Thread: First horn scales...

I bought a couple of horn blanks to make some scales for my latest Boker acquisition. The razor was ok except for rust on the spine at the tip end and into the blade. The edge was ok though. It's cleaned up really well. Some patina remains, but I think it adds to its character! The scales were no good. Very brittle and damaged. Beyond saving unfortunately. So, I've made this set to go on my Boker. Going to use buffalo horn as a wedge.

I have another blank, so I'm going to make another set of scales and take lots of photos and describe my processes and progress. I'll then post those in a tutorial style post. Hope it will help someone. Anyway, have a look at the first set...

Those look very nice. I'm looking forward to seeing how the complete razor looks.

I like the outcome, was the process very challenging?

Looking good.

Bob

Originally Posted by neehooya

I like the outcome, was the process very challenging?

No. Not too difficult. The trick is to be patient. Rushing leads to mistakes. I'm going to start the next set soon, so watch out for the photos and explanations of the steps. I find working on these very therapeutic.

The thing to look for in horn is how the grain runs - I always try and get the grain running with the scale shape. If you use a single piece of horn and cut it lengthways, you need to then check that you have both scales in the correct orientation before you start cutting and shaping.

They look good though.

Here's the finished result. You can see the patina on the razor from where I removed the rust, near the tip end of the spine and into the hollow. Adds character I think. The edge was ok though and it's honed well. Great edge. I'm happy with the result.

Great job! Horn is by far my favorite material to use, it's super durible, fogiving and above all gives it an amazing natural look to the scales.... I usually give mine a rounded out contour which I like but I have yet to make one without rounding he whole thing out.... Did u just flatten them to the width u wanted then just angle the edge off? What material do u usually go with?

Thanks Dafonz6987. I'm planning on doing another set soon and I'm going to take lots of photos to post as a tutorial. The horn is Cows horn. The blanks were pretty thin to start with, so by the time they were smoothed off and polished, they were too thin to dome. So the edges are just contoured. I need some thicker blanks to do a full domed scale. I quite like them thin though, as you can see the patterning through the material.

Nicely done Wayne your peening looks pretty good as well.