Deer Hunters...in antler

[TimS124]

Swapped this pair, along with custom bamboo cases I made (and laser engraved), for a nice pile of antlers! Most of the antlers came from good sized deer, with one Elk antler that's possibly big enough for making knife scales, and one small Moose antler.

I can't show the laser engraving because one of these will be a gift from their new owner....

The antler pieces used on these pens came from different antlers. I think only one came from the antlers I'd swapped for (and the other came from an earlier swap with somebody else). One of the antler pieces finished white and the other turned a bit yellow when I rubbed in the boiled linseed oil....both are pretty cool in person and the color difference helps tell them apart.

The first photo shows the final cases while the second photo provides a better view of the white-antler pen's character. The second photo used a prototype case that didn't fit properly (and the magnets didn't press in quite as deep as they should have).

Cases were cut on a small CNC router from 1x12 bamboo edge grain planks. Sadly, the local supplier of those just announced they're closing their doors soon. Fortunately, the design doesn't care what material I use (as long as I use thick-enough material).

A buddy saw these pens while I was working on the final cases so once these were done, I was right back in the shop making one for him...

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Those are nice! I also like the cases a great deal. I noticed the top and bottom are the same. I guess it would come in handy for someone like me that if I was putting them together I couldn't get them backwards. It would also look nice to display on a desk with two pens, one on each side.

 

[TimS124]

Kenny,

Using the same pattern for the top and the bottom also means I can pick whichever side has better grain after assembly and engrave it as the top.

I've also considered flipping the location of the bolt action's hole on the other half so the case could be used in the left-handed or right-handed position (pen facing either way). I haven't set that up yet mostly because there's a bit of surgery required to the pen itself to toggle between right and left handed use on the bolt action itself. Probably easier to just make a dual-left-handed version.

Thanks for the kind words on the case. I tried finding commercial cases that fit the bolt actions and let the pen's clip face directly upwards....haven't found one yet (even tried an "oversized" pen case that shows a simpler bolt action pen sitting in it...but the deer head on the clip of the Deer Hunter style prevents that case's lid from closing....oops).

Tim S.