Although I find antler knife build very time consuming.....this knife pattern is one of my faves and if time allows I never shy away from a request 9.5'' of 1/8'' thick O1 Carbon (also my fave tool steel) Elk antler grip with a Desert Ironwood bolster up front Traditional brass hardware and black g10 liners custom fit tooled sheath to complete thanks for having a look
Very nice work. It all comes together very well. And The sheath is so clean! All around... Great job. What do you use on the antler? I've got some just waiting to be used but I'm waiting until I learn a bit more first.
thanks Icho , love Desert Iron , when finished has such a nice variety to it, happy to have a fairly good inventory of it thanks Ryan, the sheath actually looks better in person , not happy with the photo but am very pleased with the end result for sure, I'll be re-taking a few more pics before it ships....... if the centers are punky at all , I seal them with a very thin coat of crazy glue and let them cure good for a couple days before sanding the flats refilling the voids if necessary. I've found antlers to be quite tricky when drilling , patience is key for sure (still learning patience) (so my wife says).......I like to finish my Desert Iron (although not required) with a very very very thin coat of Danish Oil and wipe immediately , I then wipe over the antler with the same cloth and let it dry for a few hours , lightly buff with shammy type cloth , takes away any stickiness and leaves a nice finish....hope this helps some thank you Roman, aged antler is the ticket.......I have plenty on hand and aging is key , antler material is probably the oldest form of handle material know to mankind , used for centuries upon centuries and has stood the test of time , I have a 60+ year old bone handle knife that has been passed down, antler is in excellent shape , they certainly did not have stabilizing of any quality back in the day....most of my antlers are cut and split into scales to allow for any additional shrinkage if any more is to take place.....
I totally agree. But in a couple of places I see brown porous marrow is coming out. This may adsorb water when knife is used and then scales may deform. I usually fill pores with cianoacrilate (super glue) and polish it down. Not extremely traditional, but still...
Good job Rob! I am partial to the tones in the wood and how you split the bolster to be about 50/50 with light and dark (is that heartwood and sapwood?) transition. Very cool. Sheath looks super too. Dan
thanks Dan,, I wish I was that good to make a seamless 2 part bolster transition !!! Its Desert Ironwood, but cutting it to match the curvature of the bolster area to match was a bit tricky but am pleased with the end result.. as for the sheath , thanx, been experimenting more and more, (sheath design - quality dyes- heavier grade etc) liking leather more and more all the time as mentioned in another thread patience I find really helps, going from a 2 hour 'got to get it done' sheath now to a 3-4 day sheath build really pays off I find.........
