Anyone ever made a knife out of an antler?

[Mark Christianson]

I have a forkie antler that my son asked me a long time ago if I could make it into a knife for him.

Well, I would love to do it for an Xmas present.

Has anyone done this?

I have done some searches on the internet and found stuff, but its not the same as getting info from someone that has done it.

[not_nuf_time]

The new issue of Field and Stream has a simplified step by step to doing that. I also thought about making one for my son. Have fun.

[WB make the CUT]

Not nuf time,

What is the issue of F&S, I have always wanted to dink around and try this myself, good way to spend the winter.

Let me know, thanks!!!

[not_nuf_time]

It's the latest issue, I just got it in the mail Monday. It's a double issue, big buck on front with a blue background.

[Mark Christianson]

I found a pretty simple instruction list on the web.

Do a google search with "making an antler knife".

Its nothing fancy, but it will do the job from the looks of it. VERY easy to do from the site.

A place to get parts for making knives is a place in Elk River called Track of the Wolf. Do a google on that and you will get their HSOforum.

[Bank Beater]

My dad made me a knife when I was about 19, I had just started hunting thanks to some college buddies that got me started. It is one of the best gifts a guy could receive from his Dad, keep looking and git'r'done for him, He will always remember this gift.

[WB make the CUT]

Thanks BLB

[Mark Christianson]

Here is the knife.

Nothing fancy.

I wanted a little longer blade, but the tang was too wide to insert into the antler if I went with a longer(bigger) blade.

The blade is 3 inches long.

[Hotspotter]

Bbass:

Yes i have! Awesome project too.

First start off with good steel and a suitable antler.

I got my blade from Texas Knifemakers Supply, they have a crazy amount of blades, tools, etc. The knife I made seems a bit different than the one you're making, but hopefully steps will be similar and applicable.

I'll outline the general steps, then post a pic tommorrow:

1. Depending on size of antler, you might have to grind down the base of the blade (that will fit inside it) to get it just perfect. Make sure to preserve the holes (we'll get to that later).

2. The knife I made has a horizontal groove down the center of the bottom of the knife handle. This allows the blade not to slip straight in from the end, but actually, up in to the handle to seat well. I cut it using a dremmel tool, which tool a long time. Maybe a roto-zip would work well, but this is delicate work here, and if you overdo it, you might ruin the handle. Basically groove it out enough to fit the steel knife handle into the antler, but not too much to cause the antler to collapse/break.

3. Slip the steel in there, it's ok, even if it fits loosely. Locate those holes, and with measurement and fine tuned guesstimation, drill through the antler with high speed drill, hitting holes on way through. The bit size should make your drop fins fit tightly if possible. Should have two, one at the front of the handle, and one at the rear.

4. Take drop pins (knifemakers use about anything from brass, steel, synthetics), and cut to length, making sure they're flush on either side of the handle. I used synthetic ones that were the same color (roughly) as the antler.

5. Two-ton (you don't need to go to that extreme, but i did) clear epoxy the handle/pins into place, making sure no excess gets a chance to set up.

6. My knife came with two brass parts called finger guards or something like that, that go between the blade and the antler handle. They attatch through the blade with brass pins, and are symmetrical. I ground those down with a dremmel stone, then brush, and you can't even see where the pins are.

A leather sheath that's been conditioned with some leather rub-down is a nice addition.

Check it out, and let me know if you have any questions!!!

Great project,

Joel

[Hotspotter]

This knife looks like a simple plunge cut in the base of the antler, with some epoxy. There's probably more to it than that, but hopefully that would be the jist of it. The one i detailed above has the base of the antler as the back of the handle. I had to cut off the deer's brow tine to use the antler. Will post pics soon!!!

Joel

[Hotspotter]

Days later, but as promised!

Here's how I did my knife.

[Stratosman]

Joel, Nice knife, who shot the deer or was it road kill??

Heard you had a talk with Monty.

[Hotspotter]

It was actually a great shed found a few years ago in Northern WI. Would have been a great 10 pt if the other side matched. The sticker at the base of the antler is a nice touch.

Monty stopped over during Thanksgiving. We talked. Told him that Scott was a nice boy i met on the internet.

Joel

[Stratosman]

Oh.... I see.... no wonder he looked at me funny. Thanks.