Antelope horn

[ragnik]

Has anyone every used antelope for a handle? I have a guy who wants me to use part of the horn for a knife handle. ITs been off the antelope for over 10 years. Does it need to be stablized or coated or anything?? The shape of the horn I will use is fine for a handle just not sure it is good or bad??

I am looking forward to this project cause its a memory from father to son. The son shot the antelope on their only trip out west to hunt for them. Problem is they lost half the set of horns on the trip home...so this is a way to preserve the memory with a knife made from the horn.

Thanks

Ross

[DC KNIVES]

I have used it several times .No problems with using it as is. I just epoxy it to the tang and lightly sand with 320 or finer then buff.Dave

dab a bit of mineral oil on it once or twice a year and your good to go.

[DanCrabtree]

Ive never personally used antelope but I have used elk antler. I would recommend a fan when grinding on it because this stuff doesnt smell great. Its not horrible or anything but defently has a unique smell to it.

[DiamondG Knives]

Ross:
Ive used it a few times, and found that most of mine had a pretty rough exterior on it, sanding smooth, then buffing did fine for me. If I did one now, Id soak it in Minwax woodhardener for a week or so, then let it dry for another week before I started working it, this will stabilize it to a degree, and the other antlers Ive used it on took a MUCH nicer polish than before, but I havnt tried it on Antalope.

Good Luck, and God Bless

Mike

[ragnik]

Thanks for the comments guys...I will give it a whirl and see how it comes out!!

Thanks

Ross

[David Peterson]

Ross,
I live in prime antelope country, and a few people around here like to talk about using antelope horn for knives. I have not personally used a horn because it "moves" a lot, but others I know have. I get a bunch of horn from hunting antelope, and it just doesn't seem to make great handle material. Cutting some open was an experience. There's lots of gaps in the horn center, a hollow core with a very thin outer sheath, and white lines where the growth center is. However, one guy I know took the outer black sheath and filled it with a sawdust and epoxy mix to make a knife out of the complete horn. You do have to get the core bone out, because it has some flesh around it. Another way is to just use the hook and solid horn (about down to the digger)and work it like sheep horn. There's some white striations in the center of most hooks where it starts to grow, so I wouldn't grind too much off. Just remember it's like sheep horn, because it's made out of the same material. This is not antler or bone. I've heard some people have good luck with stabilizing horn though.

Because it's such a special horn, I'm sure it will make a great knife. Any pictures you want to post when it's done would be very cool. Have fun.

[ragnik]

Took a while but I got the knives done I posted them up in the display case if you want more of a description......but here are the pics again. sanding it down and then buffing made it come out pretty nice on the antler...hard to tell in the pic but i was pleased with hopw they buffed out!!







Ross