Hornswaggled

[acstoon]

I'm trying my hand at making a matched set of antler-handled sgian & dirk.
Acquired a nice 8 point rack, and have the blades on my workbench.

(alert the authorities... I'm pretty clumsy)

Here's one of the antlers, that will be used in my little project:


Nice set, lottsa character. The little prong jutting to the bottom right will be my sgian handle: fits my hand perfectly.
One of the "bases" will be my dirk handle. Not sure if I want to leave the "Y" juncture intact or not, yet.

Now, if I can only find some time....

[george7]

Looks good. I'm hoping to take my own buck in 2 weeks.

[acstoon]

Can't honestly say I bagged the buck... I've never hunted (me with a weapon? Yikes... I'm too clumsy) LOL

Good Luck, on your hunt!

[george7]

Eh, it's just a bow and arrow 16' up a palm tree. Ok, the ladder is only 6" wide and the palm tree will probably sway, but I'm pumped!

[acstoon]

Well, I made some progress, this evening.
Managed to sever the prongs I desired from the rack (Holy smoke...antler smells awful when cutting/dremeling!).
Got ye old trusty Dremel out, and made the slots for the tangs.
Hope to get some in-progress shots tomorrow.
So far, I'm pleased with my 1st attempt.

[fudgeman]

Can't wait for the pics!

[acstoon]

Here's some pix of the work, so far: (click pix to enlarge)

Sgian & dirk, on my messy workbench:


Sgian handle fits my hand perfectly:


Although it looks unwieldly, the dirk feels good to the hand:


Zeus gives a quality check:


Still have a bit of work to do on them, and I'm going to redo the scabbards in brown leather.
But at least I've got them this far.

[Panache]

Tony,

If you are using a two part epoxy to attach the blades I highly recommend going with one that takes 1 hour to set up. They tend have a stronger bond than the 5 minute "quick set" ones and you will appreciate having the time to make sure the blade is set just right and correct any errors.

As for keeping the extra prong on the dirk, the cool thing is that this is YOUR dirk and as long as it sits right in YOUR hand, then it's perfect.


Cheers

Jamie

[acstoon]

Tony,

If you are using a two part epoxy to attach the blades I highly recommend going with one that takes 1 hour to set up. They tend have a stronger bond than the 5 minute "quick set" ones and you will appreciate having the time to make sure the blade is set just right and correct any errors.

As for keeping the extra prong on the dirk, the cool thing is that this is YOUR dirk and as long as it sits right in YOUR hand, then it's perfect.


Cheers

Jamie

Thanks...
Fortunately, I have access to a secret concoction, from my lab at work, that has incredible holding power, both sheer and torsional.
Sometimes it pays to be a mad scientist.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Looks great!

Thanks...

Sometimes it pays to be a mad scientist.

What are you angry about?