Okay, so I was given an old set of antlers, a set that had been left to grey and weather on a hunting lodge, complete with mold and and bird poop. I thought once I had cleaned most of the muck off I'd have a some useful material, not so, I had to remove much of the surface until I was left with clean, but smooth material.
I wanted to replace the plastic handle on my Mora with a section of the cleaned antler. I did this by first grinding and sawing off the plastic, after which I cut the tip of the tang into a point, ready to be driven into the antler.
The antler body had a small pilot hole drilled into it and was then left to soak in a tub of water for 24 hours to soften the pith. Once it was soft enough I used a clamp to drive the tang into the antler handle, a block of wood on the tip of the knife prevented any damage.
Of course this did mean that the old plastic sheath no longer fitted, I had asked a couple of folk whether they'd be able to make a sheath for me from leather, for a cash incentive of course. Sadly, both were/ are quite busy at the moment and so I thought I may as well give it a go myself.
A phone call to Le Prevo and £100 later I was armed with a shoulder of veg tan, several tools and some dye and wax polish. I read through a couple of articles on the British Blade forum, read through a couple of internet posts and set to creating a card template ready to cut my first sheath.
To cut a long story short, here's the results.
1). Knife in the sheath.
2). Knife and sheath.
I have to say it was a lot easier than I imagined (although there is much room for improvement) and I've since managed a pouch for my DC5 and small sharpening steel which sits on my belt, a pouch for my SAK whittler that sits on my belt and of course the belt itself!
What a great way to spend a few dark, wet, cold winters evenings! I'm now making a template to fit my Clipper and will also make one for my brother for chrimbo! Sheath-tastic!
I wanted to replace the plastic handle on my Mora with a section of the cleaned antler. I did this by first grinding and sawing off the plastic, after which I cut the tip of the tang into a point, ready to be driven into the antler.
The antler body had a small pilot hole drilled into it and was then left to soak in a tub of water for 24 hours to soften the pith. Once it was soft enough I used a clamp to drive the tang into the antler handle, a block of wood on the tip of the knife prevented any damage.
Of course this did mean that the old plastic sheath no longer fitted, I had asked a couple of folk whether they'd be able to make a sheath for me from leather, for a cash incentive of course. Sadly, both were/ are quite busy at the moment and so I thought I may as well give it a go myself.
A phone call to Le Prevo and £100 later I was armed with a shoulder of veg tan, several tools and some dye and wax polish. I read through a couple of articles on the British Blade forum, read through a couple of internet posts and set to creating a card template ready to cut my first sheath.
To cut a long story short, here's the results.
1). Knife in the sheath.
2). Knife and sheath.
I have to say it was a lot easier than I imagined (although there is much room for improvement) and I've since managed a pouch for my DC5 and small sharpening steel which sits on my belt, a pouch for my SAK whittler that sits on my belt and of course the belt itself!
What a great way to spend a few dark, wet, cold winters evenings! I'm now making a template to fit my Clipper and will also make one for my brother for chrimbo! Sheath-tastic!
