I've been having trouble finding bone that was both big enough and thick enough to do some decent carving into. I've spent the last month or so just collecting various bones from all over the place. I even resorted to begging for old soup bones from other SCA folks.
I tried all the local meat shops and found one selling 4 inch pieces of bone as "Marrow Bones" at a rather inflated price. Two bones for $10.00 but I went ahead and paid the price. I purchased some Red Deer bones from a farm about an hour away but found them to be to small to successfully reproduce some of the straps ends I want to do.
The largest bones I've been are to find are smoked beef bones for dogs. The company sells many sizes from the small soup bone looking ones to the jumbo, must have been a monster, beef bone. I purchased one of those and went about the cleaning process of simmering the bone in a pot of sudsy water. The bits of meat came off but the bone itself was very greasy. So much so that when I took the saw to it to cut it into pieces grease balls formed at the cut line. Way to greasy to safely use as a strap end.
The other day while we were at the feed store the spouse found some naturally smoked beef bones for dogs. They were a little expensive but they had at least one flat surface, were 8 inches long, and you got three in a pack. I asked about bone cleaning on the "Bone, Antler, and Horn Crafting" forum on Facebook and go the same directions for cleaning the bone. Simmer gently in sudsy water. So I went about cleaning the bones.
I forgot to add the soap to the first pot of bones but they simmered for 3 hours. When I pulled them out the bits of meat and skin came off easily but the gristle and cartilage would not let go of the bone. I put the bones back in the water and added 2 tablespoons of laundry soap and let them simmer for another 3 hours. This time the gristle and cartilage was slimy feeling under the hand but with some effort I was able to scrub it off and the bones are definitely useable not greasy.
The second batch of bones I decided to follow the method above that had worked so well. However, when I but the bones in the second bath I used 1/4 cp of laundry soap. Three hours later I pulled the bones out to find them very easy to scrub the gristle and cartilage off but the previously exposed bone was start white and somewhat sticky. I am presuming this is residue from the soap and will come off during the carving process. However, I will be keeping a close eye on those pieces to see if the bone is weaker than it should be.
Now that I have some bone to work with I hope to do a heavily carved strap end. I haven't decided whether I want to do the interlace pattern on the front of my goal piece, or if I want to try one of the foliage and animals heads seen in some of the earlier bronze straps ends. Either way it will be a great practice piece and I expect to find I need yet another tool to do the deep carving pieces.
