Two antler questions

[P. Nelson]

Hey all,
I was wondering first: how I can clean an antler from a white tail dear, it just has some dirt an dstuff. I was thinking that I could just use some water, but just making sure. Secondly: I have one set of antlers that is quite old, If I had to guess, I'd say 30-40 years. It's a pair that my grandfather had stored up above the garage in a box witha bunch of other misc. antlers. I think that over the years it has become somehow bleached, as it is much whiter than a typical antler. What can I do to clean this up, or make it look nice without damaging it. Thanks.

Phil

 

[TJ Smith]

I just use dawn and warm water. Let it dry a couple days.
I like the old antler. Here is a pic of one I did. The antler was so porus that the min wax hardener ran right out the sides.

Remove a lot of the pith or marrow from inside the horn. Soak the horn in Min Wax wood hardener. Use a new can as it gets darker as it's used.A day is enough. Let dry 3-4 days. As you fit the handle on for glueing work a lot of epoxy into the inside of the horn for strength.
Finish up with 3-4 coats of super glue on the outside. If done carefully you won't need to sand it.
That';s how I do it.
TJ

 

[elvenbladesmith07]

a good way to mount the handle is soaking the horn for a really long time, maybe a couple weeks. when the marrow is soft and spongey, push the tang into the marrow, and let everything dry for a few days. then put the pins or whatever fastener you like in, actually you can do this before it dries, but the smell of wet antler will make alot of people vomit. the bond of the marrow drying around the tang is so tight you dont even need a fastener,or glue, just put a couple notches in the tang beforehand.