shellacked horn?

Hey guys, I tried looking this up but I haven't had much luck. My straights have been in storage for a year or so, and one of them looks a bit odd. My horn scaled bengal had a bit of surface cracking a while ago, and I just sanded it smooth, and wiped it with neetsfoot. Now that area has really taken a turn, it looks like the surface is peeling in that one area (one scale starting at the pivot and about a third back, looks a bit like bark) I'm wondering if its a problem with the horn, or if it might be a shellac that is starting to go bad. would fully sanding it be worth trying, cleaning it and wiping it down with industrial metho spirits to re-constitute the shellac, or is there something else worth trying? I'd like to keep the scales in as good of shape as I can, as they are very thick, and its a heavy razor, so they keep the balance pretty well.
Thanks

Difficult to say without pics, but my guess would be the horn is de-lamianting. Have you tried soaking in neetsfoot rather than just wiping? That, together with sanding off the bits that have come loose may help. I had an old W&B that did what I think you're describing. I'll see if I can dig up some pics...

EDIT: check out this thread to see if it's similar to what yours is doing: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...rket-find.html

looks very similar. I'll have to see about finding some neetsfoot. are there any good alternatives?

In that thread I linked, Rune mentioned he used almond oil. But I've only used neetsfoot oil and so cannot comment personally on others. I do know however that neetsfoot is derived from cattle, so it makes sense to me that it would be the best stuff to replace what has been lost from horn.

Also, be aware that there are mixed out there that contain a percentage of it, but you should try to find 100% neetsfoot. I found mine in a saddlery shop. It is used quite often for treating the leather in saddles and other tack for horses, so i fyou have one of those nearby, it's probably a good place to start the search.

I just bought a 8oz bottle of Angelus brand pure neetsfoots oil off of eBay for $6.57 with free shipping. I live in Indiana and it shipped from Florida and I had it in two days, free shipping. The seller is called "leathercaresupplystore", check them out.