Thread: Ballistol For Healing Horn?

Im doing the self same thing with Ballistol, was going to get some neatsfoot but I already had the Ballistol and thought what if?

I'll let you know how mine turns out.

How's the speriments going?

Originally Posted by dinnermint

How's the speriments going?

Yesterday morning, before bed, I checked mine at about 8 hours elapsed time. No noticeable difference in either the scales, or the amount of Ballistol pooled around it. The fumes were quite strong when I unrolled the wax paper, though. I don't recall them being so potent the other times I've used it. But I also didn't give it time to "ferment", so to speak.

I'll try to remember to check again when I get home from work, in the wee hours.

Mine have been soaking a couple of days now and are looking a lot better, i even applied more as the first coat had been soaked up.l will probably give them a sand and shine and post some photos tomorrow if I get the time.

Success! Not perfect and you can still see some lamination but I think they turned out ok.

My 3 year old girl actually gave me a great idea, she asked if she could buff my nails and proceeded with the wifes nail file and buffer. 10mins later and also a buff with some MASS they were gleaming. (The scales not my nails by the way!)

Im sure if I used neatsfoot instead of ballistol and spent more time sanding they would have come out better but im happy with the results.



Before


After


PS don't tell the wife I borrowed her file.

Originally Posted by Crawler

Indeed. Sir FAL's generous offer will in no way keep me from doing this experiment . Right now, the only thing keeping me from already having splashed, photographed, wrapped, photographed, and posting about it is: I'm at work. But I'll get it sorted tomorrow, SWMBO permitting lol.

Soak one scale side in Neatsfoot and the other in Ballistol. Compare the resultant end and decide which did best.

I have both Neatsfoot and Ballistol on hand for many applications.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

PS don't tell the wife I borrowed her file.

I wouldn't dream of it. My mother cherished her nail buffer, of a similar 4-sided variety. My father was going to use it for something (probably destroy it in the process) and my mom gave him a look that made him stop dead in his tracks and told him "If you don't put that down, I'll hurt you and you're not getting dinner." Mostly in jest...

To my mind, once horn starts to de-laminate there is nothing that will make it attach again, certainly soaking in oil will help to prevent further loss but the the existing areas needs to be sanded out and polished up. Effectively, nail buffing is doing exactly that - it's an abrasive no matter how mild.

Originally Posted by UKRob

To my mind, once horn starts to de-laminate there is nothing that will make it attach again, certainly soaking in oil will help to prevent further loss but the the existing areas needs to be sanded out and polished up. Effectively, nail buffing is doing exactly that - it's an abrasive no matter how mild.

+1 to that. It isn't a miracle cure and won't "fix" de-lamination. It helps prevent it getting worse, and makes the rest of it healthier (or as healthy as a chunk of dead horn can be!) as well as looking much better.