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Hollowing out a jaw bone

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WhistlingBadger:
Kept a jaw bone off my antelope this year to make a knife handle.  I have a blade that should work great.  But there's a channel through the middle of the bone that has some flesh in it--nerves I guess--and I don't know how to clean it out.  The channel seems to curve, so I can't just drill it out.  I know some of you make jawbone handles.  How do you get the gunk out?

T

bjrogg:
Guess I’ve never seen an antelopes jaw bone before.

I’m thinking it an internal cavity that holds bone marrow. I usually use compressed air and water. Along with a piece of wire to poke around with. After a good boil in water.

I’m trying to remember. I think I have used to jaw bones for two knife handles. If I remember correctly I cut both and shortened them. This also allowed better access to remove the marrow.

Hope that helps.

Bjrogg

WhistlingBadger:

--- Quote from: bjrogg on November 21, 2022, 07:00:18 am ---Guess I’ve never seen an antelopes jaw bone before.

I’m thinking it an internal cavity that holds bone marrow. I usually use compressed air and water. Along with a piece of wire to poke around with. After a good boil in water.

I’m trying to remember. I think I have used to jaw bones for two knife handles. If I remember correctly I cut both and shortened them. This also allowed better access to remove the marrow.

Hope that helps.

Bjrogg

--- End quote ---

Thanks, BJ.  The challenge with antelope is the marrow channel is really small, narrow, and curvy.  Think it's just going to take some elbow grease and a piece of stiff wire.   I'm going to have to boil this one again and soften it up.  Got some of the gunk out but only about 1/3 of the way in.  Starting to smell too, but nothing a good peroxide soak shouldn't handle.

WhistlingBadger:
OK, updating this for anybody who needs to do the same thing.  I cut the jawbone to roughly the size and shape I wanted, dug out as much of the marrow as I could get with a stiff wire (not much), then boiled it for about an hour with peroxide in the water.  After that, I was able to run the wire all the way through, drag out the remaining gunk, then soak the hole in peroxide paste again to remove any cling-ons.  Works like a champ.

Now I just have to figure out how to carve out a channel shaped like the tang...stay tuned.

Hawkdancer:
Well, you got this far!  Maybe boil the bone to soften and the hope a lot! (lol) :fp
Hawkdancer

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