Reindeer antlers are a great material for knife handles. Reindeer are not native to Iceland but they were brought here from Norway in 1771. The reindeers shed their antlers once year, the males in the wintertime and the females in the summer. You can read more about the Icelandic reindeer here.

While hiking the beautiful highlands of East Iceland I look for and collect the shedded antlers. Sometimes they have been laying on the ground for decades, where the lichen has burned into the antlers, dyeing them red, green or brown.