Little Blade with antler

I have looked at them at PetSmart as well. They used to have some good ones. The last I have looked at weren't worth bringing home. So I always end up talking myself out of them before I get to the counter.

As for stabilization. It really doesn't help the outside unless it is a weather checked set. You can fix that by flooding the outside with superglue and once dry buff with steel wool. The superglue will remain in the weathered cracks but will buff off the antler itself with steel wool. Some do stabilize the inner pith of the antler depending on how the antler is used. That can be done pretty effectively with superglue as well. Most time once you thin down to slabs there is not much of the inner pith left!!

So I decided to post these links over on the dog run! Guys remember this is a family show!!!!
https://knifedogs.com/forums/the-dog-run.27/post-thread?inline-mode=1

Whoops forgot to mention I love the look of the antler on a knife. Great blades OP!
 
Nice one OP! I want to do horn, bone, and antler but I worry about sanding the character off and making the pins look right. You did a perfect job on this one!
 
Kevin Zito said:
Nice one OP! I want to do horn, bone, and antler but I worry about sanding the character off and making the pins look right. You did a perfect job on this one!
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You nailed it there. I ended up sanding more than I would have liked but it was necessary.
The perfect match of antler and blade is possible I guess. I think next time i’m going to design the blade around the antler piece vs making a blade and trying to find the antler to match.
 
Kevin Zito said:
Nice one OP! I want to do horn, bone, and antler but I worry about sanding the character off and making the pins look right. You did a perfect job on this one!
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You can change the looks of a piece when getting it fitted but, in some cases it needs to be smoothed. Case in point I picked up a white shed that had so much character it hurt your hand to hang on to it!! Once I removed a bit of the character it sure felt better in the hand. So I think using antler is a give and take process! Goes back to old saying "you can take more off but, you can't put it back"!!:p

I have screwed up a piece or two by going too far. :eek: That is when I refer to the other old saying, "damn I am glad that wasn't ivory"!!

Antler was one of my go to when I first started. After I used everything I had. I could buy a bunch at one time off of eBay! A word of caution there. Ask the seller if what you are seeing is what you are bidding on??
I study the lot and based on what I see is how I would bid on it! With good pics you can envision what is useable! I bought one lot and when it got to me, not one antler was what I had been looking at! I emailed him and told him I base my buying on what I am looking at and now I don't have as much useable materials to work with!
Come to find out he made his sales using the same stock photo over and over!! Lesson learned, ask if the photo is a stock photo or actually what I am bidding on!
 
Nice work opaul, someone mentioned sanding down to much character while sanding the pins,I use a lot of jigged bone and rather than sanding the pins I cut them just proud of the handle material then I use a hand piece with a high speed small bur and grind the top of the pins down leaving multiple facets on the top of the pin ,I carefully do this till they are flush and the pins end up with a kind of sparkly effect. It works really well as it dosent matter whether your pin is in a hill or a valley of the jigged bone or antler.
 
AkWildman said:
Nice work opaul, someone mentioned sanding down to much character while sanding the pins,I use a lot of jigged bone and rather than sanding the pins I cut them just proud of the handle material then I use a hand piece with a high speed small bur and grind the top of the pins down leaving multiple facets on the top of the pin ,I carefully do this till they are flush and the pins end up with a kind of sparkly effect. It works really well as it dosent matter whether your pin is in a hill or a valley of the jigged bone or antler.
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Thanks. That’s a great way to accomplish this and leave a unique pattern on the pins.
 
AkWildman said:
I cut them just proud of the handle material then I use a hand piece with a high speed small bur and grind the top of the pins down leaving multiple facets on the top of the pin ,I carefully do this till they are flush and the pins end up with a kind of sparkly effect. It works really well as it dosent matter whether your pin is in a hill or a valley of the jigged bone or antler.
Click to expand...

That's what I was doing, too on moose, where I wanted to save as much original look as I could. On some caribou I've been grinding flush, but on one handle left them peened. It had what you described - little facets on them. It was a complete accidental discovery but I liked them because they caught light and added to the beauty of the antler. I'll try what you described as I build these knives I have.

OP, My kids love going to petsmart. I've thought about buying antler there for knives numerous times but I either didn't have the money at the time or always wasn't completely sure they were real. But your scales look really, really nice.

I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks Cliff for the tips.
 
I've never worked with antler before, but you've inspired me to give it a shot. I've also been concerned with sanding away too much of the character while attaching and shaping. That, and how to finish the pins.

Is getting the thickness close to finish size part of the trick to not remove too much while shaping?

Got these from the local PetSmart today...Didn't know if it was better to get the whole rounds or the already split ones...
ElkAntler.jpg
 
Heikki said:
I've never worked with antler before, but you've inspired me to give it a shot. I've also been concerned with sanding away too much of the character while attaching and shaping. That, and how to finish the pins.

Is getting the thickness close to finish size part of the trick to not remove too much while shaping?

Got these from the local PetSmart today...Didn't know if it was better to get the whole rounds or the already split ones...
View attachment 68452
Click to expand...
I think you are on the right track! I read in another forum that you can use hot glue to attach the antler to a board and then use a guide board clampled on your bandsaw to get a good even cut.
 
It's a bit addicting. I'm always looking for interesting material for scales. My daughter has this beautiful piece of drift wood on a shelf. I was looking at it . I didn't say anything and she said Don't even think about it" .
 
DanF said:
Opaul is responsible for a breakout of A.A.S.!
(Antler Acquisition Syndrome).
I'm becoming the creepy old antler guy at the local pet store.
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I know the feeling. I actually look at each piece and set aside the ones that look promising and then from that pile select the most promising ones. If they don’t work out my doggie likes them.
 
I happened upon a small rack that had been turned into a candle holder at the local Goodwill clearance center. Paid $1.50 for it. Got enough usable pieces for two or three small knife handles. Here's' my first attempt at using it. Re-handled a Rapala filet knife... filet knife small.jpg
 
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