Antler bending

R

Randy3000

Joined
Jun 3, 2017
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New guy here. A little background. I used to make pocket knives with my granddad a long time ago, and recently started out making my own. I have a very simple coffee can forge setup and have made a dozen slip joint folders, none of them very good, and about a half dozen fixed blades which come out fairly decent considering I'm not using any power tools other than a drill.

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But on to my question. I recently acquired about 5 racks of whitetail antlers, all 2-6 pointers, that are fairly small in diameter and very curved. I have read about straightening antler by boiling in water. I have been soaking the antler sections in cold water for a couple days, and plan on trying to straighten one section by boiling in a pot on my coffee can forge turned vertical outside. If i boiled on the stove my wife would probably kill me, she's close to it as it is. The antler sections i have almost no pith, i would say <1/4 of the diameter is pith. I plan on splitting the antler into scales.

Would it be better to split the antler before boiling? Will the hot, glue-like pith stick to my vise? I don't want any unexpected surprises. Anything else i should be aware of?
 
Bending antler doesn't work well in most cases. A pot on a forge isn't a good way to boil water. Use a hotplate if you can't use the stove. Boil fora very long time .. 2 hours. Make a clamp jig from wood and clamp with enough pressure to bend the antler. If it won't bend, try boiling longer. If it still won't bend, you may have to heat it in an oven at 250-275 for an hour. Your wife may not like the smell of baked antler anymore than she does boiled antler.
 
The unexpected surprise will be if you can straighten the antler. I have tried unsuccessfully and do not think it can be done. I hope you or someone else proves me wrong.
 
I think the only way it will work is if it's relatively fresh. I'm hoping to grab some fresh cuts from my coworker that raises elk, to try and straighten. But I've had no luck with stuff that's been off the animal for 1+ years.
 
Remember that antler is bone, not "hair/fingernail" like horn.
 
Well, that's not exactly true either. It's certainly more similar to bone than it is to horn. But antler has less calcium and a higher portion of light elements than bone. 5-8% less CA and 10% more light element. Its the light element content I think that makes horn/keratin structures more pliable. Bone is 65ish%, Antler 70ish% and Horn 90ish%. That's mature bone/antler/horn. Some bones are soft in development until the collagen matrix calcifies. And it doesn't calcify instantly. I'm hypothesizing antler grows in a similar fashion and that fresh out of velvet isn't as calcified as a mature and dropped antler.

But I could be wrong. It's worth trying to me, since if it was possible it would greatly increase the amount of antler I had available in useful shapes. So much of an elk antler is worthless because of the size/shape.
 
Well, I'll give it a shot anyway. I had one set that i was going to try it on since there are some surface cracks already and I don't care if i mess it up.

I do have some middle sections that are straight for a ways and then curl sharply at one end. I think it might be neat to use that curled portion as a guard and just groove it for the tang to fit. Then drill the straight portion for a hidden tang.
 
Success!

Before
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After
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I didn't even directly boil it. It was raining, but this has been bothering me. So i boiled water on the stove and transferred to the bucket. I replaced the water about 5 times over 20 minutes and just let the antler sit in the hot water. Then i took it out and it straightened right up in the vise. We'll see if it holds.
 
kuraki said:
Well, that's not exactly true either. It's certainly more similar to bone than it is to horn. But antler has less calcium and a higher portion of light elements than bone. 5-8% less CA and 10% more light element. Its the light element content I think that makes horn/keratin structures more pliable. Bone is 65ish%, Antler 70ish% and Horn 90ish%. That's mature bone/antler/horn. Some bones are soft in development until the collagen matrix calcifies. And it doesn't calcify instantly. I'm hypothesizing antler grows in a similar fashion and that fresh out of velvet isn't as calcified as a mature and dropped antler.

But I could be wrong. It's worth trying to me, since if it was possible it would greatly increase the amount of antler I had available in useful shapes. So much of an elk antler is worthless because of the size/shape.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that it is not only the presence of calcium but the absence of keratin that makes antlers a type of bone as oppsed to a horn, albeit a fast growing form of bone that starts off at the tips as cartilage and is replaced by bone tissue. That's why the horns of a pronghorn are considered to be a "hybrid" astray contain both materials. When the velvet sheds, the bone essentially dies and dries out. What is also different about antler is that it is being "fed" from the outside by the velvet in addition to having the pith. That is probably what allows it to grow so fast. Imagine us growing a new pair of arm bones with skin but no muscles every year. :D
 
One final picture out of the vise. I left it clamped for about 1.5 hours. In case you're wondering the diameter is about 1/2" at its thickest. Overall it was an easy, painless process, and my wife didn't smell anything when she came home after work.

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So last night i split the antler in half using a coping saw and was surprised at how flexible it was. It felt stiff before cutting. I clamped them flat to my workbench and this morning they are straight and stiff. While splitting, I was able to cut through a lot of cracks, and I'll be able to cut a little 2" section of the thickest parts and make a little folder. It will have one crack in it, but it will just be a learning exercise.
 
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