Sharp “Knifo” Tips: How to Prepare Giraffe Bone by Johan Oosthuysen from www.KMTs.co.za‘s com plem entary How-2... Series How to prepare Giraffe bone scales Allow the bone to dry out preferably in the shade and remove all meat. You might want to bury it in moist soil for a couple of months and let nature do all the junk and smelly work for you. First cut the two heads off resulting in a nice straight cylindrical shaft. You will notice the honey comb bone structure inside the heads, these can be cut in slabs, cleaned / sterilized and impregnated with a stained resign under vacuum. This looks stunning, alternatively, you could feed it to the dogs. Cut the shaft into scale length stumps. Get a big pot and a stove, submerge the stumps under water mixed with formalin or jic - to kill any germs inside the bone structure and boil. A fatty residue will soon come to the surface, remove and continue boiling until there is no more, adding boiling water when the level drops to the bones. Sun dry for 2 to 3 days. Study the bone from the top / open end. The thickest front part of the bone is not the best, will probably crack down the centre. Rather focus on the two side walls of the bone and be prepared to write the front and rear walls off. This should result to two proper scales per stump, shape them as closely to the size you finally want them to be. Before fitting, you need to decide on the colouring and / or stabilization of the bone. The bone can be used in it’s raw form and depending on the quality and density of the piece, can be very attractive. To colour the bone, use SP Dyes - the type with a spiritus base used for leather. For best results submerge the bone in a vacuum, allowing all air to escape and the dye to fully penetrate. Alternatively cool the dye in the fridge/freezer as close to freezing point as possible, heat the bone in the microwave oven, or ordinary oven to 180 degrees or a point to hot to touch, and submurge the hot bone into the chilled dye. The bone will suck the cooled SP Dye in like a koeksister. Allow to dry. Knifemaking machines, knifemaking tools, knifemaking supplies / materials and free advice is available from www.KMTs.co.za, contact us at 087 808 2400/1, [email protected] or visit our web-site www.KMTs.co.za If you make knives you are in a danger zone and need to take all precautions necessary to safeguard yourself and people around you. Yes, you, and nobody else, not your employee, not your visitor, not your friend, not your client, not your supplier, not your advisor, not your dog - only you! By accepting any information offered in this document, you acknowledge and accept this responsibility. Disclaimer: www.KMTs.co.za, it's management, employees or author, will not be held responsible for any damage or personal injury forthcoming from information contained in this document. 22 July 2009 Page: 1 Sharp “Knifo” Tips: How to Prepare Giraffe Bone by Johan Oosthuysen from www.KMTs.co.za‘s com plem entary How-2... Series To seal the bone, use SuperGlue, apply it excessively and allow it to penetrate the bone. To stabilize the bone you need a vacuum pump and chamber. Place the bone in discardable containers, mix a thin and slow curing resign and cover the bone, pull a vacuum on it until all the air is out, release the vacuum and allow the resign to penetrate whilst still easy flowing liquid. Allow to dry and grind excess resign away. To stabilized and / or colour the bone, use the same process described above but add the colouring to the resign and mix well before adding the catalyst. Please let us know if the above was useful to you or not. We would appreciate feedback so that we can continually update this information and continue to make it available to knifemakers. Please let us know if the above was useful. We would appreciate your feedback so that we can continuously update this information and make it available to knifemakers. Knifemaking machines, knifemaking tools, knifemaking supplies / materials and free advice is available from www.KMTs.co.za, contact us at 087 808 2400/1, [email protected] or visit our web-site www.KMTs.co.za If you make knives you are in a danger zone and need to take all precautions necessary to safeguard yourself and people around you. Yes, you, and nobody else, not your employee, not your visitor, not your friend, not your client, not your supplier, not your advisor, not your dog - only you! By accepting any information offered in this document, you acknowledge and accept this responsibility. Disclaimer: www.KMTs.co.za, it's management, employees or author, will not be held responsible for any damage or personal injury forthcoming from information contained in this document. 22 July 2009 Page: 2