Nov 03 2007
Moose Bone Knife
In the previous post I demonstrated to you how to split the cannon bone into several blanks. To make this knife you should preferably have a quite big and broad piece. Start by grooving the bone on the places you want the bone to be cut. There are likely to be irregular edges in either end. Groove at least half way through the bone. Strike the bone off with a hammerstone or a billet.
To save on grinding, which is the slowest process, prepare the tip too. Be very careful when striking here. If you have the patience, try to groove almost all the way through. I don’t have that patience unfortunately, but I got away with it this time.
Grind the inside of the bone on a flat, rough stone. As always I recommend using water to avoid clogging and harmfull dust. When it is regular on that side, shape the tip and sharpen the edge. The final touch of the edge is made by scraping with a flake.
I cut stiff edges off my roe deer buckskin to use as handle wrapping. Wrapping isn’t strictly necessary, but to get a better grip, especially when there is a lot of blood and goo, it is recommended. The buckskin is easily cut with a flake or a biface onto a wooden surface.
Wet the strip and wrap it around while it’s still wet. This way it will get a reasonably tight grip on the bone. The finished knife, sharp enough for fish and vegetables. I also suspect it will be great for skinning larger animals.
Wow Torjus, that looks great!
beautifull knife you got there
thanks for showing us so clearly how to do this
for the handle of the knife, do you think it’s best to wrap some skin around it as you showed here or can you also stick it in a wooden piece to make a stronger handle?
greetings, Marc
Thanks Marc
I feel that this is good enough of a haft for this type of blade. The blade will be the weakest link in almost any bone construction, so hafting with wood will not only mean more work, but also create the illusion of it tolerating the same abuse that metal knives do.
Nice looking knife!