Whats good for cleaning antler?

Matt Shade

Matt Shade

Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
4,981
Hey guys
Its been slow, but I'm still making a knife or two. I'm working on one now that I forged out of a peice of 5/8" O1 drill rod, and the handle is going to be a whitetail crown. Trouble is the antler still has some blood on it and a good bit of dirt ground in that I'd like to clean up a little bit (I swear its a shed :foot:)
Any ideas on what to clean it with? I doubt just soap and water will be enough after all this time, but don't want to use anything that will damage it or make it break down. Is it safe to use laquer, or mineral spirits or anything like that on it? Maybe peroxide?
Thanks for any ideas
 
I would try soap (simple green) and water or another type of degreaser, with a nylon bristle brush. After it is clean then put it in a warm placeand let it dry really good before you put in on the knife.

Chuck
 
A wire brush on a dremel tool will make short order on the clean up then buff after sanding through 400 grit. Works for me.
 
Won't the wire brush take the top coat (brain fart as to right term) off of the antler? I was going to post the same thing about caribou antler I have that is fairly dirty from the tundra.
 
when i use antler like you are talking about i use a little scribe to pick all the little bits and pieces out of the nooks and crannies. then i use a small wire brush about the size of a toothbrush while running it under water. do you have a way to stabilize it? i'm getting ready to do some elk antler and i could do yours. i also smooth out the antler and polish it which makes a nice handle too. give some scrap a try to see how you like it.
 
Thanks guys, I'll try all your tips out. I have the whole antler I cut the crown off of so I can do some experimenting
 
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