A sharp knife with an individual finish is the pride of many men. Such weapons cannot be dispensed with in everyday life and camping in nature. Hunters and fishermen cannot imagine their life without a knife with a well-made handle and a sharpened blade.
Advantages and disadvantages of bone knives
Knives with a bone die have a number of advantages over classic models. Firstly, they have an aesthetic appearance. Secondly, the high strength of such edged weapons deserves undeniable respect among professional hunters and fishers. Such products are durable and reliable.
However, bone knives also have disadvantages. So, many people do not like them for the too smooth surface of the bone, especially if there are no notches under the fingers.
Types of Bone Handles
A bone knife is made of three types of materials. Here is a list of them:
- skeletal bones;
- shell of animals (e.g. turtles);
- horns and hooves of large animals.
Depending on the type of animal, the price of materials for making a bone knife also increases.
Handles made of animal material in shape can be simple and metal parts reinforced from both ends (rivets or overlays).
The use of skeletal bones as a handle
The handles of cold steel are also made of deer, moose and antelope bones. You can meet folding knives from skeletons of animals such as rams and goats. Since such material often has rather large flows and folds on its surface, it is difficult for the master to grind it. Because of this product from the bones of these animals are not cheap.
For the manufacture of edged weapons, skeletal bones of only large sizes are used. These are mainly limbs in the form of long tubes, the wall thickness of which does not exceed 10 mm. They are either cut out, making smooth white plates, or cut across, getting bushings, which are subsequently put on the handle of the knife.
Horns as a decoration
The horns of dead animals have a dense fibrous structure. When processing such a material, a very attractive pearly flicker appears.
Speaking about the popularity of such processes as a material for making bone knives, it can be firmly stated that one cannot find in the world that species of animal whose horns would not adorn the hilt of any cold weapon. However, most masters prefer to use bull horns. This is because of the mass of this material, you can easily get the workpiece of the desired size. The steamed horn of this animal under pressure takes any, even the most intricate form, while the material does not break, and cracks do not form on it.
Blades with a black horn handle were especially valued. This is due to the high strength of this material. It does not collapse even with strong impacts.
If the bone is mounted entirely in the form of a pipe, then the horn is better to choose a small size. A ready-made handle made of such material lies comfortably in the hand, as if it is fused with the hand of the owner of the weapon. The fingers are clearly fixed in the optimal position.
In Russia, the most popular material for making a knife handle is a deer or elk horn. The wrinkled shell of such a natural material resembles the bark of an old tree, thanks to this property the master does not need to further process the workpiece. The crafted tortoise shell is inimitably beautiful. Thanks to the magnificent appearance after polishing, the craftsmen fell in love with this natural material. They are decorated with almost any weapon that exists in the world, from hunting rifles to knives.
Since the horns are quite strong and have sufficient viscosity, there is no need to strengthen them with rings and sleeves.
Decoration of edged weapons with animal teeth
The teeth of large animals, which are often decorated with expensive models of edged weapons, are often coated with carvings. The homogeneous structure of this material is as if created by nature itself in order to depict various carved compositions on it. Thus, the handle of bone knives becomes a wide field of activity for masters who engage in artistic carving. On the teeth of large animals depict paintings with many characters.
On expensive samples of edged weapons decorated with the teeth of dead animals, traditional Chinese and Japanese drawings are often found.
A material such as a tusk has high strength characteristics, it also tolerates strong mechanical stresses. To make a blank under the handle of a knife, the tusks are carefully polished, so that the surface of the bone acquires a beautiful and noble dark color. Sometimes the polished workpiece is tinted for a more acceptable appearance.
It is pleasant to touch the resulting handle of the knife, it is always warm to the touch. Due to this property, the owners of these blades call their weapons alive, treat them accordingly with care and accuracy, as a living being
Jewelers and artists prefer to process mammoth tusks rather than ivory. According to them, the material obtained as a result of excavations of long-dead herd animals is much higher quality, stronger and whiter than elephant tusks.
Northern peoples prefer to make battle blades from walrus fangs. Such material has a noble white color and high strength. From the fangs of the master, volumetric drawings are often cut out, as well as deep risks, where dark paint is then rubbed. These are a kind of family signs of the noble families of the peoples of the north.
Decorating weapons with a piece of tortoise shell
After processing, the hard shell of the turtle turns into a homogeneous mass, which is very similar in color to amber. Due to the too high price, such material is used only on expensive knife models. Most often, these are folding objects of solid sizes.
Such material is perhaps the most valuable of the above. As the population of turtles in the world decreases every day, the price of shell products will increase over time. In this regard, knives decorated with such material are rarely used for their intended purpose, mainly collectors purchase them.
DIY bone knife
First you need to prepare a blade with a flat metal handle. The metal must be clean, free from corrosion and contamination. Otherwise, you need to process the workpiece with sandpaper.
The bone must be sized so that it is equal in size or exceeds the area of the handle.
Next, you should draw the shape of the future bone handle of the knife and cut off the excess parts on the workpiece using the grinding machine using a grinder.
Having fixed the bone in a vice, it is necessary to cut it across into two parts. A metal jigsaw is suitable for this task. Then the places of cuts must be carefully polished with a sandpaper, and then get rid of dust on the surface. It is desirable that the inside of the bone lining be slightly concave. This is necessary so that the edges are firmly pressed to the handle. This result can be achieved by using a grinding machine.
Knife assembly
You can glue both parts of the bone handle of the knife with epoxy or ordinary second glue, which is designed for bonding metals and natural materials (animal bones). After the surfaces are glued and exposed evenly, add a little more glue on top so that it fills all the microcracks. Next, you need to firmly clamp the product into the clamp so that excess glue flows down. They must be removed as quickly as possible with a cloth dampened with plenty of acetone. Now it remains to wait a bit until the glue is completely dry.
Additional handle mount
There is not enough glue to hold the bone material together to the metal part of the knife. In order for the weapon to serve its owner a long service, it is necessary to drill the patch in two places through and through. To do this, you need to take a drill for metal. Next, insert metal studs into the holes and roll them on both sides.
At the final stage, you should polish the bone handle of the knife manually using fine-sandpaper.
So that the natural material on the weapon does not get dirty, you need to soak it in oil. After such an impregnation, a protective coating (varnish) can be applied after 24 hours. The bone knife is ready to go.