I was asked to donate a knife to the NWTF auction a couple of weeks ago. The head quarters are in Edgefield, SC the next town just north of me. I said NO...but I'd forge up a knife with a turkey leg bone handle for the auction. Thought it might be fun as I've never used bird bones for a handle before. A friend gave me a turkey leg from her freezer...unfortunately after she cooked the meat off (note to myself next time get the leg with the meat for dinner). I boiled the femur and tibia bone, cut them, and boiled out the marrow, and dried them.
The femur had the nicest curve for a handle and that's what the winning bidder want for their knife (winning bid $300). That's where I ran into problems as the femur is quite thin, curved, and a twist to the marrow cavity. In order to fix that, I had to use a spike tang epoxied in and then a poured pewter bolster to add strength... still working on that one.
The tibia bone is very straight with more solid bone...much easier to build a knife. I think these will make a nice trophy for the turkey hunter...tippit
The femur had the nicest curve for a handle and that's what the winning bidder want for their knife (winning bid $300). That's where I ran into problems as the femur is quite thin, curved, and a twist to the marrow cavity. In order to fix that, I had to use a spike tang epoxied in and then a poured pewter bolster to add strength... still working on that one.
The tibia bone is very straight with more solid bone...much easier to build a knife. I think these will make a nice trophy for the turkey hunter...tippit
