Thread: Lines in Black Horn

How does the area look under a loupe? Can you see the spot if you look at it from a low angle? May help you to see if the defect is at the surface or just what that particular piece of horn just looks like. Outback will probably be by soon, he has dealt with a ton of horn and has probably come across your particular situation. Every time I have had something that looks like your issue it’s been because of something I did.

So the long deceased bovine who donated it's horns to make scales with had came with streaks in it. So what

If you want all black, then put those scales in some black hair dye or some black leather dye.

You might need to give them a quick soak in something to remove the Neatsfoot oil, but I'd try just giving them a soak .

Just my thoughts---Have fun!

I have to agree. My firs guess is scratches from lower grits, they can have that effect, so can streaks from when the horn was grown, some light delamination can also give that effect, looking with a loupe can help reveal which you are looking at. You can fill delamination with CA. Have you buffed them at all? The open grain on old horn can grab dust and seem to suck it in. Sometimes it gets better or worse with buffing.

The horn grows in a cylinder those are growth lines the horn was cut and flattened, after an age the lines stand out more

You can soak the horn in neatsfoot for a week or two and they will lessen, most all the horn scales are dyed black

If you clean and sand them the other colors will become apparent

Hope that helps a bit

I looked with a loupe and I'm more and more convinced that it's simply striation lines. If you look at the bottom photo in my opening post you can see those same markings running along the edge of the scales too. If that's the way it is then I think there is really nothing to be done and so, instead of dying it black I think best to embrace the idiosyncrasies of the horn and try to do them honor.

Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and experience here.

Originally Posted by ppetresen

I looked with a loupe and I'm more and more convinced that it's simply striation lines. If you look at the bottom photo in my opening post you can see those same markings running along the edge of the scales too. If that's the way it is then I think there is really nothing to be done and so, instead of dying it black I think best to embrace the idiosyncrasies of the horn and try to do them honor.

Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and experience here.

Now you are thinking!

I could be wrong but it might be from boiling... Try a heat lamp
Cheers
Joseph

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The horn grows in a cylinder those are growth lines the horn was cut and flattened, after an age the lines stand out more

You can soak the horn in neatsfoot for a week or two and they will lessen, most all the horn scales are dyed black

If you clean and sand them the other colors will become apparent

Hope that helps a bit

As usual, Glen hit the nail on the head. Also, in general, the horn will be lighter coloured the younger it is, i.e. nearer the centre of the horn.

Really interesting and great photo. Do you happen to know when they go about cutting the horn, is it bisected right down the middle and then flattened, or something like cut the the centre and then flattened out in one piece (the way one does with birch bark, for instance)?

Originally Posted by ppetresen

Really interesting and great photo. Do you happen to know when they go about cutting the horn, is it bisected right down the middle and then flattened, or something like cut the the centre and then flattened out in one piece (the way one does with birch bark, for instance)?

I think it "depends". The horn is thinner & hollow near the boss, maybe useful for some applications like making a horn bow.
I don't know how it would be processed for razor scales but you can be sure that back in the day they would've wasted little.