American bison vs. water buffalo?

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,135
Hello,

Probably a dumb question, but here it goes...

Does anyone know why knives with horn handles are generally made from water buffalo instead of American bison? Is water buffalo more stable than bison? More durable? Easier to obtain? Less expensive? Easier to use? Finishes up better? Better looking? Legal vs. illegal?

Thanks,

Tom
 
Diferent critters with very diferent horns.Water buffalo has thick wide horn that works and shapes well.Quite stable.Bison is more like cow horn.Watter buffalo is a lot easier to get the horn from,too.Readily available in the Far East where lots of cheap knives are made.
 
Tom - I'd say the main reason is that water buffalo is generally thicker and the usable are is much larger than bison - bison is generally fairly thin in the base/flat area - only the upwardly curved section is solid and thick enough but not normally long enough to make a knife handle.
On the other hand bison horns make much better powder horns than water buffalo!
 
Probably a dumb question, but here it goes

Not a dumb question at all TAH. I expect Chuck is right because he always is.. :D

I'm not sure a lot of people know what a "Water Buffalo" is. I went to a tribal pow wow this weekend and talked to a lot of the vendors there. Non of whom were Native Americans by the way.

They kept showing me things made by native Americans using the same methods and materials as were used "throughout their history"
I couldn't stand it after a while and asked where they got the water buffelo horn. One fellow told me the plains were full of them at one time and due to modern conservation efforts, they had made a comeback! :eek:

Sometimes I just want to stay in my ten square feet! :grumpy:

Of course I had to maintain my role as the Ugly American. While I was being frustrated talking to the vendors, a group of Eagles flew over the Tribal grounds. From what I understand this was very good thing for the village....anyway, they were 3/4 of a mile away when I saw them and I asked why the hell everyone was looking at the buzzards.

From what I understand...that was NOT a very good thing! :o
 
peter nap said:
Probably a dumb question, but here it goes

While I was being frustrated talking to the vendors, a group of Eagles flew over the Tribal grounds. From what I understand this was very good thing for the village....anyway, they were 3/4 of a mile away when I saw them and I asked why the hell everyone was looking at the buzzards.

From what I understand...that was NOT a very good thing! :o
Click to expand...

Except for breeding pairs, I think eagles are solitary. Did this group have naked heads? I'm betting you were right.
 
I couldn't see their heads or any details at that distance. There were 5 of them I think. I see Eagles almost every day but only one at a time. I suppose they could be eagles but one for sure, the folks there were certainly convinced they were.

I was not a popular person in that group. Some of the people who were unhappy were Indians. I don't think they lived on the tribal land but I would think they should know the difference. Who knows......I can only tell you that I knocked the shine off of their good luck omen :(

Sure looked like buzzards to me.
buzzard.gif
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies. These forums are fantastic. Ask and you shall receive.

One more question: How durable is water buffalo? Will it check or crack in extreme temperatures? I'm assuming that it is tougher than ivory, but not as tough as stag.

Tom
 
It's pretty tough Tom. If I am bending it, I use something like Crisco to warm it in prior to bending. This helps keep the bent shape better than water and helps moisture proof it.

If you are just using slabs I would recommend finishing it with some type of oil like Danish oil. There has been some discussion here so you may want to do a search. It is not quite as prone to checking as bone but I would treat it much the same anyway.
If you want a nice natural finish but still want some protection, use baby oil from time to time.
 
You could also go over to the Himalayan Imports forum (in the Manufacturers Forums) and do a search on horn. You will get more info on water buffalo horn then you can read in a day, or close anyway. I have several khukuris with water buffalo handles and have had a lot of luck with how they have held out despite some very heavy use.
 
mineral oil is the same as Baby oil it just don't have the perfume in it and probably less money too.
I use mineral oil

it can delaminate if left setting in water :eek:
 
it can delaminate if left setting in water
Click to expand...
Yep - horn - not antler - is compacted hair and if not properly sealed can get pretty funky. I use a linseed oil/pine rosin varnish that works great on all kinds of things like this and is non-toxic to boot.

One fellow told me the plains were full of them at one time and due to modern conservation efforts, they had made a comeback!
Click to expand...
That must be the plains of Bengal...... :rolleyes: :( :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top