Restore Horn

I've got a razor in that the gentleman wants me to keep the original scales on. It's an old W&B with horn scales that are actually not in horrible horrible shape. If it was one that he planned on reselling I would have told him to put new horn on it. However, it was his grandfather's and he wants to keep it as original as possible. I can't say that I blame him.

Is there any way to rejuvenate these old scales a bit? I hit them with a small piece of 2000 grit with water just to see how they'd respond and it shined up ok. Would soaking them in an oil of some sort help bring them back. Horn experts help! :)

I'd probably put them on the buffer with some white jewelers rouge, then buff lightly with a polishing compound like flitz or similiar.
If you don't have a buffer, try some high grit wet/dry, 2.5k and up with micromesh papers, then cut it with a compound. I'm not a horn expert, but that's what I'd do.

Neatsfoot oil is made of hooves and horn. It may not hurt an older pair of scales to have a good soaking. Sanding with higher grit paper as well as using a polishing/buffing compound works as well,

I have been slowly working on some horn scales on a W&B myself.

I will be watching this thread closely as well.

just tonight I put a small amount of 5 minute epoxy on the holes. I am letting it dry and will sand it off later. I will report back. Because I did it different than some of the forum research. I chose not to use any black die in the epoxy as I didn't have any. Hopefully it will work well.

For horn I use neatsfoot oil soak.
Then sandpaper 400/600/1500, then micromesh 1500-12000.

I got an email with a post that isn't showing up on here.....interesting and weird. Anyway, just FYI for that poster, neatsfoot oil can be found at Walmart in the shoe aisles, or in sporting goods, at a farm goods store, or at a leather store. Anywhere that sells leather boots. That's what I've always used it on; leather boots and baseball gloves....mmmmmm......leather.

Thanks for the info guys. I will buy some tomorrow and see how it works. Do you literally just pour some in a tall glass and submerge the scales in it for a couple of days?

Sorry that was me asking where to get it, but then I decided it was indeed off topic, and google would have been better. Sorry all. For creating even more confusion.

Certainly not off topic. I believe this forum exists to foster conversation about topics. Neatsfoot oil was brought up. If we were sitting around a table, you would have asked the question. Why not here? No one has to fear hijacking my threads. :)

+1

I bought a razor off the bay with translucent handles that looked pretty beat up. But with some extensive sanding with 400/1500/2000 and a good soaking in neatsfoot oil (as mentioned above), the scales look very nice. I was quite surprised how well this method worked.

A glass would be a bit extreme. Use a shallow pan just a little bigger then the scales. I usually give them a wet sanding up to 2K then some micromesh up to 6000 then let them soak over night in the oil. Wipe them down good and you are good to go. I sand them before I soak them so you are not washing off/drying them back out.

I wanted to give an update. I soaked then in neatsfoot oil for 24 hrs then sanded up to 6000 grit. They look great! See?

Very nice. I just picked up a large container of neatsfoot oil last night. I am looking forward to results like yours.

Neatsfoot works so well for horn because it is the oil boiled down from hooves and horn. So.... as you soak your scales you are replacing what has been lost. Be sure to get the 100% natural stuff vs the synthetics that are being sold these days.

Here's another, better update. This is after a couple of coats of scratch-x and then around 8 coats of carnuba wax. Mirror finish from 150+ old scales.

Sidmind, if you want, post up your result here. I'd like to see them.

That looks well done. I have to admit it looks much better than I think was possible.

Thank you Bruno. I'm telling you guys, the neatsfoot oil made all the difference. It really rejuvenated the scales. When I sanded, I dipped the paper into the oil, using it like water.

Here's a couple of before shots. These things turned out soooo much better than I could have hoped. Sidmind, make sure you show us your before and after shots too!

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Originally Posted by medicevans

Thank you Bruno. I'm telling you guys, the neatsfoot oil made all the difference. It really rejuvenated the scales. When I sanded, I dipped the paper into the oil, using it like water.

Here's a couple of before shots. These things turned out soooo much better than I could have hoped. Sidmind, make sure you show us your before and after shots too!

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I am working on two different sets of horn scales right now. The first set which i didn't get photos of before. I am simply amazed after sanding, soaking in neatsfoot, and buffing. I swear I am second guessing myself, as it looks like plastic now. I had to break out the 30x loupe just to make sure I was working on the same set...

The 2nd set I am still soaking. And will post photos later.

I am having problems figuring out how to get the cracks and spots out. Trust me I have read every thing on the Internet about horn scale repair. And still stuck. But it's perhaps because I don't have the right stuff. I live in a small town and had to use what I could find at walmart.

I used 5 minute epoxy and a 94 cent bottle of black acrylic paint from the craft section.
I thought it was going to work great but when I started sanding it all came off. The voids were not exactly filled with epoxy. I might have to get the dry pigment like the "how-to showed" any one else use a common product I could buy from walmart to dye their epoxy?

Real quick, here's the completed project. It's with Larry right now getting honed. Brass stacked washers with brass pins.

Thanks for everyones' help.

WOW! Better than new!

@sidmind: try mixing your paint with the epoxy to match the scales, some epoxies can do this, read the labels or just experiment. You may also wish to try some enamel paint such as Testors model paints, a little tougher than acrylic.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

WOW! Better than new!

@sidmind: try mixing your paint with the epoxy to match the scales, some epoxies can do this, read the labels or just experiment. You may also wish to try some enamel paint such as Testors model paints, a little tougher than acrylic.

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Thank you for the advice. But thatis exactly what I did. I mixed 5 min. Epoxy with acrylic paint from walmart.
It was a total failure. Not even worth doing. As it all sanded off. Even in the wholes/cracks.

media.. Razor looks great. You should be proud..

So you are suggesting enamel testers paint and epoxy. I will be happy to try it and report back..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sidmind

Thank you for the advice. But thatis exactly what I did. I mixed 5 min. Epoxy with acrylic paint from walmart.
It was a total failure. Not even worth doing. As it all sanded off. Even in the wholes/cracks.

media.. Razor looks great. You should be proud..

So you are suggesting enamel testers paint and epoxy. I will be happy to try it and report back..

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Epoxy should work fine, but you can use superglue, also. Are the scales oils soaked or anything like that? Try cleaning the areas where you're not getting adhesion, acetone or similar might work.

Actually, now that I think about it, another possibility is you may be mixing too much pigment in.

Thanks Pete I will try that out and report back. I did add alot of paint to my epoxy. I guess I thought it needed lots...