How do you prep bones?

[ButlerFord]

To use animal bones for tools do you use the bone raw and green, throw them out and let them age, cook'em?
My first project is the neck for a bullet bag, an awl and a few needles.
any other ideas appreciated.


B.Ford

 

[pathfinderifh]

I usually boil them in a little bleach 1-2 tsp in @ a quart of water for @ 1/2 hr, let em dry then sand and shape as needed. :thumbsup:

 

[pathfinderifh]

You can also soak the bones in a potasium permaganate soulution to help age them.

 

[Birdman]

Butler I have found bone one of those tough materials to work with. As it ages n dries out it has a tendency to crack.I have heard there is a way to stableize it but don't know how.Also depending on what the bone was used for can make a difference on whether the crack becomes a problem. I have found that when I can get it(larger pieces) , antler seems more stable. Also for something like a bullet bag the antler is pithy in the center so it is easier to hollow out. just some thought YMHS Birdman

 

[ButlerFord]

Thanks for the sage advice and there is little doube in my mind that you're correct, but because it was done, I want to give it a try.
If you happen to remember how to stabalize it, I'd sure appreciate it if you let me know.
I hadn't even considered trying to age the bone but it is a thought, I was wondering how best to deal with marrow, cooking first makes sence.

Thanks

B. Ford

 

[LRB]

Although cooking, or boiling the bone may do it no harm, I would have to think that it would remove some of the natural oils. I would suggest that whatever preparation you do, that you soak the finished product in mineral oil for a spell. That will help to keep it sound. The loss of oils and moisture is what causes bone to crack.

 

[recycle33952]

I was wondering the same thing. just learned how to work antler as knifehandles by soaking them they get soft takes a long time week-2 weeks and it stinks push tang in or nipple pick and let it dry on the roof (gets the stink out and makes the soft junk shrink back tight) make some neat impliments out of scrap :grin:
bone? im watching this thread######

 

[CARBABY]

REcycle
Tell me more about this antler technique for installing a knife tange. Are you saying instead
of drilling a solid antler for a knife tang all one has to do is soak it for a week or two? Is there a certain type of antler this works on? I'm working with Mule Deer antler and have never tried just soaking the antler an shoving a knife tang in the center. I have always drilled and epoxed.

 

[Norskie]

Cow leg bones are great for handle scales, scrimshaw, small tool handles, etc. I prep mine by giving them to my dog, Luger. He shines'em up real good. After a month or two I retrieve the ones he's lost interest in and put them in the attic to dry. I've never had this material show any cracks; its harder and denser than antler.

 

[recycle33952]

made some nipple pick from deer antler from a old tyme recipe. soaked them 2 weeks and the center gets soft and smells awfull like dead flesh eeech
push the tang in let dry for a long time on the roof it called for. it does work just dont rush let it soak and dry a squirt of epoxy probably would be ok too. do not pull the tang back out or play with it too much or you will wobble out the hole. push it leave it for a few weeks it will be tight. should work with any antler or tips

 

[recycle33952]

pm me and i will email you the pdf file of instructions

 

[J.M.]

A friend of mine made up a unit to stabilize wood and bone for knife handles. It is a vacuum unit that runs off an air compressor. He uses a canning jar 1/2 full of minwax wood hardener, places the handle material in the jar. seals the top just like canning, sets on a food saver vacuum sealer from WalMart. Connects to the vacuum and turns on the compressor. Lets the material set for a week or two. The stuff he does coes out beautiful, hard and takes a nice shine with a buffing wheel. Might check out the knifemaers section of www.bladeforums. Try a searh on stabilizing and should get more specific thatn I can be. Good luck!

 

[bob1961]

it's not doing it yerself but ya buy bone from pet shops that are uncooked but sterilized cow bone from the femor of the cow....we have one that we got our dog to fill with peanut butter when we go out fer any lengh of time to keep the dog busy....and if ya freeze it the night before it keeps her busy longer....and she hasn't cracked it yet..........bob

P.S...link didn't work so follow my directions....
go to[url] petsmart.com[/url]....
click on dog at the top left....
go to the left in shopping and click on rawhide, bones and chews....
then look for Sterilized Bones with the picture of the bone....

 

[ButlerFord]

Well, bambi femur laying on the counter, semi controled environment, cracked last night! Anyone have ideas as to how or why this happened? And how to prevent it? Just a green, raw scraped bone, maybe a week old.

B.Ford

 

[J.M.]

I've had that happen to me more than once. My solution is to degrease the bone then use generous amount of super glue to put it back together.If you stain the bone to age it, the cracks where you glued them up give a good character to the bone. The glued joints seem to hold up fine.

 

[Joe Yanta]

Certainly not an expert here, but I have worked with bone.

I like using green bone. As mentioned earlier it has a lot of natural oils in it and I find it somewhat forgiving when riveting. Bone is really hard stuff cooked or green. But with the green bone I find it wont chip as easy. It is like it is more ductile or something over the dried cured bone. I have purchased prepie bone from various suppliers and found it easy to chip.

I have never found either green or preped bone to crack AFTER installation. I find both types of bone will crack DURING installation. That is when I am peening the rivets that hold the bone. What happens is the rivet will swell into the hole like driving a wedge in wood and split it.

At looking at my pocket knife collection, without exception, every crack either big or small orginates from a pin or rivet setting.

To make a long winded opinion short. Either green or prepie bone will work fine if mounted with care.

Here is a bone handle (untreated green dog treat bone from cow) that I hewed with an axe and mounted with two brass pins.

I prefer the green bone because its more forgiving.

Joe Yanta

 

[hornetk4]

I have found a simple way to attach deer antler to a knife blade that has worked several times . The last one was an old kabar blade that had no handle when I got it . It had a tang that was about 1/8 thick by 3/8 wide by about 3 1/2 long . I found a good looking hunk of mule deer antler and drilled 2 1/8 holes right beside each other on end about 3 1/2 deep then worked the antler back and forth with the drill in the holes to make it a slot instead of 1 holes . Once I had that done I simply put the antler is a pan of water and boiled it for about 10 minutes to soften it and pushed the knife tang into the softened antler and as soon as it cooled I had a perfect perminent knife handle . I don't think I could get it off now if I wanted to . No glue or epoxy or pins of any kind I wish I knew how to post a picture to show you I"ve done this a few times and it's worked every time .