I have a good Strat clone that needed steel saddles and a bone nut, to replace zinc saddles and a plastic nut (I believe you should replace both to really improve the tone). The bone is thick, so it took a pretty long time to sand it down to size, but it glued easily with diluted wood glue. Shaping the rounded top was not difficult with coarse sandpaper.
And when polishing it with finer sandpaper, the bone becomes whiter, which is good because the original color is beige-brown. Now it's cream-colored, the same as Fender's cream pickup covers. The lighter color matches the wood's color better, too.
The string slots were cut without problem using a small triangular file, I set the string separation at 35mm, nice that you can choose what suits you, unlike pre-made nuts. I left the thickness of a 0.73mm pick between the 1st fret and the strings; the usual gap is 0.60mm but the sound is fuller with a wider gap, and it leaves a provision for future wear.
Tonewise, more attack, more brilliance, and more harmonics with the steel saddles/ bone nut combo.
