153UH handle upgrade or sacrilegious.

[justsaymo]

I've always liked the blade shape on the Uncle Henry 153UH Golden Spike but the handle's aesthetic and ergonomics did not appeal to me.

With not much fuss and a little persuasion the 153UH comes apart easy enough.

An Elk shed that had been loitering around my shop for years found its purpose.

Looks promising.

After some fitting and fumbling, I like it better.

 

[tongueriver]

Well done! Both the job and the wip.

 

[Pima Pants]

Excellent job!

 

[oldmanwilly]

That is the opposite of sacrilege, it's absolutely excellent!! Thank you for taking the time for WIP pics. Is the tang epoxied into the antler, or is it friction-fit?

Idk why, but after seeing your work this got stuck in my head:

 

[justsaymo]

Friction held tight with the barrel nut/pommel/screw.

I made the hole for the tang a bit small and slowly persuaded it on up to the guard. Even after a few removals for file fitting it still required some careful hammering to re-install. The original handle was made so it would slide over the barrel nut. I had to make mine a bit shorter and flute a channel to slide the nut into the hole which is held in place with the original black-white-black spacers and then cut another slice of antler to get the spacing for the pommel to cinch tight.

 

[DirtDawg]

Friction held tight with the barrel nut/pommel/screw.

I made the hole for the tang a bit small and slowly persuaded it on up to the guard. Even after a few removals for file fitting it still required some careful hammering to re-install. The original handle was made so it would slide over the barrel nut. I had to make mine a bit shorter and flute a channel to slide the nut into the hole which is held in place with the original black-white-black spacers and then cut another slice of antler to get the spacing for the pommel to cinch tight.

That is a handsome affair... for sure.