Thread: What are you working on?

Originally Posted by aaron1234

Thank you but I can't seem to replicate it. It's all there because of the type of horn it is or because of the age or a mixture of both but I'm starting off with steel wool to see if I can make the grain pop on some translucent Buffalo horn.

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Apply neetsfoot. They all look great! I cannot help but think you have a great job going.
The neetsfoot oil is paramount as-finishing anything horn, IMO.

It will eventually dry and patina, except evenly, despite repairs. JMO

I have tried a few things to get horn to look aged. The satin finish produced by a 000 steel wool finish certainly helps get the grin and texture to look antique. However trying to recapture the color fade and that very fine silver color is tough. I have tried taking the finished scales and soaking them in oven cleaner, I have boiled them in household bleach, soaked them in peroxide and soaked them in hair bleach. All for a variety of lengths of time starting short and getting upwards of a week. The oven cleaner does produce some very nice colors, but not what I was looking for. I have yet to find satisfactory result, but I will continue to try when I get back to my many many projects that are just hanging. My next attempt will be to bake them at 400 until they really have a good sweat going on and are a little rubbery, and then trying the hair bleach and the oven cleaner. Hopefully one of us will find a way to get that beautiful color.

Dag-nabbitt! Perhaps I will find time to dig up before and afters of neetsfooting some old horn and letting it age for several years.
Oh! THAT would take TIME!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Apply neetsfoot. They all look great! I cannot help but think you have a great job going.
The neetsfoot oil is paramount as-finishing anything horn, IMO.

It will eventually dry and patina, except evenly, despite repairs. JMO

[emoji2] thank you! I soaked this at a scales in neat's-foot oil for 3 days and then scrub them with steel wool to clean them. They have a really nice metallic look to them. On my piece of buffalo horn I'm trying to do it speedy so I sanded it down with 60 Grit then jump to steel wool which made the grain pop out really well but once I added neat's-foot oil that grain disappeared real quickly. Now I'm going to try to soak it in neat's-foot oil for a few days and see if the horn softens up at all so that way when I run over it with the steel wool it will reach between the grain.

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This friggin bevel is taking foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...



There was some pitting near the edge. Took a chance. Set the bevel.. found a big chip. Ground a bevels width worth of steel off the edge to get past it.. just got a sticky edge again. 4 hours so far. This puppy better shave.. Har!

I need to go to bed.

Originally Posted by aaron1234

[emoji2] thank you! I soaked this at a scales in neat's-foot oil for 3 days and then scrub them with steel wool to clean them. They have a really nice metallic look to them. On my piece of buffalo horn I'm trying to do it speedy so I sanded it down with 60 Grit then jump to steel wool which made the grain pop out really well but once I added neat's-foot oil that grain disappeared real quickly. Now I'm going to try to soak it and needs for the oil for a few days and see if the horn softens up at all so that way when I run over it with the steel wool it will reach between the grain.

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But.....It hasn't been 3 days!

Unless you are leaving out what you did 3 days ago?

If you want black horn, I can help with a messy solution!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

But.....It hasn't been 3 days!

Unless you are leaving out what you did 3 days ago?

I'm starting the three-day thing today. The piece of horn in the pictures I did a long time ago.

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Originally Posted by aaron1234

I'm starting the three-day thing today. The piece of horn in the pictures I did a long time ago.

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I thought I was losing my mind!
I defer to Matt!

Originally Posted by MW76

This friggin bevel is taking foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...



There was some pitting near the edge. Took a chance. Set the bevel.. found a big chip. Ground a bevels width worth of steel off the edge to get past it.. just got a sticky edge again. 4 hours so far. This puppy better shave.. Har!

I need to go to bed.

It sounds like break time. Good night.

Yep..peel the tape, wipe it off.
Tomorrow will go much easier.[emoji56]