I have some old antler material that is pretty brittle, but I think usable still. About 30 pieces. They've been setting outside for about 20 years and have surface decay, but I cut some and they look similar to bone when all that is sanded away. They should be strong enough between a finger guard and butt plate. But they are full of very very dry pith.
So for a hidden tang what is the best process for pithy antler material? I know of only two options but have doubts about both.
One is to make a square hole all the way through so only the tang fits and warm the epoxy so it'll fill in the pith. That way seems like a gamble because you can't see if every crevice was filled.
The second I know is to drill out everything and them fill with epoxy and place a pin for something extra so it can't turn. But I've seen knives made out of hollow handle material with no pin.
Maybe I don't realize how strong epoxy is. Maybe either way is fine.
So for a hidden tang what is the best process for pithy antler material? I know of only two options but have doubts about both.
One is to make a square hole all the way through so only the tang fits and warm the epoxy so it'll fill in the pith. That way seems like a gamble because you can't see if every crevice was filled.
The second I know is to drill out everything and them fill with epoxy and place a pin for something extra so it can't turn. But I've seen knives made out of hollow handle material with no pin.
Maybe I don't realize how strong epoxy is. Maybe either way is fine.
