Scooby posted a thread about carving a powder measure from antler a couple weeks ago. I said I wanted to attempt one also so I got busy and made one for myself. I'm not an old hand at this like Scooby is but I believe this turned out OK for a first attempt.
It's made from an old Elk tine I had. The piece was a little flat on one side so I had to kind of go with the natural shape. Here's how it went....
Started by shaping & smoothing with an antique spoke shave and hollowed the center.
![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4768/26749561498_db1edd5139_b.jpg)
Working from the bottom up, mostly with files but also removing a little material with a knife.
![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4620/40579025192_c327e50bf6_b.jpg)
Working my way up with the files and knife.
![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4749/39725745065_c0e4a5dbc4_b.jpg)
Cut to length and sanded smooth, calibrated to 100 grains.
![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/38812049230_387e111516_b.jpg)
![](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/40579747132_37961c0f05_b.jpg)
I like the color now so I'm not going to stain it just yet. I'll use it for a while and see what it looks like. I'll probably try my hand at some more of these in the future but for now I've got a bunch of leatherwork to do so this kind of stuff will take a back seat for a while. Maybe I'll try a powder horn soon.