Originally Posted by
kyratshooter
I am surprised that Alan did not tell you to find a fire ant hill and place the bone there for the ants to clean it up for you!
I have dozens of knives with natural bone handles. Some are 20-30 years old and I have worked with many knives in the museum that were hundreds of years old.
I hafted a sword with a bone handle made from a deer I killed 25 years ago and fitted a knife with a handle from the same deer and both are still in use today.
Natural bone was once a preferred handle material for both knives and pistols, before it was replaced by plastic.
Clean the bone as much as possible. Dig out as much of the marrow (bone brain as you called it) as possible.
Place it in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes. Just a few minutes, not hours.
Place the bone in a bucket with about 3 liters of water and a spoon of bleach. Let is soak for a few hours, then allow it to dry.
If you want a nice aged dark color on the bone soak it is a solution of potassium permigate for a few hours or overnight. You can also cover the bone with a salt paste and bake it for a few minutes to get a change in color.
Bone will also take many shades of dye with good effect. as you use the knife the dye will wear away and leave a very individualized piece of equipment.
You can also "stabilize" bone with polymers, like they do with wood, but it is really not necessary.
Unstabilized bone will last for thousands of years in its natural state. Most museums have large exhibits of bones that have been reassembled from mice to mammoths and cave men in between.
Bookmarks