Stag Handle Knives

by mr.mountaineer

3.6K438

Intro: Stag Handle Knives

I just wanted to show off a couple of the knives I've made. The blade on the first one is 5 3/4" long and made of a circular saw blade. the blade on the second one is 4 3/4" long and made of a file. Both blades are attached using the method described HERE and reinforced with pine rosin. if anyone needs more info just leave a comment and I'll see if i can help. Thanks for looking.

8 Comments

spalmertree 10 years ago

I'm wanting to make my son grooms cake server set with antlers on the end and also a cake stand with antlers any suggestions on how to do this?

mr.mountaineer 10 years ago

http://www.ragweedforge.com/mount.html follow the link for some great advice, better than i could ever give. that page is where i learned most of what i know. And i dont know what to do about the stand. a Google image search turned up some pictures of cake stands, so you might start there. if there's anything else I'll do my best to help.

atomiccelt 11 years ago

Nice looking blades you've got there, man. Very nice, indeed.

Basement_Craftsman 11 years ago

Great knives! ive been very interested in making some with antler. i even have a piece to use! i just have known quite what to do.

mr.mountaineer 11 years ago

Thanks! I've made 4 so far with antler handles. there (in my opinion) easier than wood. and if you happen to be good at making hand guards (which I'm not, unfortunately) they can look just as good

Basement_Craftsman 11 years ago

Sweet! so can you give me a quick explanation of the process? do mu just drill a hole in and epoxy it together or what?

mr.mountaineer 11 years ago

its pretty easy to do. first, you cut the antler to the length you want the handle to be (i recommended a hack saw with a fine-toothed blade) and smooth out the rough cut with sandpaper or a file (i don't recommended using a belt sander unless you have very good ventilation because hot antler smells like singed hair). depending on how old the antler is, it might have turned white, if so. you can lightly take a propane torch to it, if you like, to darken it. once that's done, put it in a pot of water and boil it for about 2 1/2-3 hours. (i do mine outside on a grill because some people don't like the smell, i don't mind it myself, but some people do) after that, the center part of the antler called the pithy core will soften enough to push the stick tang of a knife into. if it don't go all the way in you'll have to let it boil another 1/2 hour and try again. if it don't then, keep trying 'till it goes all the way in. and as for permanently attaching it, i use pine rosin i refine myself , and it seems to hold just fine, but any commercial 2-part epoxy will work just fine. if you want to know anything else, just let me know.