Giraffe Bone?

S

SkarpKniv

Joined
Sep 21, 2003
Messages
217
What bone is actually used for giraffe bone handles? Anything or a certain thing?Thanks for any replies
 
It does come from the leg bone. I have been to knife shows where those selling giraffe bone scales also had giraffe leg bones for sell.
I bought a giraffe leg bone and cut it up. I sent one piece off and had it stabilized and dyed black. It came back a yukky gray.
I plan to dye and stabilize the rest myself. I wish someone who knew how would share their knowledge as far as how to dye it.
At the last Blade Show my table was next to one of the South Africans who sell the giraffe bone. We talked quite a lot, but he would not tell me how they dyed or stabilized the bone.
Advice for any who think they might like to buy a leg bone, the older the animal the thicker the bone. Tom Lewis
 
I haven't had any girrafe bones to do but I have done bisson and moose leg bones in slowly boiling water with Rit dye.I first cleaned the bones after sizing them down some,by boiling in a solution of T.S.P. several times if necessary. Never try to dry the bone scales in an oven afterwards thinking you will get moisture out, they will crack . The Rit seems to replace any moisture that was in the bone. You can get some strange colors however. Browm will get you a purple, navy blue gives a lovely blue color, crimson gives a good scarlet color. Leather dyes can work well too after the scales are sized down. Do not hesitate to use more than one coat and more than one color. The results can look like mammoth ivory and I hear that the giraffe bones are being done to look this way commercially. frank
 
Hey Royal......

Here is the method to dye the giraffe bone to look like mammoth. I was given this method by R.W. Wilson a couple of years ago at the Novi Knife show in Michigan. His Giraffe bone couldn't be told from the mammoth right beside it.

*******IMPORTANT*******
FOLLOW ALL SAFETY RULES ON DYE & ALCOHOL CONTAINERS & ONLY PROCEED IN A SAFE WELL VENTILATED AREA AWAY FROM CHILDREN, PETS AND DIRECT FLAME.

Supplies... 1) crock pot
2) mason jars (two)
3) 1 quart or litre of denatured alcohol (your pharmacist can get this for you cost about $15.00 Canadian).
4) mahogany leather dye (alcohol based).

Method..... Step 1) Place bone in one mason jar and completely submserse in denatured alcohol. DO NOT PUT LID ON JAR!

Step 2) Place mason jar with bone and alcohol in crock pot and fill crock pot with water to just below the rim of the mason jar.
***do not let water get into the mason jar***

Step 3) Turn on crock pot so heat reaches approximately 140 degree's and leave in SAFE place for at least 24 hrs.
(The heated alcohol forces the moisture out of the bone in preparation for the next stage)

Step 4) Remove mason jar from crock pot and using tongs remove the bone from the jar and place it, (the bone), in a warm dry spot for several hours to let the alcohol evaporate out.
**** place a lid on the mason jar containing the alcohol and store in a safe place away from direct flame)****

Step 5) REPEAT steps 1-4 using the now dried bone and the leather dye instead of the denatured alcohol.

*****When done turn off the crock pot and store all the chemicals according to the directions on their contaniers.

The dye will be absorbed deep into the bone and will give you a wonderful handle. I tried this with a white dog bone from Wal-Mart and it turned out great.
 
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