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Straightning of antlers
- Thread starter griz1918
- Start date
I would think since they are basically bone, rather than a keratin based solid, it may not work as well, if at all. I have never boiled them to straighten, but i have boiled skulls to do euro mounts on deer, and moose, and on the deer, found zero softening of the antler after long boil and soak times. I have however seen bone crack from boiling. It may be worth a try, but from the somewhat related experience i have i dont think it will work, or at least not well enough to justify the effort. Others may have more experience on this and be able to chime in also.
This may be totally off the wall and irrelevant but as a kid in school 50 years ago we would soak chicken bones in vinegar and they would become rubbery. So maybe acetic acid but then still I doubt it.
I did a search and it turns out there is a thread with precise directions here on the forum from 2005 called
"Antler Straightening 101". http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/349419-Antler-Straightening-101?highlight=straightening%20antler
I have never posted a link before so I hope I have done it right and not broken any rules. It is an internal bladeforums link.
I did a search and it turns out there is a thread with precise directions here on the forum from 2005 called
"Antler Straightening 101". http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/349419-Antler-Straightening-101?highlight=straightening%20antler
I have never posted a link before so I hope I have done it right and not broken any rules. It is an internal bladeforums link.
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I have straightened whitetail antler before but only once. It was about 6 years ago and I forgot the details. I think I boiled the anteler for about 10 minutes then tightly clamped them in the vise with wood on each side of the vise jaws until the antlers dried. It worked very well and I had no cracks.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
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- 1,013
I straightened a couple of small moose antler earlier this year, you can boil them or slow cooker them but either way you have to watch carefully or they will start to fall apart. You want them just pliable enough to move, use 2 pieces of wood and slowly clamp them in a vise. If you clamp too fast and they arent soft enough they will break. Once they are at the straightness you want, leave them there to dry, at least 2 days. After you take them out, dont use them for another week or so as it may still want to move back to its original shape. I have also heard that you can heat them in an oven and clamp them that way. This may be quicker as there is no water to dry out from but it can cause the antler to be too dry and crack.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2005
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- 2,348
Rolling boil for 20 min., 10 seconds or less to 3 point set up in a vise. Crank it
tight go further than you think you need to go. Time from the rolling boil to the
vise is important. While not the whole answer I,ve used a lot of it done this way.
Oh yeah once you have the vise tight forget about it for a few days.
Ken.
tight go further than you think you need to go. Time from the rolling boil to the
vise is important. While not the whole answer I,ve used a lot of it done this way.
Oh yeah once you have the vise tight forget about it for a few days.
Ken.
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2007
- Messages
- 1,361
Ken pretty much nailed it. You might want to do the boiling outside as it tends to smell, not as bad as a cow horn but does smell a little. Have your vice ready to go with wooden block inserts and then it is break, bust or bleed, as I like to say! Crank it down and I like to leave it sit up to 24+ hrs. If you take it out to soon it will return somewhat to the original bend.
Here is an example of what you can do. This knife was made from a piece of antler that had about a 2"+ bend in the length of it. I needed it straight to allow for the blade of the friction folder to swing.
I don't have a picture of it looking straight down from the top but it is almost perfectly straight, this last pic shows the bottom edge and you can see the cut made for the blade itself!
About 20 minutes at a rolling boil and use gloves because you are going to have to handle it, and the quicker you get it from the hot water into a clamped position the better. That is why a vise works well with wooden blocks taped to it, besides it takes a fair amount of pressure to move a piece like this one with a 2" bend! :thumbup:
Here is an example of what you can do. This knife was made from a piece of antler that had about a 2"+ bend in the length of it. I needed it straight to allow for the blade of the friction folder to swing.
I don't have a picture of it looking straight down from the top but it is almost perfectly straight, this last pic shows the bottom edge and you can see the cut made for the blade itself!
About 20 minutes at a rolling boil and use gloves because you are going to have to handle it, and the quicker you get it from the hot water into a clamped position the better. That is why a vise works well with wooden blocks taped to it, besides it takes a fair amount of pressure to move a piece like this one with a 2" bend! :thumbup: