Thread: problems with my horn downunder

hmmmm ....maybe i should re-word that..
Anyhoo- i have a few pieces of horn and i am having a nightmare of a time with warping on all of them.
In Bris Vegas it is routinely over 30'C, about 10 more in my workshop, and rains a lot lately. i find the horn warps in less than a day. i heat and flatten it, and a day later warped again. Got one razor pinned and the horn seems to have warped so badly overnight that the razor went from centred to hitting a scale.
Cutting it thicker seems to reduce warping. Bit of a trade off though, as thinner scales are more aesthetically pleasing on a razor. And it still warps, albeit a bit less.
Any suggestions?
Once i finish these three, i am staying away from natural materials for a little while.
Cheers.
Adam

Adam
I'm up in Gladstone & can't say I have the same problem yet (touch wood).
I have serval black buffalo & light cown horn slabs in my shed & all are ok still even with all the rain & storms lately
where did you get the horn from or is it original scales you are have the trouble with?

Adam,

I have had similar dramas with horn. It looks ok as a slab but as it thins down it tends to warp a bit (alot). The black horn is no where near as much of an issue. The light horn that I got from Robsbits is a nightmare. I tried steaming between perforated blocks, prestressing with steam and it looks ok at first but within a couple of days its all over the place again. I ended up using the dark horn in its place. I also find that the light horn is more likely to delaminate at the edges.

Stu

I only have a small amount of the stuff, but I don't have any issues with what I have...So far.


Mick

I think the trick is, get your scales cut,shaped and pinned within no more than two hrs.Once pinned solidly they will not move.

Thanks guys.
Two hours at once in the workshop!! That's a dream.
None of this is original - it is replacing plastic and bakelite scales. All in slab form varying from 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
Yeah - i noticed the prettier the horn {light coloured, streaks, etc} the more prone to both warping and delamination. i also had some dyed horn, and was horrified to find if you steam it, or put in hot water, the dye actually begins to leech out very quickly.
It has come from a few different sources overseas. Have had issues before, but nothing as bad as this year.
Will just persevere to get these three finished and then occupy myself with nice stable synthetics for a while.... until that old natural beauty bug bites again.
Cheers,
Adam

What about lining the scales with a thin metal sheet, I think nickel silver is fairly cheap.

Sorry I can't add anything useful too the conversation. I do want to thank the OP for brightening my day with the thread title. I am sure there are more out there with problems with their horn down under. Happens at a certain age they say.

Bob

Thats the problem working with natural materials (Horn, wood,Bone, Ivory) They are all Hygroscopic,they take in and release water with changes in Humidty.
If you steam horn you are rehydrating it,needs to be clamped in place to a ridged board some times for weeks.
All natural materials have to acclimate to thier surroundings before working them.JMO

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

All natural materials have to acclimate to thier surroundings before working them.JMO

Yea, I was wondering about that too. Used to be you got hardwood flooring and stored it in the house for a good while for it to acclimatize to the relative humidity of the house before using it.

Bob