---
title: "How to Make a Custom Antler-Handle Knife"
description: "Making your own custom knife is way easier than you might think. Here's a step-by-step guide."
date: "2018-05-03"
modified: "2018-05-03"
authors:
  - name: "Aram von Benedikt"
    job_title: "Writer"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/aram-von-benedikt/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/how-to-make-custom-antler-handle-knife/"
categories:
  - "Gear"
  - "Knives"
---

# How to Make a Custom Antler-Handle Knife

![homeade antler knife](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/O56YZ2LGDRLN3635MWOJX2QIVI.jpg>)
*Jeff Wilson*

Here’s how to make your own, personalized hunting knife. You can buy a new blade to fit with the antler handle, or you can use an old blade, like this one I found while hunting in the Rocky Mountains.

## You will need:

1. Knife blade
2. A 4.5- to 5.5-inch piece of antler, preferably with burr attached
3. [Band saw](<https://amzn.to/2HewkxH/>) or [hack saw](<https://amzn.to/2K3h7Ny/>)
4. [Drill and bit](<https://amzn.to/2F762rm/>)
5. [5-minute, two-ton epoxy](<https://amzn.to/2vsSyGJ/>)
6. [Belt sander](<https://amzn.to/2Jd6574/>)
7. [Dremel](<https://amzn.to/2HO8oy4/>) or [rasp set](<https://amzn.to/2J9bKv9/>)
8. [Sandpaper](<https://amzn.to/2K3I57U/>)
9. [Steel wool](<https://amzn.to/2K37TkG/>)

## Author
Aram von Benedikt is one of *Outdoor Life’s* western writers. He has no formal credentials as a writer, only the authenticism born of a life spent in the backcountry and a library of 3,000 books. Writing for *Outdoor Life* came as an unexpected blessing, and he’s still mildly surprised every time he sees his name in print. He lives on a remote Arizona desert ranch with his lovely wife, a handful of half-wild kids, a dozen horses, half-a-thousand cows, a plethora of cactus, and the occasional, big desert muley.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/aram.vonbenedikt>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/aram.vonbenedikt/?hl=en>)