Buckhorn Ferrules

masonh said:
there is a guy on here named "hawk183" or hawk something that has them
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Should buck horn ferrules cost as much as ivory ferrules?

Gene
 
JoeyInCali said:
Yes, imo.
They are better too. They don't crack.
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"Better" is relative although I might agree, but deer are not endangered and there is no shortage of them. The high demand and short supply of ivory is the reason ivory ferrules are costly among other things.

Could it be that no one wants to cut them for sale? ;)

Gene
 
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Cuedog said:
"Better" is relative although I might agree, but deer are not endangered and there is no shortage of them. The high demand and short supply of ivory is the reason ivory ferrules are costly among other things.

Could it be that no one wants to cut them for sale? ;)

Gene
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Have you cut any? from the horn? It is not the funnest thing to do, and you can go through an entire rack, and get precious few ferrule pieces that are porous free on the outside, and mostly free on the inside once bored. In that sence, you might be right about not many want to cut them for sale.

If there are several big name places you can order ivory in ferrule/joint/cap form, but there are no big name places you can order all three components in buckhorn, which one really is the short supply? Have you called up one of the large sources cuemakers buy ivory from and asked for some ferrules, and they told you they were out?

Not busting them for you, just looking at it from a different perspective. :)

Kelly
 
Cuedog said:
"Better" is relative although I might agree, but deer are not endangered and there is no shortage of them. The high demand and short supply of ivory is the reason ivory ferrules are costly among other things.

Could it be that no one wants to cut them for sale? ;)

Gene
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I got some, and there is no price for them.
PLENTY of ivory ferrules out there.
Plenty of ivory collars too.
Sambar stag collars? ;)
bones.jpg
 
I have cut them, thus the question, "Could it be no one wants to cut them for sale". I understand the experience first hand.

My questions are simply to get at the root of why they cost almost as much as ivory. No malice meant here.

As mentioned, I have cut up antler, and it is indeed no fun, but I haven't cut a tusk. I see the pressure of cutting a tusk as being huge because of the investment put forth in the purchase. I see the scarcity of these tusks and the desire to not want to produce waste or scrap and then to find a use for the scrap. I can't see just anyone cutting up a $3000.00 tusk and producing the highest yield. There are many things that tell me that buck horn ferrules should be less than ivory.

The two reasons mentioned for the buck horn ferrules being as high as they are is that no one wants to cut them and therefore there aren't many sources around. Does that mean if there was a source or two, where the supply was unlimited, the cost would go down considerably? Is there that much demand for BH? I don't know.

Gene
 
Cuedog said:
I have cut them, thus the question, "Could it be no one wants to cut them for sale". I understand the experience first hand.

My questions are simply to get at the root of why they cost almost as much as ivory. No malice meant here.

As mentioned, I have cut up antler, and it is indeed no fun, but I haven't cut a tusk. I see the pressure of cutting a tusk as being huge because of the investment put forth in the purchase. I see the scarcity of these tusks and the desire to not want to produce waste or scrap and then to find a use for the scrap. I can't see just anyone cutting up a $3000.00 tusk and producing the highest yield. There are many things that tell me that buck horn ferrules should be less than ivory.

The two reasons mentioned for the buck horn ferrules being as high as they are is that no one wants to cut them and therefore there aren't many sources around. Does that mean if there was a source or two, where the supply was unlimited, the cost would go down considerably? Is there that much demand for BH? I don't know.

Gene
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You make good points. I meant no malice either.

Because you can take a tusk, take a few measurements, cut it up into different sized squares and slabs relatively easy (yes, you have to know what you are doing to get the best yield), you get different products. There may be a lot of buckhorn around, but I just think it is too labor intensive to get the best pieces and wind up with quality blanks with efficient high speed processing. Maybe it is just what size/type I have worked with.

Maybe what could be cheap is a supplier selling short 2-3" straight raw pieces that are selected and cut for small pith and appropriate diameter?

