question, how do you keep the antler from checking and cracking over the long haul?
Don't worry about it. It is made from antler, another form of bone, and the only way I could see it checking or cracking is if you threw it outside for a couple of years or buried it.
Now measures made from horn might be a different story, but if you use it often you shouldn't need to worry.
I have antleeeeer and horn measures that are 25-30 plus years old and they are still check and crack free. Some of them have changed a bit in color.
Randy Hedden