Where to get sheep horn

SBranson

SBranson

Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Messages
2,912
I am a big fan of Ed Fowler's knives and have been looking for a good source for sheep horn for the handles. I've had a few sent to me by a friend but I need to find more as I am out.

I recently made this knife for myself (that's why the finish is a little rough :o) and I really like the feel of the sheep horn handle. It's something I'd like to explore further.

Sheep_16.jpg


I've seen some on ebay but I'm looking for other sources.

Thanks
 
I'd like to tell ya, but sheep hunters don't "shoot and tell":p

ram2010048.jpg


That is a sweet looking knife Stuart!

Bruce

PS. This one is going on the wall!
 
Stuart, did you know that sheep horn in a knife handle will absorb heat from your hand and have warmth in it to provide a little comfort when using it on a cold day? Frank
 
I manage a cattle and exotic game ranch and have a few horns and antlers from various animals. I'd be willing to sell or trade. I have elk, deer, sika deer, audad sheep, oryx, and eland horns. All I have are from animals I have found dead or fresh sheds.
 
Go to the local sale barn find out who the sheep ranchers are in your area and give them all a call looking for shed horns.
 
KnifeMaker.ca said:
Sheep sheds????? :confused:
Click to expand...

I think this is what he is trying to tell you Erik.

I boorrowed this from another site:
Horns

Both male and female bighorn sheep have true horns. Unlike antlers which are shed yearly, sheep retain their horns throughout their lives. The size and shape of the horns are useful keys in determining the age and sex of individuals.

In the males, or rams, the horns grow continuously, from a small spike as lambs, to nearly a full curl at around eight years of age. The horns of the females, or ewes, grow to a sharp, straight point, eight to ten inches long, in their first four years, with negligible growth in adulthood. The large, curled horns of the mature male play a vital role in bighorn mating. When the rams and ewes come together in the autumn breeding season, the strong, dominant rams with the largest horns vie for the right to females. As part of the mating ritual, males charge one another, clashing together at speeds of 40 mph(64 km/hr). The resulting crashes of horns can be heard up to one mile (1.6 km) away.

It is the same way with a "domesticated sheep" being farm raised. They have to be cut from there head they do not shed them! It is living tissue like a finger nail.

There was a fellow on here last year sometime that was talking of using sheep horn on his knives. The horns were from sheep that are more of what I call a "domesticated breed" and they only recovered the horns after slaughter and then they were left attached to the skull to dry for a lengthy period.

As I remember Ed Caffery spoke of knowledge of them and using them on knives and the drying period. Here is his website if you want to talk to him about them.
http://www.caffreyknives.net/available.htm
He is a stand up fellow and can shed more insight into this subject myself!
 
Yeah, I think that guy might have been Ed himself. He uses Rambouillet sheep horns and mentions he buys all the old sheep from the market and uses the horns and feeds the meat to his dogs. From looking around I think the domestic sheep have a better horn for this application.

I am going to try to get in touch with some local sheep farmers assuming I can find some locally. Thanks for the ebay tip(s)... I already mentioned I looked there.
The "inexpensive" ones on ebay won't ship to Canada. He won't even receive questions. I am looking into other arrangements to get a few from that source.

They're tough to judge the quality just from a photo so I'm looking for other sources. Some of those look really damaged or not heavy enough in the crown.
 
ranchmanBen
Could you send me an Email or activate your private messaging would like to contact you...
Thanks
Robert
rhankins (at) arizonakiddcustomknives dot com
 
I am well aware of how sheep horns are harvested i guess what i wanted to say was call a local sheep rancher and ask him if you can go through his "profit" pile of dead critters. One thing about sheep is that they don't need a reason to die they just do it because they want too.
 
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