Fixing cracks in bone scales

B

Brad Lilly

Moderator and Awards Boss
I'm looking for advice when working with bone. I have this bone given to me by a guy who wants me to use it for scales on his knife. My problem (Besides the nice smell) is a nasty crack running through one side and there is no way to get around it. Can I use super glue to pull it together? Dose anybody have any ides for filling some of the pith (center)? I have very little bone to work with and if I could fill a little of the pith in I would have a little more working room. Any suggestions would be welcome
 
You could try stabilizing it. If you do go that route I would call the outfit doing the work for you to see if they can deal the the crack but my best guess is that the crack should be stabilized along with it. By the way, if you think that it stinks now, wait until you grind it. I ground some bone scales from a professionally cleaned elk femur and it permeated the whole house for a week. You might want to do that outside or you might be catching some stink eye from the other half.

Doug
 
Brad,
I can't see the size of the crack? but besides all the super glue fix it's etc..
You sound kind of cold on using this bone, you may want to ask the customer if you could work together to get a better material to start with? Like some of that white Kirinite MOP or?????

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I'm sort of stuck with this stuff, the owner salvaged it from a moose hunt. He also soaked in shellac for a while.
I ground some bone scales from a professionally cleaned elk femur and it permeated the whole house for a week.
Click to expand...
I have ground some bone before, lovely stuff to look at when its done but the smell is not much fun.

Thanks for the advice guys
 
Brad,
Sounds like you have a mess on your hands.
I think the shellac will interfere with stabilizing but super glue should work.
Get some water thin super glue for thr pith,it may take several applications but it should eventually fill it.
Are you thinking about glueing the crack and clamping it together and hoping the super glue will hold it? I would be afraid to trust that. Some super glue may stop it from spreading. The crack is part of the character of the bone,the owner knows it is there and won't hold you accountable for it. I never guarantee natural handle material from shrinkage or cracking or warping.
Since you are using this bone for scales you could back it with something like G-10 in a color that would be complimentary to the bone. The knife I recently finished with the curly pine scales is an example. When I got the scales flat on the back side I glued them to some brick red fiber spacer material because I thought that the handle was going to be too thin,the liners added .070" to the thickness of the handle and a nice color to the knife.
Good luck and hold your nose.:biggrin:
 
So, you know what you have in store. The stink of it came through the dust filters on my respirator even though it was sealed tightly on my face. Personally, I would unstick myself from that job by handing the bone back to the the man I was building the knife for with the explanation that you had no faith that the material was adequate handle material. I would offer to get bone, even moose bone, if he really wants it but it will have to be professionally prepared. If you want to go that route, check with Moscow Hide and Fur if you don't know of another source. It won't make you popular but neither will a broken handle later on down the line and you can just about take it to the bank that he will hold you responsible even though he supplied the material and insisted that you use it. I would not make a knife that I couldn't feel comfortable guaranteeing and I certainly would not make any guarantees on a knife made with that bone for a handle. It is you, not your customer, who is responsible for the quality of your work.

Doug
 
one method if you have to use it.
take a piece of that bone that you know will be scrap as close to the color of the crack as possible. grind that scrap piece into dust capturing all the bone dust. Mix up some 2 part epoxy and fold in the bone dust until it is as thick as toothpaste and smear it into the crack. It will be slightly different in color but it will also be filled in and look fairly natural.
 
Good advice all the way around Doug and Lawrence I did not make the blade I'm just putting scales on it. Therefore I'm not marking it and was up front explaining the possible problems. He still wants to go ahead so I'm going to do the best I can with what I have.

Tracy I think I will give that a try
 
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