Thread: Bone scales??

Ive just unpinned these scales and would like to fix them up a bit before giving them a new home.
My questions are:
A) are these bone? I dont have any bone or horn scales so i dont have anything to compare them to.
B) if i give them a light sand, do i need to coat them in expoxy or some other finish before putting them to use?
Thanks
Grant

baldy;

Judging by your photo I would defnitely say that those scales are made of bone.

Bone does not need to be coated in anything as it will serve quite well as nature made it.

You might choose to do any of the following if it pleases you.

You could lightly bleach it if you are not happy with the age-yellowed appearance (although I rather like the look, personally). I would use some regular laundery bleach thinned with water for that purpose. But if you decide to do so, first test a small, inconspicuous area on the inside of one of the scales first.

If there are any nicks or rough edges you can sand the bone with some ordinary sandpaper. There is no need to reach for the heavy grits as bone is reasonably soft and easily worked.

Of course, even simple buffing will do wonders for the stuff. A buffing compound which is correct for wood or plastic will also do nicely for bringing up a sheen on bone.

If there are any cracks in the bone scales then my best advice would be to apply some of the water-thin super glue formulas (cyanoacrylate) to the crack so that it seeps in and sets up. That should work a treat. If you don't think that the simple application of super glue is sufficient, then you can use a little bit of finely-woven white silk cloth to reinforce the repair (on the inside of the scales, naturally). Apply just enough super glue to thoroughly coat the cloth. This will not only stick the cloth to the surface of the bone, but will also make that bit of silk act in much the same way as fiberglass would.

Finally, if you have any concerns about the rivet holes in the scales you could choose to line them with some glued-in brass tubing.

- ignatz

Good advice Ignats! I couldn't have said it better. I'd use the buffer for sure. Also a little Neets Foot Oil or oil for baseball gloves gives it a nice sheen.

Definitely bone - the dark dots and small lines are a giveaway - and also a problem. In the living animal they were a series of tiny tubes that housed nerves, small blood vessels, etc. When the bone was seasoned it took on a uniform white appearance, which hid the fact that organic matter was still present in these tubes, and over the years the organic material has decayed and grown dark. Dirt also enters the open ends of the tubes for quite a distance, and I have found no successful way of restoring it to a uniform white colour.

The large darker areas are usually caused by oils and greases - both those in the many hands that have held the razor and the natural oils that remained in the material due to insufficient preparation. Sometimes volatile solvents work to a degree, but for deep-seated stains the benefit is questionable. Localised staining is usually from contact with metal and is nigh-on impossible to remove.

You could try half a lemon with salt sprinkled on it to rub the surface - an old housewifes tip that has never worked for me; using toothpaste (its mildly abrasive) and swabbing with hydrogen peroxide bleach at 20 vols strength. Hydrogen Peroxide bleach is the bleach of choice - alkaline bleaches if used at too strong a concentration can make the bone go woolly and fibrous, and get trapped in the pores to do long-lasting damage. The same goes for soaking in water - it can penetrate too far and lead to dimensional changes such as warping when it finally dries. Better to swab them with detergent-laced water and mop it off as you go.

I have worked on quite a number of bone scales, all with disappointing results except one pair. They came up reasonably white and I got rid of most of the dark matter stuck in the pores. Then I made a new wedge, pinned it and the blade in place and put them on the buffer with a clear compound. Unfortunately the compound turned black where it hit the brass pins and the buffer forced it into the pores - back to where I stated. Should have buffed them before reassembly.

In a fit I fixed them good with a hammer and made a nice new pair of wooden scales!

I've never restored bone scales but I must say as nice as those scales look, I'd just buff them a bit and be done with it. White is good, but yours have character. It's your preference that matters though. One you get a blade between them, post the pics!
Kent

Thanks for the detailed responses guys.
I went looking for Neats Foot Oil today but couldnt find it anywhere.
I did come across some glove oil for base ball mits so i might go back for that.
BTW would that be any good for strop maintenance?
Thanks
Grant

Originally Posted by ignatz

....then you can use a little bit of finely-woven white silk cloth to reinforce the repair

Thank you 10,000 times over for that. It's so obvious, yet it never once occurred to me.

Originally Posted by baldy

I did come across some glove oil for base ball mits so i might go back for that.
BTW would that be any good for strop maintenance?

I would think it would work perfectly well for both applications. Basically, anything that would work well to moisturize leather will work nicely on bone. Everybody uses and recommends neatsfoot oil, because in all of the USA, and much of the western hemisphere, it is readily available, quite cheap, and does it's job well.

Living in OZ, you have different options available, but hopefully somebody will chime in. If not, what you're looking for is a light liquid leather conditioner. FYI, neatsfoot oil is about the consistency of olive oil.