handle material

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gunsmith3502

Member
hey guys,
was just on the site and saw a pic of a big bowie with an elk crown handle. anyone know of a place to buy those. I have always like them for knives but can't afford to elk hunt. we don't have them in the texas panhandle,and colo and wyo want too much for an out of state permit
 
Good Morning Gunsmith3502,

I found you some good Sambar Crowns from Culpepper Supply House. The web address is www.knifehandles.com . You may want to use Sambar instead of Elk. The core of Elk and Deer are not as dense as Sambar. Sambar is the best choice in my opinion. They usually have a larger circumference than Elk and they can have a lot of "bumps" on the antler that give the antler character. They look very good on Bowie Knives.

The Sambar is a native of India. Many of them live on game ranches in Texas. Some times you can buy fresh sheds from Fossil Rim Ranch, a game preserve in Glen Rose Texas. They literally have a least a hundred of these deer running around. They are a nuisance when you are trying to see other wildlife. I talked to one of the guides and he said that they pick up the shed antlers and sell them to Retailers for a good price. They sometimes have a full set of sheds in their store to purchase. I would just buy from Culpeper unless you want an entire antler to utilize.


Some thing you might want to look at is the "Master Index of Knife Making Materials, Services and Suppliers". Just Google it and it will come up. It has a bunch of good info in it. I think you will like it.


I hope this helps you.,


Grizzly Bear
 
I've used lots of American deer antler for handle material and a few pieces of elk antler. You'd have better luck locating a large deer crown over finding an elk crown that is small enough for a knife handle. The best place to find any antler material would be at a knife show or possible a gun/knife show where you can see first hand what they are selling. Finding any crown that isn't to curved for a handle is fairly rare.
 
I think I was in error about Fossil Rim having too many Sambar, upon reflection I think they may have been Red deer, a cousin to Elk. It's been a long time since I have gone to Fossil Rim.


Grizzly Bear
 
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