Bone- or stag-handled bushcrafter

H

Havokk

Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Messages
146
I've read many reviews of bushcraft knives that talk about holding the knife in different grips while whittling for hours. A good knife can be used for hours without hurting your hands.

I've seen many bushcraft knives with wood and synthetic handles but I haven't seen many with bone or stag handles. I wonder, is this a conicidence or are bone and stag bad choices for a knife that is going to be held for long periods?

TIA
Craig
 
Probably more to do with costs than ergonomics.

The original bushcrafty knives I've seen were all Scandinavian in origin and most of them had full or partial bone/horn compositions. These knives were meant for real outdoors work as well as for hours of whittling at a time. The better knifemakers will usually offer a bone/horn option, even companies like Bark River offers horn.
 
Hi all,

I use mine alot and for carving spoons and such even for long periods of carving I have yet to have a hot spot.

IMG_1165.jpg


IMG_1190.jpg


My Kephart with elk antler scales is in the pic with this partialy done spoon.

I will say this though if you are not use to really doing any carving and you go and do some, hot spot do happen more, My wife will no do any carving with her knife for a while and then when she really goes at it. she gets some them, so if you are a office worker and you have done any carving in while
wear some thin leather gloves.

Bryan
 
bone and even more so antler, are my fav handle materials. never had an issue. cost and availability would be the issues for some. antler can fetch pretty fair prices(stag even more). so if yr not hunting yrself, or have buds who do and dont have use for the antlers. there is much bone to be had at the large butcher shops. they typically sell it to dog owners. but will cut to lengths you request. and with the proper finishing, can make lovely scales. bone can take on, after many years of use, wonderful color and feel. tho there are methods to "age" bone and antler. its just not the same as those hard won finishes after yrs of handling.
 
I straddle the fence on this as I think materials is largely a cosmetic/visual aesthetic attribute rather than functional aspect. When push comes to shove, I don't think you can really beat micarta or G10 for durability and performance. They also tend to be cheaper, relatively speaking, then natural materials. I love the warmth of wood (it actually feels warm for some reason) and its looks. Horn and antler feel a lot like micarta to me, but they can generate cracks with shock. Still, they can also be absolutely gorgeous.

I can't say that I always choose my blades on the basis of performance characteristics because aesthetics has a lot to do with it. I would say that buying a horn/antler handled knife means that you are tipping towards the aesthetics side of sway. But there is nothing really wrong with that as long as performance matches your expectations and use patterns of the knife.

Now putting a $50 handle on a firesteel? Well I think that qualifies into the 'Does my firesteel make me look fat?' sort of category. But what do I know???
 
Bone, Horn and Antler are my favorite handle materials,

...most are strong and durable.



Smooth Dall Sheep Horn.



Dyed Bone.



Natural Bone.



Elk Horn



Translucent Buffalo Horn.



Dyed Bone and Sanbar Stag.


Smooth surfaces are best for extended use,

...but even bark-on scales work well if de-thorned a bit (i.e., some can be too rough).



Sambar Stag.





Big Mike
 
Here are few more that work great at bushcraft chores.



Smooth Bone.



Semi-Smooth Big Horn Sheep.


:thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:







Big Mike
 
Thanks all. Good answers and great photos.
Now to save some money and keep an eye out for a bone-handled Bushfinger…
 
I love the look of traditional materials but the more I use my knives the more I find Micarta or G10 to be the most practical handle material !
 
a cupla my favorites
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the top one, made by a guy named dale tackkett is one of my all time favs. one sweet knife. and that handle just gets better looking/feeling as the years go by.
 
sadiejane said:
a cupla my favorites
bowjampb311.jpg
[/IMG]
bowjampb299.jpg
[/IMG]
mlfolder22.jpg
[/IMG]
the top one, made by a guy named dale tackkett is one of my all time favs. one sweet knife. and that handle just gets better looking/feeling as the years go by.
Click to expand...
Hello,

My name is Connor Tackkett. My grandfather was a man by the name of Dale Tackkett. Dale passed away in April 2021, and shortly after I attended
his funeral I was looking up his name on google and I found a thread on this forum/website where you had mentioned that you owned a knife
that was made by my grandfather, Dale Tackkett. I'm writing to you because I was wondering if you are still in possession of this knife, and I'm also just
curious if you knew my grandfather or how you came to acquire the knife. If you do, I would be very interested in buying the knife off of you, so I could
give it to my father John Tackkett, who is Dale's son. I just bought the basic membership to Blade Forums so I could message you about this. My message
count is limited so if you want, we could communicate further through email or some other form of communication too.
Thanks so much if you ever get back to me about this. Even if you sold the knife or don't have it anymore, I'd like to hear about the knife.
 
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