Turtle shell as handle material

[Blackdirt cowboy]

My brother in law brought me a turtle shell and asked if I could make a knife handle out of it. I did some googling and all I can come up with is “tortoise shell”, not at all close to what I have. Has anyone tried this before? If so, any tips or tricks on how to make it work? I’ve worked with armadillo shell before, but as this turtle shell dries out, the pretty, colorful part starts flaking off, sonic not entirely sure it’s worth messing with.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Turtle shell (carapace and plastron) is mainly bone. It has many suture lines and won't be strong or very durable once dry. I suppose it could be stabilized and made better. I would certainly put a G-10 or Micarta backing on it. The pretty stuff over the shell that has colors and patterns is somewhere between skin and horn (keratin) in structure. It will dry up and flake off of most turtle shells pretty quickly. Stabilizing may help a bit, but it is a very thin layer.

Tortoise shell is the much thicker keratin layer from some tortoises and sea turtles. The vast majority does not come from land tortoises, but from hawksbill sea turtles. They were hunted to near extinction and sale of it is illegal. In many places merely possessing it is illegal.
Many other turtles are also protected, so you need to know what type it came from.

Posting a photo of the shell, species, and dimensions will help us answer your question better.