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Thread: Lines in Black Horn
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02-05-2020, 04:18 AM #1
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Thanked: 61I 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.
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02-05-2020, 04:22 AM #2
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02-05-2020, 05:06 AM #3
I could be wrong but it might be from boiling... Try a heat lamp
Cheers
Joseph
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02-05-2020, 05:28 AM #4
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Thanked: 61A good thought, but those were there before I boiled and flattened them. Ridges had risen up on the scles, I think for being so old and dried out. A lot of them went down a bit after the soak in neatsfoot oil and then I sanded what was left flat and smooth. The scales were very hard and difficult to sand, but after the oil soak it behaved more like I would have expected it to.
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02-05-2020, 06:25 AM #5
I have been warned by people with knowledge against boiling horn or even letting it soak to long.
It messes with the fibers..
I'll have more knowledge on this as I continue my own experiments
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02-05-2020, 09:44 AM #6
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Thanked: 1077Use MAAS or similar buffing compound to finish. It will greatly reduce the appearance of the lines.
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02-05-2020, 11:00 AM #7
An old clothes iron is your best friend for flattening old, dry, twisted and curling horn.
I always sand, fill bug bites, and dye, before any soaking in oil. If I'm going to use dye, CA repairs are done last, as CA won't accept dye.
I think what you have, is a bit of delamination in the rings. Sometimes they won't come out with sanding, their just that deep. They are what they are, old.!
BTW....they look great.! For being 100+ years old.
FYI....I never sand past 600 grt., and always finish with 000 or 0000, steel wool. I steel wool them again, after they come out of oil. Then decide weather to leave them a matte finish, or polish to a high shine. Which can be done by hand, if u have no buffer.
For large bug bites, or missing pieces, I've found that mixing burnt wooden matches ground to a powder, or wood dust with a structural epoxy, makes great seamless repairs, that will except dye. Then it can be coated with CA, then sanded and polished to match the rest of the scale.
Honey horn has to be attacked in another manner, to black horn. Repairs do best from the inside of the scales, by grinding out the delamination, and leaving the outer layer ( fingernail thickness ) then filling with the T-88. Over time, the T-88 will yellow, and blend into the existing horn.
Epoxies won't polish, so I use a thin coat of CA to create a shine. Like the clear coat that protects the paint on your vehicles.Last edited by outback; 02-05-2020 at 11:21 AM.
Mike
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The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to outback For This Useful Post:
BobH (02-05-2020), Magpie (02-06-2020), markbignosekelly (02-05-2020), ppetresen (02-05-2020)
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02-05-2020, 03:36 PM #8
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Thanked: 3215The white pattern in black horn is normal and can look attractive, I often buy horn with this pattern. When buffed it is unique.
You may have to wait a couple days for the oil to stabilize or wipe with alcohol before sanding.
A wedge will keep the horn in tension and prevent them from twisting or bowing.
Sand with 600 and remove all the deep scratches, then 1000 grit. From 1k they should polish to a high luster with any good metal polish by hand or Green Stainless Steel compound and a buffer.
KarleJ has a good tutorial on making horn scales. If you don’t like the white streaks you can dye with hair dye, shoe or leather dye or a black sharpie.
Horn is inexpensive and easy to work with hand tools.
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The Following User Says Thank You to Euclid440 For This Useful Post:
ppetresen (02-05-2020)
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02-06-2020, 06:51 PM #9
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02-05-2020, 04:37 PM #10
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Thanked: 1077A ladies nail buffing file works wonders too, as horn and nails are both made up of keratin they are the same structural material.