Sambar antler, question for knife makers.

[Sol]

I'm curious here for knife makers would this antler be useful for anything, I'm thinking about moving it on however I'm not really sure if the dimensions make any sense for it being practical chopping up a weird cast antler for scales It might be better sold too a collector? the points are small even for a small women like myself.

Its about 35cm long, the nice flat part between the brow and upper tine goes from about 5CM to 6CM and a bit of change between the upper tine, the actual thickness of the flat part Is probably about 4-5cm?

I'm sure two nice scales could be taken from it assuming the knife has a visible tang however.... I'm also not a knife maker anyone got any ideas?

 

[willie_gunn]

The section between the brow (lower) and the bez (mid) points looks nice.

The best thing about Sambar antler is that the trabecular core is generally of a lower diameter than in other species, which makes it more forgiving for knife scales.

I’ve used Sambar antler for small pocket knives, fishing priests, etc. and it’s worked very well.

Sambar antler is getting both scarce and expensive!

 

[RifleTuner]

Sambar antler is the king of antler handles. That antler looks like you would get at least one set of scales out of it. Some sambar can have too much pith in the centre if its small. For a full tang using a thicker piece and you grind it to the right thickness from the bottom, then you generally get very solid piece of antler. Same with a hidden tang when you drill out the middle, then you remove the pit. If needed, take a bit more out of the centre and fill with epoxy.

The attached pictures are the last full tang I finished with sambar antler scales. After I shaped it, I was left with very dense material.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Two good posts there, telling you all you need to know.

There is a good pair of full tang knife scales in there

 

[Sol]

Cheers chaps, appreciated.

I was thinking, I cannot tell if its sambar or rusa? I know relations the species are very similar, basically like our reds to sika I'm not sure if the antler would differ too much?