Deer Leg Knife Handles

[rice1817]

Gentlemen:

I would like to try my hand at replacing the grips on an old butcher knife. I saved the leg bones from a deer I got this year and thought that they may make a neat looking knife handle. However, as you know, they are hollow once the marrow is out. How does the knife maker deal with this? Fill it with some sort of material, leave as is, what?

:hmm:

 

[THOM]

Mark - there are a lot of ways to go about this project..

Check out this site - it may be of help..
[url] http://forums.outdoors-magazine.com/viewtopic.php?p=51743[/url]

What ever you choose - have FUN !!! :thumbsup:

Winter well and watch out for snow snakes..


Limpin'frog :grin: :snore: :grin:

 

[Norskie]

You might try cow leg bone. Available at the grocery store. You'll need the assistance of a faithful canine companion to clean them up, though. :grin:
Seriously, you can shape some good thick slabs out of beef bone and it's not as prone to cracking as deer leg bone.
This year I did put a deer leg haft on a tang style blade, and filled the hollow with a mixture of pine pitch and sawdust. We'll see how it stands up to use.
If modern materials don't bother you, swap JB Weld for the pine pitch.
Moose

 

[rice1817]

Thanks for the tips, guys! Will give it a go soon as deer season is over here in Pa.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Like that moniker, get it from LOTM 'Hawkeye' didja'?

 

[rice1817]

Yup! Read the book years ago. Thought it would be a cool name for the boards! BTW, Once you get past the early 19th century writing style of James Fennimore Cooper, it is a great story that no movie can do justice to!

 

[bramble]

try this thread.[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/199921/[/url]
there was also another one who used pewter to finish off a deer-bone handle
bramble

 

[renovato]

After you clean, bleach, stain, etc., you can soak the bone in epoxy to stabilize it. Be sure to drain it out of the core. When it cures, you can fill the core with epoxy and insert the blade. I did a couple like that about 20 years ago. I don't remember what all I did, but I remember that it was very easy to do. I had zero skills and the knives turned out pretty decent looking and quite durable.

 

[Grinnydog]

Mark, The handle I put on my knife {see link posted by Bramble above} was well dried and cut to length. I used a wire type bottle brush to remove all of the marrow from inside. After that,give it a good bleaching and let it dry REAL WELL.Sand any unwanted rough areas as needed. After setting the blade tang in the handle,I back filled the bone with 5 min. epoxie. To finish the handle,I used Old English {dark wood} furniture stain/polish to color as desired. To finish it off,I put 5 coats of Tru Oil gun stock finish on to seal and sanded with 0000 steel wool to remove shine. Hope this will help! Oh,and the bone came from a Beaver county buck!....Grinny.

 

[rice1817]

I have both the lower leg bones and the uppers, left over when I deboned the hams. The lower leg has a groove in it. Which did you use, and what did you seal the end with? Wood plug, pewter?

 

[Grinnydog]

Mark, Not shure what bone it was, cause I picked up bones from a dead buck in the woods. I used nothing on the end, just epoxied until flush with the bone. As you can tell, the handle is nothing fancy. I just needed a new handle that was functional and looked decent. I did put a couple extra coats of tru oil on the joint end of the bone because it is rather pourous there. I guess you can pick the bone that looks best on your blade,that is what I did....Good luck and post a pic when done!...Grinny.