Help with planning for antler slab handle

R

Rockdog

Member
I am planning to do a couple of knives for a friend using the antlers off his first moose. The rack was small so he thought making a couple of knives with it would be a nice way to "Mount the memory" if you will. I have seen the precautions about cutting antler and was looking for a bit more detail. Can this be done well with hand tools? Also would it be best to have some sort of liner and if so what? How old should the antler be, by that I mean how long should it have been off the animal? These have been in a heated garage for the winter since he got it last fall. I am hoping I can get the slabs I need out of the main beam so as not to deal with much pith. Also he would like to save as much bark as he can on the slabs. These are going to be users but I would like them to start out life as nice as I can make them. Any help and direction you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would be reluctant to use antler that fresh, particularly slabs, as there may be a good chance of them warping. I have no real experience with moose antler though. With whitetail antlers I like to let them set in a dry place for about a year before using them, but it is possible I am being over cautious.
 
The best material if big enough will be close to the base where it joins the skull. There is no guarantee that it will be a "tight" material. In moose the density of the horn is decided upon where they live and of course what they eat. I would suggest cutting the pieces way oversize and see what happens in say a month or so. What I can tell you for sure is the bottom leg bones of moose, can be used as soon as harvested, are super dense, can be cleaned in some boiling water and TSP left to cool in that water and finish like a fine quality ivory for density.
Frank
 
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