ABOUT BARE BONES SOLUTIONS
Our vision: To give people who degrease bones more power & control
Steve began testing bone degreasers in January 2024 because his girlfriend banned the use of ammonia as a degreaser in the house. Unbeknownst to him, this was the start of a journey with a simple sounding goal: If we know more about what going on in the degreasing bucket, we can better control it.
Starting in Winter, 2024, testing began as a passion project to explore degreasing bones. At this point, there was no concept of making products or a company. Results and progress were made public, and volunteers sent specimens from across Canada to help find a better way to degrease bones. By spring, a small network had formed across North America, offering informational support, chemicals and specimens. Steve partnered with a skilled chemical company to create a degreaser specific to bone. After months of difficult work consulting academics, deep dives into tangentially related literature and testing formulae, a formula emerged that satisfied his high standards. In late August, 2024, a successful alpha test had been conducted. Canadian bone preppers once again answered the call and a beta test began. Dozens of specimens were tested successfully over four months. The company was incorporated in late November, 2024. The conclusion in December 2024 was one of sweeping success. The oldest specimens are now over one year old with no sign of degradation.
Bare Bones Solutions gratefully recognizes significant volunteer contributions from testers, collaborators and supporters. This product is used by MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta in their bone preparations.
Our products are proudly made in Alberta, Canada and enthusiastically tested across Canada. Work on other innovative bone specific products is being explored with collaborators around the world.
Our Team
About Steve
Head of Research
Steve Kary, BSc holds a double major from University of Alberta (2008) in Biology and Earth Science. The focuses of this degree were entomology, comparative anatomy, and paleontology. He has worked as a paleontological consultant for over a decade. Most recently, he is the head researcher and founder at Bare Bones Solutions, Ltd. and a field technician with an archaeological consulting firm. He believes that collaboration accelerates progress and creativity.
About Tobi
Lab Manager
Tobi Roth is a recent graduate at Mount Royal University (2025). The concentration of her degree is Ecology and Evolution. Her interests include entomology, microbiology, and osteology. Tobi has volunteered with Steve since the spring of 2024. She currently works part-time as a science education consultant and independent bone preparator. She values applying cross disciplinary methodology as an avenue for research.
Tobi has returned from a summer student position at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum prepping specimens. She manages the lab while Steve is in the field.
About Ally
Biochemist
Ally De Jonge, BSc, holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lethbridge (2023). The focus of this degree is protein integration in living organisms. Her degree also has a significant archaeology component, including two field schools. Ally worked as an archeologist in the field for 3 years at sites in British Columbia, Alberta and Jordan. Ally started as a consultant with Bare Bones Solutions in early 2025 and moved into a volunteer biochemist position in October 2025. Ally values lateral problem solving to find unorthodox solutions.
