Fear & Trepidation!

Hi All,
It's been a busy time in my little shop, for a few days now. The result is a really large Joseph Rodgers & Sons(~1-1/4") blade set in Musk Ox horn.
I had never worked with musk ox before, and all the studying seemed to indicate it was rather unstable. However, as my pieces were from last year, and adjusted to my shop environment for almost two months - I could wait no more. I gritted my teeth, and cut. No problems.
I cut for maximum yield so that I had enough material to accommodate this large blade. I included the bark of the horn because I liked the look of it.
Sparing you many hours of details, drilling, sanding through 2000 grit, I began to experiment on the scraps with various finishes.
Deciding to follow a tutorial by gsixgun(thanks much!) I settled on a CA finish. Not a big deal for a lot of people here, but pretty big for me. I'd never done it, and didn't want to ruin my first go with musk ox.
So, it did work, after all. And I'm sure it will be easier for me next time.
A couple small details took a lot of time. The wedge, of ivory, needed to match the contours of the bark, and I needed to make a nyon spacer/rest. I had an item of nylon(or similar) and managed to make a 1/8" tube with a 1/16" hole in it.
All the pieces were put together/ taken apart 30 times, compliments of microfastener gear. But in the end I was going to go with pins and washers I'd domed(more fear).
The result are below. After honing, with a too wide at the heel spine, it is ready for tomorrows' shave.
The blade looks much better in person!
Ed
quicknicker

That looks awesome Ed. I'm also jealous, as one of those blades has been on my hitlist for quite some time. I hope you'll be bringing her to the range house for some up close and in person inspection (and drooling).

Holli-
It will be there. If you want, you can shave with it. It only takes 8 strokes for a two pass shave! Kidding.
Ed

That horn pattern and coloring is gorgeous. The rawness of the bark goes well with the brute force of that monster blade. Good combo.

very nice, ed!

Wow. Epic razor !
The musk horn is stunning.

Stunning results there, hard to imagine it's your first effort in the material.
I totally agree, the highly polished horn together with the rough bark of it
makes a huge impact that really compliments the blade. I especially like
that you took the time to contour the wedge to match the horn bark,
very nicely done. Thanks for sharing :beer1:

Those scales are fantastic and the domed washers turned out very nice also! Well done :bow:

Stellar work Ed! :tu :tu I love the looks and finish of the horn you chose. Leaving the bark on was a good idea that added a lot of work that you performed admirably. The finished project fits the blade very nicely. I'm looking forward to an up close look at this beauty.

Really beautiful work. Congrats!:tu

Beautifull work with a very hard to get and expensive material.
Fear not,it holds up just fine long term even in a wet environment,I just use several coats of ren wax as a finish.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...k2andIvory.jpg

Thanks Pixelfixed!

Your brush handles got me started on the idea of musk ox for scales. Though it's pricey it really looks good. I hope that other peoples experiences with warpage were because it did not age enough. I put the spacer/ blade rest pin in to prevent warping. It wasn't necessary to support the razor, but now the blade doesn't rest on the scales.
I also used Ren wax as a final coat. The CA finish took a rubbing compund, and a polish in prep for the wax.
Next is a Musk Ox brush handle- though the material I have is the next cut up from the boss- so not too showy, but cool anyway.
Thanks again,
Ed
quicknicker

wellcome
Even the horn portion has a unique look to it,this one I capped with ebony for contrast.
made another capped with Ivory also,but I sold it:( not the sureal wow look of the boss but one of a kind for sure.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3.../musktoday.jpg

A few days ago I saw a Musk Ox on television and my first thought was "I wonder what a Musk Ox horn handle would look like". Soooo thanks for showing us. :rock: It was much better than I imagined although I'm sure your skills had ALOT to do with the outcome.

Jim

Really nice work Ed. I look forward to seeing it up close and personal.

Found it! I loved how this looked in person! The hunt is on.

Awesome, impressive scales. One can feel style in every detail. Great work!!!