One of the most challenging yet rewarding materials to work with is stag-antler. The core of the antler can vary from being quite porous to almost solid, is extremely difficult to carve and absorbs stains very easily providing lots of design challenges so I am always looking for the most solid pieces I can find to work with. The antler is naturally shed yearly and this is the best material for carving as it has matured completely and so is more solid. The elongated shape of antler also limits design possibilities for netsuke since rounder shaped designs are more common. However, there is a lovely warm quality to stag-antler and it polishes beautifully. Overcoming these challenges is very rewarding and it is one of my favourite materials to use.

There used to be an elk farm not far from my studio and at one stage I sourced a lot of my material from there. They would harvest the velvet antler for the Asian market, cutting it slightly above the pedicle. At the end of the season the remaining portion would drop and the farmers would find then around the paddocks.  This provided me with quite large discs from which I could carve manju-netsuke and sometime katabori-netsuke.