Using Buffalo Horn for Chisel handles

That’s very good! I would bet they feel good in your hand.

-- I'm a lumberjock and I'm ok, I sleep all night and I work all day!

Is buffalo horn expensive? It’s so beautiful.

-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com

Link to “Buffalo Horn “Rolls”
”
http://jantzsupply.com/cartease/item-detail.cfm?ID=IS920":http://jantzsupply.com/cartease/item-detail.cfm?ID=IS920

Jantz knife supply has them for seven or eight dollars, here is the link to their page. They have lots of cool stuff, I have ordered from them several times and have always been pleased with the transaction!

Jerry

-- Jerry, "Some people are like Slinkies, They aren't good for much of anything, but they put a grin on your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

I had no idea that buffalo horn would look like that. That looks really nice, as do the wooden handles.

-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY

Very nice work, unique.

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

a great personal touch.nice work.

It looks very cool , how is it in hand , do you think it would be slippery in a sweaty hand ?

Hi Jerry,

Not really slippery at all, it’s “Typical” usage is for knife scales (handles) where a good grip is essential. Just sort of thinking outside the box here…They are “Sheds” or “Cut-Offs” from living animals and are a renewable resource for many people who raise the buffalo these horns are harvested from. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a vehement environ type but its nice to know they did not simply harvest an animal for its horns.

-- Jerry, "Some people are like Slinkies, They aren't good for much of anything, but they put a grin on your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

good looking handles

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I really like the buffalo horn. Reminds me of the fine english turnscrews (screwdrivers) that come with a nice Holland & Holland double rifle.

-- The only thing wrong with instant gratification is that it's not fast enough.

Good personal touch for a tool usually used a lot in the shop. Hmm, I have som reindeer horn. I wonder how that would work?

-- Mike, American in Norway

Those are just wonderful handles friend!

-- Dont just dream it, gett of your up and live it!

Hi Stefang,

I have tried turning deer and elk antler in the past, the problem with that material is its porosity after you get through the shiny exterior layer, typically 1/16th”- 1/8th” of an inch thick. The interior of most “Antler” type material is honeycomb like in structure and must be “Filled” with thickened CA glue to look like anything, almost like working with bone. If you want to “Turn” them this is what I have run into in the past. I like this “Horn” material as it remains relatively void free throughout its entire diameter. ENjoy

Jerry

-- Jerry, "Some people are like Slinkies, They aren't good for much of anything, but they put a grin on your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

Thanks for the warning Jerry. I cut up the rack on the bandsaw and it had a pretty strong burnt hair smell. Not to fun to work with, so I’m not too disappointed. I still would like to use the pieces for something, just don’t know what yet.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Stefang… a friend of mine carved racks into arching and sculptural cribbage boards with a hand held rotary tool!

-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com

That sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately I don’t play cribbage. I remember my father playing it though about 64 years ago. Thanks very much for your helpful suggestion.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Hi Stefang,

I lived on Kodiak Island AK for 13 years before moving to Connecticut. We had a BIG Norwegian population there, fishermen you know. Lutefisk and Aquavit, I have never been so sick :) Not enough Aquavit I was told…Ha ha!

The Buff horn stinks too but its not intolerable if you keep the speeds and feeds down reasonably slow. It never dawned on me but Burnt hair describes it perfectly! I have enjoyed our exchange!

Jerry

-- Jerry, "Some people are like Slinkies, They aren't good for much of anything, but they put a grin on your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

Same here Jerry, I guess horn is just hair in another form.

Kodiak sounds like an interesting place. I’m not very fond of Aquavit though. Here in Norway, the best Aquavit is called Linje Aquavit. It is produced in Norway and then supposedly shipped down to the equator and back. The heat during the trip is supposed to improve it somehow.

My wife and I got married in the States. She wanted to have Lutefisk for our first Christmas dinner together. I’m usually willing to try something new and I like fish, So we found out we could buy imported Lutefisk in San Pedro, a harbour town just south of the Los Angeles area where we lived, so we drove down there and got some. So far, so good. I invited a friend, my best man at the wedding, to have Christmas dinner with us. I won’t go into the details about how that turned out, except to say that he never came to dinner with us again! Stranger still is the fact that my wife doesn’t really like fish all that much. It’s just that it was Christmas and she was feeling a little homesick. No real harm done, and a good Christmas story for the grandkids.

Mike

-- Mike, American in Norway

“but Burnt hair describes it perfectly!”
“I guess horn is just hair in another form.”

Correct – it is hair.

I’d suspect these rolls are ground horn mixed with epoxy.

I’ve seen knife makers use polyester resin and paper or cloth to make custom scales. The results can be remarkable.

-- Tony