Giraffe Bone

Bob Warner

KNIFE MAKER
I have a Giraffe bone that is dried out about half way in. The center half still is greasy. I cut off one end of the bone and then a 1" slice off and boiled the thing forever and it really did not seem to do much to it.

I am impatient and don't want to throw it on the shop roof and wait a couple years to use it so I would be willing to trade it off if anyone wants it.

I took it as payment from a guy that owed me money and could not pay. He owed me $400 and the bone was the best he could do.

Anyway, I am not sure what the bone is worth but would like to trade for something I can use.

I would be interested in Corby bolts or the Loveless style bolts, handle material, pin and guard stock, damascus bolster material or something else. Could also use a 3" or contact wheel.

If anyone is interested in a trade, just let me know.

I did not take a photo of the bone but it is a complete bone with about 3.5 to 4" cut off one end and I still have those two pieces that were cut off. If you want a photo I can go out and take one.
 
Bob, sorry I can't help but I have 2 of those myself.
It's great stuff. If you cut it into scales, you'll have better luck moving it maybe?
 
Grease is not soluble in water unless you use a detergent.

Solvents like gasoline, naphtha, varsol, acetone and the like can dissolve grease.

Try this in the future.

http://www.boneroom.com/faqs/bones.html

I found a bone, how do I clean it?
For printable maceration instructions (Adobe Acrobat PDF), click here.
http://www.boneroom.com/faqs/maceration.pdf
"First of all, don't boil or bleach bone! Boiling causes fat to soak into the bone, resulting in a greasy, yellowish specimen.
Superficial grease can be removed with ammonia and certain industrial solvents, but this is an unpleasant process and cannot remove deep grease which will eventually migrate to the bone surface.
Chlorine based bleach irreparably damages the bone itself, resulting in chalky, weak, extremely porous specimens that will turn to bone meal with age.


I followed some other advice I received- to boil in TSP as a detergent to degrease it, but the "TSP" I had must have had some Chlorine in it because it is exactly as described above, crumbling, chalky, lightweight...

I can get bone free, but it's a heckofalotta work getting them clean and ready to use especially compared to the prices charged for ready to use scales.
 
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Hey Bob,

I like sticking bone in my compost piles of cow manure. There's lots of bacterial activity. Can get some nice earthy stain action sometimes too. It does take a while though. If you haven't got months to wait, doing it another way might meet your needs better, or like you say trading's always good. PM sent.

All the best, Phil
 
Don't know much about bone but I put poen blanks and small pieces of wood in the microwave for 15 sceond shots and it dries them right out so I can turn them ?
 
Thanks all,

I have a potential trade going on right now.

Here are a couple photos of the bone with a couple of rulers in the photo for size comparison.

Bob
 

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I don't know what the current price is for giraffe bone,but to me,
that's an expensive bloody chunk of bone:
imo,$400 ain't such a great deal for what you got,especially being green!
The only solution I can think of is maybe get it stabilized?
Good luck!
 
Hey Bob,

I agree with Ironwolf. Camel bone that is about 2' long and ready to work can be bought on eBay for $25-$50. I bet you could trade it for about $100 worth of material though. Folks usually trade stuff they either have lots of that they got at good prices or they no longer value.

All the best, Phil
 
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