Hey, all. I've been away for awhile. Actually, I've kinda been away from the craft for awhile. My last project was a push dag for the CLA annual fundraising auction. But I have just gotten an order for a dagger similar to that one, except with a bone handle. I've done a couple of bone handled knives so working with bone is no problem. My only problem is I'm having trouble finding a supplier of bone. All my local meet market can give me is femur, and there's not enough there to do an entire handle.

So, if you could direct me to someone who can sell me some quality bone for knife handles, I would be greatly appreciative.

Thanks.

Maybe Elk, Bison or Moose bones (depending on what gets harvested during hunting season in your area) from a local taxidermist or even off E-bay?

Deer are just about the only "big" game around here. I'm from Central Michigan. But Ebay is a probably a good bet. I hadn't thought of that for some reason. Thanks.

Try Moscow Hide and Fur. They list bones from various animals.
http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/Skulls.html

What type of bone should I use? I'm looking for something about 4" square and about an inch or two thick. But I don't know of any type of bone that has that kinda mass. It's not like wood.

Hey Josh, wecome back. The patch knife is working great and was quite the hit at my family reunion the other weekend.

If nothing else, check out petsmart in their doggie chew bone area. I've gotten several nice pieces that I've turned into powder measures and last time I was at our local one, they had several pieces of deer and elk antler in the dimension you mentioned. Of course, if you happen to run into a mastadon leg, you could use that AND charge a premium for it, hehe

There is also:
https://furandhide.com
Then, there is always eBay and Amazon.
Good luck, friend

How about an elk shoulder blade or a bison jaw?

There's an ad on Facebook by "native American trade blanket" for buffalo jaws.

Josh up here in NE PA there is a buffalo ranch. They butcher and sell buffalo. I have seen some of the Bulls they have, I would think some of their leg bones would do. They are the largest North American we have. < www.thebuffaloshoppe.com>

The sources suggested are good ones but with the size wanted it's going to be tough to find a piece big enough and solid enough.
I've used most of the types suggested for years and the buffalo leg bones MAY be fine, but it's a bit of a crap shoot. Buffalo jawbones tend to be brittle and you have to deal with the tooth roots as well.
My suggestion is to look for sources of giraffe bone, there are several. Giraffe bone may not be PC/HC, but it is some of the best bone to work with - nice and thick generally, almost solid through - very little if any pith, and it is seldom real brittle.

Here's a piece I did a few years ago with giraffe -

That's NEAT,Greywolf!What IS it?

Yes yes,I know it's a knife,but what kind?

Thanks all! I will definitely check all the sources, especially the giraffe. The customer is not particularly concerned about PC.

Mountain Ranger, Great to hear from you! It's always good to hear positive results from former buyers. I'm glad the knife is working for you.

Josh,

I have worked some with bison jawbones (mandibles), and can tell you that the actual bone is quite thin. They have thin walls over a large and relatively hollow core, with a very porous "pith." I have seen pictures of knives hafted with bear or wolf or coyote jawbone, but these seem primarily for show.

I have heard that giraffe bone is some of the most solid, and Chuck corroborates this with his personal experience. Many years ago, while wandering in some woods hunting squirrels, I found a horse skeleton, evidently from an animal that had died and been disposed of by dumping in the woods. I brought a couple of leg bones home with me. In cutting into these, I found the bone wall was much thicker than comparable cow bones, possibly two or three times as thick, with a correspondingly smaller marrow core. I don't know of a commercial source for horse bone, but if you can find some it may be another alternative.

You might also consider antler. Moose antler is said to be the most dense. Also, Brad Jarvis of Thompson's Scandinavian Knives has some "super" reindeer antler which he says has very little marrow. You could shoot him an email and let him know what you want, and he could tell you if he has something in stock that might fit your needs.

Notchy Bob

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Originally posted by Boartooth:
That's NEAT,Greywolf!What IS it?

Thank you. It's a Moroccan sheepherder's neck knife. The blade was made there and the original grip was pure crap, so the owner had me re-handle it and make an appropriate sheath.
The sheath core is made of bark tan cowhide and it is covered with camel hide that had a Middle Eastern pattern hot pressed into it. The camel hide was from a Moroccan made foot stool that had seen it's last days, but still had usable sections.
The beads are original African trade beads and done in a style from that area. Brass hawk bells and pieces from a Moroccan silver necklace finish the deco.

Very cool,thanks for sharing....

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look for sources of giraffe bone

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That may have been a good idea until recently. With all the fuss over Cecil the lion, I have read there will be restrictions on hunting and exporting much of the African big game. Delta airlines won't even transport African tropies. I'm thinking we need to look to American beef slaughter houses for cow bones.