Thread: Straightening horn scales

I've just acquired a rather nice 6/8 quarter-hollow razor by Frederick Reynolds. The scales are of a light transparent horn with a few patches of reddish brown, and they are in perfect condition except that they have warped slightly and I'd like to get them straight.

I was thinking of soaking them overnight so see if this made them more pliant. Has anybody any experience of such a case?

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Originally Posted by eremita

I've just acquired a rather nice 6/8 quarter-hollow razor by Frederick Reynolds. The scales are of a light transparent horn with a few patches of reddish brown, and they are in perfect condition except that they have warped slightly and I'd like to get them straight.

I was thinking of soaking them overnight so see if this made them more pliant. Has anybody any experience of such a case?

Fixing warped horn scales - Straight Razor Place Wiki

That's an article on how to fix the warp. I've only dealt with a few pairs of horn scales and never had to fix a warp. Once they're straight you can soak them in oil (I use mineral oil for 24-hours) and then sand them to a polish if necessary.

EDIT: what Jimmy said.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

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restore section here.

Thank you Jimmy, and commiecat. Glad to hear that boiling water will not
harm the horn.

On another point, I could not be sure that the scales were not of celluloid or
some similar synthetic material, especially since "The Old English Razor" is
stamped or pressed into the material. To test this I took some very fine
shavings from the edge of the scales using a scalpel blade and made a tiny
heap of them on the blade of a knife, which I then held over a low flame.
The shavings carbonized and gave off just the same odour as that of
burning hair. QED : the scales are keratinous.

IME 'The Old English Razor' was hot pressed into horn back in those days along with other stuff..... phrases, designs etc. I cannot guarantee that they are horn though. Maybe if you posted a pic some members could tell you. OTOH, celluloid is extremely flammable. If they were celluloid the material would have probably flared up and burned very quickly.

Jimmy is right - slogans and all sorts of intricate designs were pressed into horn - heated up, it was the worlds fisrt type of thermoplastic! Not all celluloid is highly inflammable - when it is though, it certainly goes up quickly! If on the other hand it smells of burnt hair or nails (composed of keratin, like you surmised) then it is most likely horn.

Regards,
Neil