bone handle Q

C

catfish579

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Jan 8, 2013
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hello all. i am new to the forum, saw this place and thought it be good for finding stuff out and giving input when can. this is under the finding stuff out category. i have been in search for what would be the most suitable pocket knife for me. i want to get a case knife (being a Pennsylvanian, i find it to be appropriate) and have been exploring different types of patterns, steel, and handles. my question to people is how durable would a bone handled knife be? i intend on owning and carrying this knife for many years and am sure i am likely to drop it over those years and put it through crap. bone is a nice material, good feeling, but im not sure how well it would hold up over time. i have been quite fond of the synthetic material (the yellow handle is a nice one) but if were to be enlightened about bone, it would broaden my options. thanks for all who respond and i cant wait to here what you all have to say.
 
It's tough enough to last a couple of centuries, when treated with respect.
My advice, don't "put it through crap"
 
Bone is very durable. BTW, as a Pennsylvanian, you might also consider something from Great Eastern Cutlery.

-- Mark
 
Bone will chip/break but at the same time is not eggshell. I have accidentally dropped a few bone knives and they have not broken. I actually dropped my prize barlow from about 4 ft on to cement and miraculously it did not break.
 
I dropped my Queen mountain man from waist height to concrete and was surprised and feel lucky the bone handle material didn't get damaged.

Carried synthetic material for many years. And mostly carry knives in bone these days, mainly because I like the pocket worn look that develops over time.
 
mnblade said:
Bone is very durable. BTW, as a Pennsylvanian, you might also consider something from Great Eastern Cutlery.

-- Mark
Click to expand...

I just got my GECs, they are fit better than my Cases (which aren't old at all). Case is a great company and the knives are a little cheaper. They also redid my father in law's medium stockman. It was his father's and was in pretty rough shape. Case fixed it up nice.

I'd look at both for sure. :)


I prefer bone, stag, or horn.
 
I dropped my peanut on the ground and then kicked it 10ft across the ground.:mad: After worrying and feeling like a complete dunce, I inspected my peanut and no chips or cracks of the bone. That's not to say, if you do the same thing it won't chip or crack merely that bone is a little more durable than we think. Personally, I'd go with synthetic (delrin) handles and buy two of them if I was gonna drop my knife and put it through crap. Pick up two or three sodbusters and go to town on them.
 
Bone is very durable. It can chip/crack/split, but a lot of those issues are minimized if/when the knife is constructed well. A lot of older bone-handled knives (1970s and earlier) had issues with splits/cracks/chips, but an awful lot of them I think were due to weaknesses (chips or cracks) introduced during drilling/machining of the bone covers, and some issues due to excessive bend/flex of the handles. It seems like in more modern times (1980s and forward, at least), manufacturers have gotten better at minimizing the production-related causes of chipping/cracking on bone handles. If you have the opportunity to inspect knives before purchasing (especially on older or used knives), look for chips/cracks near the pins, and especially near the anchor pin for the backspring. Any stresses exerted on those pins can exert pressure on the bone scales, and cause small cracks or chips to spread. A lot of these issues will also be seen occasionally with synthetic, wood and stag handles. It's more an issue of the construction, and less about the material's weakness itself.

Bottom line, as far as I see it, I wouldn't have any worries about bone covers on brand new, current-generation knives. And if any issues do come up, these issues are almost always addressable with warranty repairs.


David
 
catfish579 said:
[...]i want to get a case knife (being a Pennsylvanian, i find it to be appropriate) and have been exploring different types of patterns, steel, and handles. my question to people is how durable would a bone handled knife be? i intend on owning and carrying this knife for many years and am sure i am likely to drop it over those years and put it through crap. bone is a nice material, good feeling, but im not sure how well it would hold up over time.
Click to expand...

I grew up in PA, and did what you are doing -- I got a Queen, two Cases, and a Great Eastern, all from back home. The Queen took 2 days on the stone to get it thinned out enough that you could cut anything with it, but after that it was fine. Both Cases have blades that rub together. (Actually, one got fixed at the factory, but they left the scratches. The other one didn't even get that much.) The GEC, other than a fairly stiff backspring, is perfect (it ought to be, it cost almost as much as the other three put together)

Case is capable of excellent work, but at this point I wouldn't get one I couldn't look over first. It would be worth the extra bucks to get one at a brick-and-mortar store, if it meant you got to 'hand-pick' your knife. I bought mine online and learned my lesson the hard way -- just thought I'd say so, since you're new like me.

As for the bone, I haven't had any of mine long enough to say, but there are plenty of 60+ year old pocketknives being shown around on this forum that still look great. And it seems to me that a piece of bone backed by a metal plate ought to be at least as strong as my bones, so I'm not too worried about it, compared to synthetic.

Edit: I just remembered, I have a (mediocre) photo of all four together:
PA_knivesjpg_zpse1e49170.jpg
 
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Dropped mine plenty, it's still in one piece.

Not that this means anything, but when looking at older knives, I see a lot of chipped, cracked and warped synthetics.
 
Next to antler (stag), or wood its about as durable of an organic material as there is.
There are a lot of old ones with cracks or chips and also a lot of old ones without.
Ken.
 
The choice of handle materials are many. Bone is a well respected and durable CLASSIC handle material. Some of the wooden handle materials hold up very well,ebony, cocobolo and bocote come to mind.Case and probably other makers make a few knives with Oak handles. Can't get much more durable and lasting than Oak! Some of the synthetics are very good. Delrin and Acrylic would be best I think. One material I would DEFINITLEY warn against is Celluloid! The problems of celluloid are myriad. Not the least of which are shrinkage and warping. The material "gasses out" causing the knife and any other steel in close proximity to rust. Celluloid is also extremely flammable. Unfortunatley,as one of the first popular plastic materials,celluloid was,and still is,used for knife handles.
There are also at least three top quality Factory Knife Makers in Pennsylvania. Queen Cutlery and Great Eastern Cutlery are located in Titusville,and of course W.R.Case&Sons is located in Bradford. They are all within about an hours drive of each other.
 
I believe stag is more durable than bone, but it is also more expensive. Bone will certainly do.
 
catfish579 said:
forgot about wood!
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Ebony is definitely one of the most durable natural handle materials available. If you check out the "Old Knives" sticky thread at the top of the Traditional Forum page, you can get a good idea of how well the different covers stand the test of time. I have never personally had any problem with bone handles.

Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy it here at much as I do.:thumbup:
 
Well 47 years worth of wear & tear on this little Stockman and besides some serious pocket worn wear she is none for the worse!

cst3.jpg
 
black mamba said:
I believe stag is more durable than bone, but it is also more expensive. Bone will certainly do.
Click to expand...

I think so too as it's a more springy absorbing material. You get much less curl or shrink than horn and, it's less brittle than bone. Lets face it, when stag's good it's supreme!
 
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