"carving" a horn handle

firkin

firkin

Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
2,737
I had to try it, and it worked out pretty well.

I checkered the wide ring of a horn handled 15" AK.

What I did:

cut strip of heavy paper to match handle area width and circumgerence.

laid out pattern on paper. Remember width of cuts!

Used diamonds about with about 1/4" sides. Two across on the handle area. 11 diagonal lines each way.

transfer pattern to handle (pencil), lightly scribe with exacto knife. Can sand off at this point if you change your mind!

Used x-acto chisel blade to make shallow v-notch following pattern. press straight,down, don't pry, or small pressure flakes like knapping glass can result.

Deepen and straighten cuts with hand-held hacksaw blade. Deepen using knive again. Repeat until deep as desired.

Hacksaw blade goes kinda slow, but won't cause real damage on a skipout.

Polish cuts with folded sandpaper, I finished by wet sanding with Alberto V05 hairdressing (petrolatum and lanolin). Light color of cuts won't go away without some type of dressing or proper rouge buffing which I'm not equipped to do.

Hand buffed with brown paper and it's nearly as shiny as original condition. Rouge and some elbow grease would probably take it the rest of the way.

Took a couple of hours and the looks and grip are improved.

Good luck, just go slow. I would make sure the handle has been well-treated with some kind of dressing and had a chance to stabilize before carving.
 
And especially the last part about dressing the horn well before you start the carving - With all the travel and changes, horn can have a certain amount of surface tension (heat from polishing, not tatally cured, and subsequent drying out and temp changes) and the dressing should relax this to a great degree. Otherwise, it could be like cutting the skin on a ripe grape.
 
The handle had been dressed a couple of times over the past couple of months. I wouldn't try it on one right outta the box.

Avoid the temptation to make things too small, also, the width of the cuts will be larger than might be expected. A small detail without beveled incisions might just flake off, especially if the horn later dries out.
 
Sounds great Fir!
As I've mentioned, I have 11 thumbs. I'll copy/paste these dir. to my desktop so I can print them.

As I've said, this type of stuff ought to be put in either the Howard's big FAQ or in something similar. I know my questions and those of others come up with some regularity as we all come to love these khuks more & more.
A compilation ( Walosi's Woodchuckery guide? sounds good to me!) would be easy to reference. Sanding, Oiling, Carving, etc. Sort of a Khukuri lover's cookbook.
Cliff has done some amazing stuff with testing. Walosi and Yvsa have led the way for us to make them more individualized and a part of us.
 
Where's the pix? If it looks okay Pala may have a job for you at BirGorkha. 40 cents an hour and all the rice you can eat.
 
I do like rice, but I have enough trouble paying air fare for visits to the relatives.

May eventually get a digitzed photo, need to borrow a digital camera.

Today I added a large diamond made up of 9 smaller ones to each side of the handle. Not too hard to do straight lines if you go slow. Probably a really sharp tiny wood chisel would work better.
 
Pala will pay one way fare there. Return fare is up to you but the good news is it will only take four years to earn it.
 
I think that if I were going to do that job, I would use the checkering tools that I use on rifles. You can usually pick up a set of them at some of the Gun and Knife shows. Also a set of stocking chisels for fine work.:)
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
Pala will pay one way fare there. Return fare is up to you but the good news is it will only take four years to earn it.
Click to expand...

I was offered a deal like that once before. A free one-way trip to Great Lakes, Illinois. Took me SIX years to get home!
 
I'll have to think about Pala's offer. A LONG time, in fact, I may never reach a decision. :)

I think that if I were going to do that job, I would use the checkering tools that I use on rifles. You can usually pick up a set of them at some of the Gun and Knife shows. Also a set of stocking chisels for fine work.
Click to expand...

Well I didn't get the nice pyramid-like checkering such as that on a rifle stock. It looks more like the work the kamis do on the chitlangis. The proper tools would certainly help. Fine checkering done with the right tools would certainly be nicer.

Problem is, I can't afford to get the proper tools for most little projects I mess about with. My khuks, a couple of Nicholson files plus a few special bicycle tools are about the only examples where I can say that I have the "best" tool. Otherwise I make do with a pretty motley and small tool collection. And go through lots of little folded-up pieces of emory paper.

Working on the handles is fun enough that I may look into getting the right tools. A well-equipped shop is something to work towards though.
 
Originally posted by raghorn


I was offered a deal like that once before. A free one-way trip to Great Lakes, Illinois. Took me SIX years to get home!
Click to expand...

Me too, but I got home in two.
 
Well, I looked up checkering tools on the net.

Starter kits aren't that expensive.

Anyone have an idea of how many lines/inch would work for horn? I suspect that one wouldn't want to go too fine, and might not be able to get the full points on the diamonds. Might have to work slowly, with intermediate dressings and a relaxation periods if one tried carving deep enough to get the points. I can imagine all the diamonds hopping off the handle.
 
Firkin, I have had better luck and the checkering more comfortable to handle if they are lift just a bit flat. Besides points braking off, you would soon have some very sore hands with not too many swings of the Khuk. Walnut and maple stocks are easier to work with anyway because of the flatter areas to work with. Just trying to help a bit.

I've only been collecting different kinds of tools for almost 50 years.
 
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