Why does the camel die?

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Oct 15, 2010
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To give us bones for knife handles? First post here and I have to thank everyone (past and present) for making Shoptalk an amazing resource. I'm a long time lurker since I can usually find answers by searching but I was asked a question I can't find the answer to. I really like using stabilized camel bone and I have a potential client who is interested in commissioning a knife with camel bone scales or possibly Ziricote. She asked me if the bones and wood come from a sustainable source or are salvaged. I'm not sure how to answer this question (seriously anyway) regarding the camel bones. I assume they are killed for some other primary reason then the bones are "salvaged" for knife handles and other uses. Does anyone know the reason? Thanks in advance.
 
To give us bones for knife handles? First post here and I have to thank everyone (past and present) for making Shoptalk an amazing resource. I'm a long time lurker since I can usually find answers by searching but I was asked a question I can't find the answer to. I really like using stabilized camel bone and I have a potential client who is interested in commissioning a knife with camel bone scales or possibly Ziricote. She asked me if the bones and wood come from a sustainable source or are salvaged. I'm not sure how to answer this question (seriously anyway) regarding the camel bones. I assume they are killed for some other primary reason then the bones are "salvaged" for knife handles and other uses. Does anyone know the reason? Thanks in advance.

Most of the Camel bone is sold for meat in Saudi Arabia or culled in Australia. Australia is the worlds largest producer of camels, exporting most of them to Saudi Arabia for meat. and recently have been having a big issue with feral camels who have excaped, and so many farmers actively cull them. A lot of the bones are sold by either Aussies or through Saudi intermediates.

The kind of camel the bones are coming from are very common and in no way endangered. All of them are farm raised for meat or killed due to over population.
 
That's good to hear thy are not endangered. Look at what the Ivory traid did to the mammoths.
 
They're talking about cloning mammoths for real now. Maybe that'll open up ivory again. I used to raise, goats, how hard could mammoths be? :D
 
Most of the Camel bone is sold for meat in Saudi Arabia or culled in Australia. Australia is the worlds largest producer of camels, exporting most of them to Saudi Arabia for meat. and recently have been having a big issue with feral camels who have excaped, and so many farmers actively cull them. A lot of the bones are sold by either Aussies or through Saudi intermediates.

The kind of camel the bones are coming from are very common and in no way endangered. All of them are farm raised for meat or killed due to over population.
Thank you! I hope this client is OK with the idea of camel feedlots 😀. What is your typical response to the wood part of this question?

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They're talking about cloning mammoths for real now. Maybe that'll open up ivory again. I used to raise, goats, how hard could mammoths be? :D

I can't wait! It's been years since I had a mammoth steak. Would be cool to see them roaming the north country again.
Ben, great info on the camels.
 
I am not coming to help at your brandings kuraki! I ride a big horse but not that big.

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Seriously, good info on the camels. Never knew they were a food source. I use a lot of camel bone, its a great knife handle material.
 
... Australia is the worlds largest producer of camels, ....

I seriously doubt this, just as an aside......If you mean there are more camels in Australia than anywhere else in the world (which is how I read your statement), there's no way that's correct information.

Northeast Africa, especially Somalia and Sudan, and the middle east certainly have a larger camel population than Australia. I believe Australia has the largest feral herd of camels, but no way are they the 'largest producer of camels in the world'.

I agree that they are not killed for their bones for knives or anything else, nor are they in any way endangered.
 
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I seriously doubt this, just as an aside......If you mean there are more camels in Australia than anywhere else in the world (which is how I read your statement), there's no way that's correct information.

Northeast Africa, especially Sudan and the middle east certainly have a larger camel population than Australia. I believe Australia has the largest feral herd of camels, but no way are they the 'largest producer of camels in the world'.

I agree that they are not killed for their bones for knives or anything else, nor are they in any way endangered.

John believe it or not, I think he is correct. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-population-of-wild-camels/

The largest population of feral camels is in Australia. There are around 700,000 feral dromedary camels in central parts of Australia, descended from those introduced as a method of transport in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This population is growing about 8% per year.
Camel - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel
 
Yeah...FERAL or wild camels.....not largest camel population in the world, which would include farmed camels too(which is pretty relevant to the OP). :) ;)

Australia is the largest producer of camels, that is to say they raise more camels for international sale than any other country.
 
Thank you! I hope this client is OK with the idea of camel feedlots 😀. What is your typical response to the wood part of this question?

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For wood, my wood is either very old "most of my exotics have been in the country for decades" and we're harvested before any real shortage, or I use woodsome harvested under US forestry protection. To harvest wood and meet the USFS guild lines you have to plane 1.2 trees for every tree felled. It's one of the major reasons America is more forested now than it has been in nearly 100 years.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.wideopenspaces.com/trees-america-100-years-ago/amp/
 
Somalia, Sudan, Australia ... pick your alternative facts.

3/4 of a century ago Bernie Baruch said "No one is entitled to their own facts!" I am glad he passed on before the internet. Today, you can find whatever facts fit your argument.
Want a terrorist attack in Finland - No problem. Want to prove or disprove a theory - no problem.
 
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