I’ve moved these from Austac’s ‘knives and sharp thinks’ thread because it had kind of taken over and i think the other thread should be left for other people to post their personal knives that are relevant to hunting…
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Couple of works in progress. Will update when handles are fitted.
Sold about half a doz over the last couple of years. I have 5 or 6 unfinished blades waiting for handles and i’m planning to finish them off and offer them up for sale. The one on the left i am finishing for myself as our rifle club prize for the dead eye.
Looks good, also looks like you will be busy for awhile.
Pm me a price for the 3rd one from the ruler @Gwion.
Anytime you have one for sale you should post it in the for sale section here👍
Waiting for varnish to dry for sanding and recoat is annoying…
Bit more work on the finish of the handle, including finer grits on the brass, and she’ll be done. Then just setting an edge. 
Do any of you guys find cast sambar or red deer antlers on your travels? I just can’t seem to get a good piece that makes a satisfactory handle out of the fallow antlers i have lying around…
Thanks mate… still learning.
Try local pet shop (a big one) there is one not far from me used to sell them go dog bones. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I think they were about $5 each. 
Cheers OB. I have seen chunks sold at pet shops but they were too short for good handles and also expensive.
OK, hence they are at the pet shop.
TBO i have never found a cast antler.
I did once as a kid, but yeah not very common I don’t think, well not in places I hang out.
I’ve got one i found years ago but am wanting to collect more for future projects. With all the sambar everywhere, there should be heaps lying about near rubs.
Planning to do a series of traditional Scottish dirk & skien dhub sets at some stage and some good size antlers would be great for these.
Yep. This is what i mean. I thought all deer shed antlers annually. I’ll have to look it up.
Isn’t this a sambar antler?
And… now it just needs the inscription but I’m too scared of wrecking it.
Thought I’d put it on each side of the brass:
“SHEFFIELD R.C.”
“DEAD EYE 2018”
I thought all antlers fell off each year, if they don’t fall off then they are horns.
From Wikipedia (the most reliable source on the interweb)
Antlers are extensions of an animal’s skull found in members of the deer family. They are true bone and are a single structure. They are generally found only on males, with the exception of the caribou.[1] Antlers are shed and regrown each year and function primarily as objects of sexual attraction and as weapons in fights between males for control of harems.
In contrast, horns, found on pronghorns and bovids such as sheep, goats, bison and cattle, are two-part structures. An interior of bone (also an extension of the skull) is covered by an exterior sheath grown by specialized hair follicles, the same material as human fingernails and toenails. Horns are never shed and continue to grow throughout the animal’s life. The exception to this rule is the pronghorn which sheds and regrows its horn sheath each year. They usually grow in symmetrical pairs.
