Carving knife handles

[Bandaid]

Â* Â* I am making a carving knife, using a Warren blade, and plan on using deer antler for the handle. Does anyone have experience using antlers? I found that sanding gives a really nice polished finish but I would like to know if I should put some kind of a sealer on it. Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated. Â*???

[Captain_Bandaid]

Â*hey Bandaid, great minds think alike! Â*I just finished two carving knives with antler handles. Â*One from the smooth section and one from the base, with the crown left on. Â*I polished the smooth section with a ScotchBrite wheel but left the crown section rough. Â*Â*I epoxied a small piece of brass on the sawcut ends and drilled through it when the epoxy set up. I ground the brass caps flush with the antler on a belt sander, dipping the end in water frequently so as not to melt the epoxy. Â*I polished the brass to a high shine, epoxied and inserted the blade (forged from 1/4' round stock) and let it set overnight. Â*The next day, I applied boiled linseed oil to which I added about 10% terpentine Â*to speed drying. Â*I even coated the brass to keep it shining. Â*Antler and bone can be stained using MinWax (knife makers use potassium permanganate to create a rich brown color but who knows where or if you can get it) but it take a while to penetrate and keeping it wet while it is penetrating can be difficult. Â*If you use MinWax stain, you can apply any sealer or wax. Â*

[Bandaid]

Â* Â* Thanks Cap't - I like the idea of using the Minwax stain and wax combination. I was concerned that if I didn't use some kind of finish it would eventually take on a dirty stain from use.
Â* Â* To place the blade I'm going to use the wooden plug method where you Â*drill a hole in the end of the handle to accommodate a split dowel. The blade is epoxied into the slit and the combination is epoxied into the handle. I've used this technique before on wooden handles and it seems to work quite well. A dowel in a contrasting color gives a nice effect.

[Captain_Bandaid]

Bandaid, the idea of using a round, split plug to hold a flat blade is very clever. Most of my blades are forged from round stock but I do have some 5160 flat stock that would be perfect for your technique. Sure beats cutting two sides of the handles and gluing the blade between them!
Thanks,

[hotrod1525]

Thank you for the great idea using dowells to mount a blade in a handle. I'm going to make a knife as soon as our show is over on this coming Saturday and Sunday, put on by the PA Wood Arts and Crafts Assoc at the Castle Shannon Fire Hall on Route 88 in the Pittsburgh Area sponsored by(among others) the Mon-Yough Carving Club. See you there -

[Dan S]

I've heard the dust from antlers is pretty bad to breath in. Wear a mask.

Dan

[Woodyrock]

Dan:
The dust is not really toxic, but it sure does smell bad. That said, all dust is bad for ones lungs. I make handles from both antler, and bone for obsidian blade knives. The smell can linger for days in the shop after a cutting (bandsaw), and grinding session.

Potassium Permanganate can be had from any business dealing with water softeners.

Woody