.
Click to expand...
Where to get it
Darren Ellis
 
Catlinite The Real McCoy!
The soft red stone which comes from the sacred quarries in Pipestone, is internationally known as Catlinite. It feels smooth to the touch, and is easily carved with a regular pen-knife. Most Catlinite is not pure red all the way through, it normally has small lighter pigments scattered in the dark red, these are known as stars, and the markings can often look like a universe in the making.
Click to expand...

Catlinite was named for George Catlin - the famous artist and the first whiteman to report it's useage by the Indians.

For more info plus images see http://littlefeathercentreuk.5u.com/catlinite.html
 
Thanks Chuck. I'd sure like to score some of that fine Catlinite! Guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. I have an old fetish/pipe that I think was made from this stuff. As for the Nelsonite, I'll be giving Darren a call.
 
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