What bones for points?

[Matt G.]

My lady works at a meat market and I can get any beef bones I want. What bone  do you guys recommend for points? Femur shoulder blade etc...?
Thank you.

[Hunts with stone]

Leg bones are the stronger And most dense ones. Thats what I use.

[lostarrow]

Yeah but the rib ones come with tastier meat attatched. Once cooked the meat falls right off the bone  . The leg bones are the strongest. leg bones from an animal that jumps and bounds will be even stronger . I just use whatever comes from last nights supper . Can't get much more traditional than that. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Matt G.]

Thanks guys. It'll be awhile till there's anything made.

[Dan K]

Great thread.  I had the same question.  What about pork bones?  They're not jumpers but they are stout animals.

[lostarrow]

The bodies of all creatures are amazing things. They add more muscle in areas that get used frequently and they add more bone to areas that get abused.Legs that endure alot of shock will become stronger to compensate. Having said that..................... I like the taste of rib roast.

Thinking like a caveman ( as I am sometimes prone to do) If you only had on hand the scattered remains of a wolf kill that you found on a pebble beach  , would you say to yourself  "I must hold out for antelope femurs , as they are  known to be far superior "  ?   Try what you have and test it. If it doesn't work , try something else! When hunting , the point has to be durable and secure. If it only stays sharp for one shot ,as it passes through the vitals of your quarry, it's done it's job.If you can't get it sharp, its a decoration and not a point(make a cool looking necklace and sell it to tourists or something)Pretty  simple really. What do you have to lose?

[Matt G.]

Good point ( no pun intended) lostarrow.

[JackCrafty]

Any bone will work as long as it's not porous and hasn't been cooked for too long.  Raw bone is best. Dry it in the sun and remove all fat/grease by washing with detergent and warm water.  Remove marrow from bones by cutting the bone lengthwise down the center.

[Dan K]

Thanks for that Jackcrafty and Lostarrow.  I just bought a soup bone at the market to cut up and see what happens.  Like you said, all it needs to do is hit a vital and then you have all the bone you need!

[ionicmuffin]

i think that the leg is the best, however im sure you could use any that has a thick enough wall.

[stickbender]

     I used to do a lot of bone carving, and I could not tell the difference between cooked, and raw, and sun dried, that I got at a dairy bone pile.  Don't bother with pork bones, they are weak, and crumbly.  Stick to beef, and any of the deer family, and yes leg bones are best.  You can get thicker bones to taper, or cut a tail piece on it to put into the arrow slot, and you can leave a shoulder on it for the tapered arrow shaft to butt up against, and be flush with it.  If you have a lathe, you can slice the bone with a band saw, to about 1/16 - 1/8th thickness, and lightly sand out the saw marks, and use a good epoxy, and clamp these multiple layers together, and then saw them to the width, and thickness you want, and then mount them in a lathe, and you can make some really nice handles, etc.  Bone polishes up really nice, taking on a nice sheen.  Also lucky you, I wish I could get all the leg bones I wanted from a butcher.  I love to use bone marrow for soup!  But even bones are expensive!!!!  I used to buy shank meat, and boil them down, and make a nice soup, or stew, but now they are as expensive as steak!     But when you start making stuff out of bone, post some pictures.

                                                             Wayne