Thanks all! There is certainly a sense of accomplishment when you see them all finished. :tu
Printable View
Thanks all! There is certainly a sense of accomplishment when you see them all finished. :tu
There is not a better feeling than the one you get when you have accomplished something you didn't think was possible. You never know unless/until you try!Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMartin0321
Than you very much for your contribution!
She's a beauty! Nicely done
You mean more taper ? Dont see thick wedges in vintage razors.Quote:
Originally Posted by 10Pups
Those look great! I've been a little intimated to start a horn scale project. Don't know why, I'm definitely inspired!
I wonder if different kinds of horn are harder than others to work with. Also want to know more about warping.. I'm gonna go see if I can find some posts about horn! :)
I've worked with a lot of horn & there isn't much difference in hardness. I actually like working with it. It can come out beautiful when done! Here are some honey horn scales I made from scale blanks or slabs. The first pic is when I finished them but then a day or so later, one of them had some cracks in it after I tried mocking up a razor so I had to duplicate one scale which is in the second pic. the third pic shows the Jonathan Crooks FBU blade I was mocking up.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeT
Attachment 204836
Attachment 204837
Attachment 204838
I start out by cutting out my scales from a pattern I make. I then use some double sticky sided carpet take & put both pieces together as even as possible. I then g out to my belt sander & from one end to the other I slowly take some of the horn off at the long edges until both are nicely & evenly rounded. I then have some wet or dry sandpaper & i wet sand them starting in this order, 240, 280 , 320 , 360 ,400 ,500 , 600 ,800 ,1000 ,1200 ,1500 ,2000 ,2500 & 3000 grit & on the insides of the scales too, to get a nicer transparency to them. I then use some Maas polish with a soft rag & hand polish them out, then I use a clean soft rag & then they are shining so beautifully.
Thanks! The more I see these horn scales the more I look forward to working on them.
I thought that maas polish is for metal...? If so, I wonder if maas polish would dry the oils out of the horn. Errrr Ofcourse that is if horn is oily. I wouldn't know given my lack of experience. Is there a favorite polish among horn enthusiasts?
Will be looking for good horn now.
I don't know if there is a polish for making them shiny like the Mass does but once done you cane wash them off in soap & water, then soak them in neatsfoot oil which will help retain the luster. I have never used the neatsfoot on new sales but it does rejuvenate old horn scales. I have used Maas with no problem & I used Mothers before I started using the Maas. Either works well.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeT
I agree with everything engine says above. I used the same process to make my two sets of scales, except I don't have a belt sander and had to hand sand entirely. My final polisher is Metal Glo instead of MAAS, but it is the same idea.
I got my scale blanks from a guy on Etsy. Not sure if I can share his name (the name starts with something you dip tortilla chips in ;)), but he is selling pairs of horn blanks for $7.25 each currently.
My only other tip is to not rush it. You can always take more material away, but you can't put it back. :tu
That is some great looking horn that you got! Nice work on the scales, especially for your first set!!
