Antler Question

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

Mark

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
2,536
Location
Pottstown PA
A friend of mine wants to have a cartridge pen made with "a chunk of Antler" and her grand daughters rifle shell from her first deer.

My question is: Does Antler have a moisture requirement like wood? I don't believe its a problem, but I needed to ask.

Thanks in advance... :)
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

THarvey

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
2,087
Location
Anniston, AL, USA
I have read posts on here before that talked about letting antler from kills dry up to a year.

Antler is bone, so there would be marrow and blood in antler from a killed deer.
 

tim self

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2008
Messages
2,150
Location
Atoka, Oklahoma
Although it's recommended to let it "age", I have broken that golden rule more than once simply for the customer. Have had the blood streaks which looked pretty cool and have NOT had a problem to date.
 

seamus7227

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
6,220
Location
Wichita Falls, TX
Its just my personal experience with deer antler, even with fresh kills, you can turn it on the lathe right away. I think it depends on the color you want. (I'm thinking about writing a tutorial about this, it's very interesting). If you want the more pinkish look, turn it fresh after a kill. If you prefer the darker tones from aging and drying out, then turn after a year or a few months in the summer sun. Antler is like wood, there is always something special underneath the outside layer! I have had people that prefer both pink and/or brown. I will also use a thin CA to soak into the antler once I have turned it down close to the bushings, and I mean SOAK IT till it wont smoke anymore. Then I use a scraper and take the top layer thats all rough and smooth it out. Then I will start my layers of med CA, MM to 12000(wet sanding each grit), and lastly white diamond buff. Hope my rambling on the subject has helped.

I will say that fresh antler is very sticky, or the shavings are when the get on ya, or maybe its the moisture in the antler dust that feels that way.
 
Last edited:

Mark

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
2,536
Location
Pottstown PA
Would it help to stick it in a dehydrator?

Would that cause it to crack?

I don't know how old the "chunk" is. I haven't seen it yet. It could be nothing more than one tine off the rack. Maybe the buck was a spike. I just don't have the antler yet.

Her grand daughter only passed her test last year, so I have to think the antler is less than a year old (dead).

Thanks for the info. Any additional info is greatly appreciated.

Seamus, a tutorial, would be awesome...
 
Top Bottom