Böle Tannery

Reindeer horn

Engraving reindeer horn is an art. Especially for the Sami, the Native people of the northern Nordic. They even compete in it.

One who knows is our own reindeer horn engraver Bertil, a several times Nordic champion. He normally makes extremely impressive reindeer horn knives. However, Bertil is kind enough to also make the reindeer horn plates that we use for our Rucksacks. Bertil says you need a very sharp knife, good vision and the right ink. The right ink means the cautiously grinded inner bark of alden tree, mixed with linseed oil. As Bertil is now 93, we have started looking for his successor.

The reindeer changes it antlers every year, so there should be a very generous supply of material for horn engraving. However, unfortunately, the tips of the reindeer antlers contain a very effective growth hormone that is considered a good aphrodisiac in Asia. Therefore, a lot of the reindeer antlers are exported to Asia. It’s a strange world.