Stained Horn Scales

Lots of staining on these scales that don’t look natural to me. Any advice how to minimize this or get rid of this?

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Stains are possibly from prolonged exposure to water?:shrug: Try giving them a good rubbing with sandpaper. It won't do the scales any harm. Hope this helps.

I've come across quite a few that the old dye is wearing off.

As said, give um a go with some 220, ya might be surprised.Attachment 344539

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If its rust you may have to cut it out, carefully. Then fill with CA or epoxy, depending on how big or deep of an area thats being repaired.

I've been able to use hydrogen peroxide to get grimy stains out but if it's rust that probably won't do it. I have never tried something like CLR because I was afraid it would damage the horn although I have thought about trying it if I find some that could be sacrificial for the sake of the experiment.
If they are delaminating and rust is getting into the cracks it can be nearly impossible to manually remove without cutting it out like outback said.

Did some sanding and definitely made progress. Most was on the surface on the inside of the scales. Some of the grime was in cracks and goes deeper. I used 220 and stopped often to check. I have to reshape that end now as they don’t match anymore. Should get more out then. Thanks for the replies.

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Nice work. Just be sure to get the insides flat. Its more important on the wedge side, but pivot side matters too.

Once you have them the way ya want, make sure to soak them in Neatsfoot oil (Pure oil) for at least a week, or longer.

I got Neatsfoot oil from a cowboy boot store. Put the scales and oil in a skinny glass jar with fishing line through the scales and a washer hanging out of the jar. Here is a picture right out of the oil.

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One of the scales had a break through the spacer end pin and someone repaired it by putting another pin through. My 1st attempt to color the epoxy went way too dark. I redid the epoxy in the extra pin hole, but am scared to redo the break so i may live with the dark line. Beginner mistake. Picture below shows the too dark epoxy on that 2nd pin hole and the blade part way thought sanding.

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Here's the original razor for comparison. Plan is to finish the blade, figure out a spacer, and put it all together.

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Don't worry about the crack. Hide it some, by putting the spots back on it.

Just finished one the other day.

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You can still see it, but not as easy.
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While your razor is apart, another option you might consider is re-colouring the entire scales in hair dye. Outback gave me the idea and helpful advice and I couldn't be happier with the result. These scales were coloured with black but lots of options with different browns etc.

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Will epoxy pick up the dye? I used JB weld clear.

Not sure about JB weld, never used it.

It doesn't take it as well as horn, itself. I found that a bit of touching up the inside of the scales with black paint, made a darker appearance.

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Then the wedge took care of the rest.
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I would recommend a heavier amount of dye to be used on the epoxy. I went fairly light, and tried it twice, before settling on using the paint on the inside of the scales.

Can't really screw it up. Just start over again, if ya don't like it. That's how I learned.! :rofl2:

But I'm more than happy to help ya along, though it takes a bit of technique, learning to blend and hide repairs. Honey horn is by far the hardest, because of its transparency.

If their in real bad shape, I'll sand them real good, make repairs with epoxy and powdered lump charcoal, bog oak, or burnt, wooden match sticks. Anything black, to use as a filler for the epoxy. Then dye them in black hair dye.

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Getting the shine back, is the use of CA as a clear coat that will polish to a high shine, something epoxy won't do.

Knowing a bit about finishing auto and boat repairs, is a plus for me in this aspect. So it does take some practice to blend repairs so their not easily spotted, or stick out like a sore thumb.

I've been slowly working on this project and almost finished sanding the blade...I hope.

I like the idea of dying the scales. It would be a shame to lose all of the natural colour and transparency. Maybe I'll try the spots or put a streak on them like that photo. Darker on the wedge side to hide the crack. If that fails, can i salvage by re-dying a solid colour?

I tried black hair dye on another set scrap horn scales. I followed the instructions on the box. Seemed to work ok. They are black now.

Is there a type or brand that works best? Would a paint brush work to put the dye on?

Appreciate any tips. Thanks.

If your going to dye the whole scale, just place them in a zip lock bag, and cover with dye. Let soak a couple hours, won't hurt anything.

If your doing spots, use a small paint brush to apply.

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If you've done spots and don't like it, yes you can dye over it. But I advise you to sand the scales again to remove the pattern left from the spots. It'll show thru the new dye.

My preferred dye brand.

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Finally finished this razor. I attempted to put black spots on the scales, but that didn't go well. Not sure where the idea for the arc came from. Not great, but I'm happy with it.

Really appreciate the feedback. Great tip for the Revlon Colorsilk. I tried another brand and it didn't work nearly as well.

Next step is improving my honing skills with these old wedges. The first shave didn't go very well.

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