Question for people who do a lot of knifework, how do you do the handle? I have a 14 inch dagger i'm trying to mount and a) cylinders of ebony or buffalo horn are hard to come by and buffalo horn (I haven't tried ebony yet) is EXTREMELY hard to drill through! Even with a drill press the bit deflected and the piece split. What I'm wondering is if I could route out a channel in 2 knife scales, which are easier to come by, and glue them together under a press to produce a decent handle. Anyone have any other ideas? Know where to get pre-bored handle blanks? Thanks for any information anyone can provide.

With material like buffalo horn which is tough rather than hard, and rather stringy try using a straight flute drill and a flatter less agressive edge. I've found that it works better in no metallic materials like bowling balls, plastics, bone, and cow horn.

I have worked with ebony, and I have worked with antler, many woods, and synthetics. But I have not worked with buffalo horn yet. Planning a horn and snowflake obsidian handle so I would like to hear what you come up with. I was going to layer narrow segments of the obsidian in between larger elements of the horn. I have never had too much trouble drilling materials if I go very slowly and let the bit cut. Including on Rams horn(similar perhaps to the buffalo). Let us know how it goes. Also Jantz Supply (Jantz Supply - #1 Source for Knife Making Supplies) might have pre drilled in buffalo horn, I have used mammoth tooth from them pre drilled and all of the handle materials are stabalized. If it is not pre drilled you might ask what they would charge for that and save you the trouble. They have always been very helpful to me.

Don't know what sort of buffalo horn you have been using, cos all the pieces I have ever played with have been nice as pie.

If you're deflecting drill bits and splitting pieces of horn, you are probably using the drill incorrectly. Use a medium to fast speed, and use the press very lightly. There is rarely any need to put much force on a drill press.

Horn is basically made up of hair. The Pronghorn antelope has horn. thye sed yearly and in the fall they have grown replacements. Where they live in the colder areas it is rare for me to find any shed horns by fall. When I do they have almost decayed completely. Goats sheep and buffalo are similiar but do nto shed. IF you use any of these horns make sure you send them and have them stabilized. They process impregnates the horn completely and makes them last. If you sell a knife with horn for handles you never want to see later that the handle has decayed. With that handle goes your reputation as a knife maker. Obtain a small drill press. At times here at carports sales or thrift stores you can find a press set up that holds a hand electric drill so you can use it to drill under control. This will all get easier after a decade or so......

Handles only decay from elements. keep using it and getting hand oil on it it will be fine. Taking care of a organic handle is important to make it last. The reason you find decayed anter is the sun, Rain, "which has traces of acid", or a porcupine eating it into the pith. Stabilize...?

The problem was almost certainly that I was being too hasty; I was using a giant standing drill press in the shop I'm working in (I build scenery for a living) and managed to break an 1/8" drill bit in half just by TORQUE trying to predrill for the 1/4" final. Jantz doesn't offer predrilling as a service, but to be honest I'm just being lazy. I'll order another and post how it goes if anyone really cares. Should I use a coolant/lubrication like with steel? I still have a mark from where the original bit touched my arm after drilling out mk. 1...

Do not pre drill for a 1/4 inch hole. If you are using a nice sharp drill bit it will go thru like budda. Do not use coolants as the liquids will be absorbed and cause problems later. If you have sharp tools and work slowly it should go just fine.