Working with Sambar Stag?

bobbywett

bobbywett

Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
1,231
Hi Folks,

I just received a couple of pieces of Sambar Stag Rolls from Ellen Hunting in the mail. They are larger pieces and I was planning on making through tang Bowie styled blades with them. I will be capping the ends with metal and fasting to the threaded tang, so I will be drilling all the way through. My question is this, should I remove all of the "pith/core" material or simply drill through and leave the remaining pith? If I do remove all of the pith material, is their a simple way to soften it? Should just drill it out? Any information regarding working with this material would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks So Much,

Bobby
 
I drill out and scrape out as much of the pith as possible,then put a couple of pieces of tape over one end and fill with epoxy,once that has dried for a couple of days I drill for the tang.
Stan
 
Hey thanks Stan, I appreciate the suggestion. Have you ever heard of anyone softening the pith by soaking/boiling the antler? I thought I heard of this before, but can't remember where I heard it?

Thanks,

Bob
 
I've not heard that,the pith is pretty soft and you can take a drill bit and cut it by hand,depending on the size of the pith I take a 1/4" or 3/8" drill bit and put in the drill press and set it on lowest speed turn it on and just feed the antler on to it by hand,go from both ends if you have to.If you feel it hit some thing hard lighten up so you don't drill through the side.
Stan
 
Do not boil the stag. It will take weeks to dry out. Here's how I do a stag handle. I first mount the guard to the blade, then super glue the spacer or ferrule to the guard. I drill most of the pith out of the stag by putting the stag in a vise and drilling by hand drill. I then super-glue the stag to the ferrule. I place the knife in a vise point down and fill the cavity around the tang with Acra-Glas. by super gluing the parts together it seals the seams and keeps the Acra-Glas from leaking out. Let it dry then install butt-cap and Tang nut.
 
Some of the traditional guys say that of you do the burn through trick by heating the tang, it harden the pith. I clean it all out and pour is full of West System marine epoxy with some colloidial silica filler added.
 
Do not boil the stag. It will take weeks to dry out. Here's how I do a stag handle.
Click to expand...
Well I've made at least a couple a hundred copies of original period knives, all users, using the old time method of pre-drilling a starter hole and then boiling the antler so that the pith gets completely heated through and then tapping the antler onto the tang, once totally dry which in my experience takes no more than 24-48 hours max, the pith which due to the heat has been changed at the molecular level hardens into a good quality glue - it is only soft while hot and cools VERY quickly so you've got to be fast using this method. I've also owned over the years at least a couple of dozen originals from the early 1800's made in the same way and they were still perfectly usable knives.
I've tested the old timers method and to remove the blade you heat it up (just like you would with epoxy) or destroy the handle - I still pin my blades, but then I;m a suspender and belt type when it come to my knives - Mr Murphy is always lurking. Despite what many take to be "improved"" technology of today, some of the old ways are just as viable as many of the new ones and since knives with epoxied handles (maybe 70 years) haven't been around as long as the old timers (several hundred in some cases) it's hard to says just what the life time of a knife made with epoxy is.

IMO - if I got SAMBAR stag with even a fair amount of pith I'd frankly return it. GOOD Sambar should have only a very narrow hole through the center and the rest should be solid - it's why Sambar has been prized for knife handles in the west since the early 1700's. Sambar is unlike other antler in that respect - most others will have a soft pith, including: elk, red deer, mule deer, and whitetail, although I often get white tail and mule deer that is good and solid with little to no pith, but there's no guarantees.....

As always follow your own muse and use what you prefer and are comfortable with - but not all old methods need to be or IMO should necessarily be replaced - they can be a great learning experience. Look up cutler's resin sometime - it's still holding knives and swords together after thousands of years.
 
Rose,
I have done primatives in the boil and drive method. I was told by the gentleman that taught me this method that the antler does have a natural adhesive. But, that I should let it dry a couple of weeks. The knives were tight and felt good usually the next day. I still waited the couple of weeks before use. Thanks for the info. The waiting kills me. I will stand corrected.
 
Waiting of course never hurts, but I've never had any major problems after just a couple of days. One reason I like the method is because I use a lot of cast pewter bolsters, and the epoxy method doesn't like the added heat so well ........
 
sharpeknives said:
I was told by the gentleman that taught me this method that the antler does have a natural adhesive.
Click to expand...

Just a line of tought:
Antler and bone are quite simular and in the old days glue was made out of bones...
Makes sence to me
 
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