Kelly
 
Antler sheds are available online from various sources. Here are a few :

http://www.wildernesstrading.com/antlers.html
http://www.horns-a-plenty.com/

Having picked and cut and turned a few sheds, I think that you need a fair number of antlers of a reasonable size to be assured of some useable ferrule and joint-ring pieces ... butt-cap pieces are just that much rarer (due to the size).

Dave, from Saskatchewan where we crash cars into almost 10,000 deer a year :eek: .... and the home of the Hanson buck :D
 
Kelly is right, I traded him half of My good 1st quality ferrules a while back, and threw in some seconds i believe so he could compare them first hand back when I was cutting some, so he heard in detail about My experiences and others, then He got some antler and is turning them now himself. he's got the scoop on them too.

Besides the dust being nasty stuff, and quite a bit of labor involved, they are a pain to turn, working around the curves, pith, and all. using a router sure makes things easier trimming, that is when you get the hang of center drilling them, but still You end up with alot of culls, before even cutting and turning them, you may get more than 50%. I had that much cull, from a box of tines that were specifically picked out for my uses, so who knows with buying racks. If you hand pick or have the right person doing That for You then it may help the cull percentage initially. Still even after taking the good 50% and turning those i was lucky to have 50% of ferrules that fit My standards for personal use, and then some of those even got culled for a single spot after whitening that didn't come out. I have plenty of seconds that either have some pithing, bad color, will need sealing etc. I'd be more then happy to sell all of those to someone cheap as long as they were fully aware of what they were getting, cause they are basically junk to me and my preferences, altough are usable for the most part I suppose, but My good ones no thanks, I'm not even sure I would sell them for the going price unless i really need some extra cash, because I just don't have enough of them. if I was to turn a bunch of them to sell, then they would probably be equivilent to what the guy on here sold them for, but then again the first quality are pretty exceptional to me and may would be worth more to me personally. The really good ones are fewer and farther between from My limited experience, especially if you want a solid face for capping ferrules.

I aggree with Joey, I like the way they play also, and they do seem plenty strong, atleast in a way that they don't crack as easily as ivory.

I've noticed that different densities seem like they might play differently, A lighter one seems to have a nice softer hit. Then there are some that are heavier and more solid feeling like ivory, those seem to be alittle more crisp. either type seems to Be plenty strong though. not saying they can't crack, just can't easily imagine It being a problem. Greg
 
DaveK said:
Antler sheds are available online from various sources. Here are a few :

http://www.wildernesstrading.com/antlers.html
http://www.horns-a-plenty.com/

Having picked and cut and turned a few sheds, I think that you need a fair number of antlers of a reasonable size to be assured of some useable ferrule and joint-ring pieces ... butt-cap pieces are just that much rarer (due to the size).

Dave, from Saskatchewan where we crash cars into almost 10,000 deer a year :eek: .... and the home of the Hanson buck :D
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Tell me about it...I just whacked a deer a couple of weeks ago...and yesterday on the way back from the pool hall in Battle Creek I almost hit 3 more...:mad:
 
:D
Craig Fales said:
Tell me about it...I just whacked a deer a couple of weeks ago...and yesterday on the way back from the pool hall in Battle Creek I almost hit 3 more...:mad:
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But it's inhumane to shoot them according to the Bambiists?:D
 
JoeyInCali said:
:D
But it's inhumane to shoot them according to the Bambiists?:D
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I'll bet a nice vension steak marinated in Italian dressing then barbequed briefly over a very hot grill would change their minds :D

And ya, I think the folks in northern Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota etc know all about those peksy beasts and the damage they can do. But it's not all bad ... a buddy was behind a lady who hit a young deer. After ensuring the lady and her car were OK (not completely of course), she left and buddy deftly removed the tenderloins after dragging the carcass into the ditch .... excellent fresh road-kill for dinner , mmmmmmmm :)

Dave, hungry :o
 
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I talked to a guy this wknd who says he boils the crooked ones for 10 mins,puts them in a vice and straightens them alot before he cuts them,He says they stay fairly straight when they dry,ill try this soon,cut them up and see
 
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