GEC Buffalo horn

M

Marc9910

Joined
Apr 25, 2007
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What is it like durability wise? Does anyone know if it is stablized? Any problems with shrinking etc? What does it look like after a bit of wear and use. I have never had a horn handle before, any info would be great. Thanks.
 
One of my first two GECs is a horn Canoe. I bought it in January. Wears fine, no shrinking..... good material as far as I can tell. With 2000lb beasts fighting it out with the horns, I figure it must be pretty strong:

[video=youtube;MAjF5FWPidY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAjF5FWPidY[/video]
 
Thanks for that Woodrow, I was thinking along the same lines but did some searching and saw a few complaints from various sources including some semi pro knife makers. Got me thinking about it. I guess there are quality and not so quality sources for the horn?
 
I have a GEC #25 in buffalo horn. It looks to have shrunk from the brass liners just the smallest bit, not enough to bother me. The color, which was very plain at first, has improved in appearance with age.
 
Curing it properly is key I'm certain. Here in Europe, knifemakers use horn a lot, usually Bovine or Ram and have done for centuries.

It can react to very dry conditions and, I'm afraid I have heard, in the past, a number of reports of GEC horn sometimes giving problems- shrink or curl.
 
Would the horn be a good candidate for a mineral oil soak a couple times a year to prevent it from shrinking or is that more so for bone?
 
It's also been used in Nepal for sound time too!

I've had a GEC Tidioute #53 Cigar in Smooth Black Buffalo for six months now, absolutely no problems. I dare say its one of my favorite folders, not least in terms of the scale materials.

Also of note is the fact that I have used it in several of my puukko projects. They have travelled from Blighty to the US & Thailand. I have heard no issues of it being adversely affected in any of these climates and environments.
 
I got a GEC #85 in a trade, and by the time it reached me, the scales had warped. I thought I'd been hoodwinked, but I let it sit for a day, and when I checked it again, it was worse. The scales on both sides had twisted. The only thing I can figure, is the scales weren't cured correctly. The humidity that comes from living an area surrounded on 3 sides by water probably didn't help either. It was a nice knife, but the scales really bothered me, and a trip to GEC didn't help at all, so on its way it went.

I'm sure it was a fluke, but it still turned me off from Buffalo Horn on my knives.
 
I've seen a couple of reviews that said it felt kind of like a plastic more so than a natural material also. I'd like to handle one to really get a feel for it but I've just heard to many bad things and have always steered clear of it.
 
I've had this GEC #54 for 4 years. It spent the last year and a half in storage; I was convinced that the buffalo horn had shrunk when I went to pick my boxes up. Nope, the scales are solid - no shrinking, warping, or discoloration. When handling the knife, it has a little bit of texture from the streaks in the horn, so it doesn't feel like one of my other knives in GEC acrylic. I figure the more I carry it, the smoother it'll become.

8902701893_a522d21789_c.jpg
 
Woodrow-that is a great snippet of the buffalo horn in action.Man those beasts are (using the the word in its true sense) awesome.
Unfortunately the buffalo they get horns for knives from are more like this little fella-Asiatic water buffalo as opposed to African cape buffalo.
skeeta5_water_buffalo_photo_junior.jpg
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I'm glad to see I'm not alone in being wary of buffalo horn although I love the look of it. I have a Trevor Ablett knife which had warpage and had to be glued down twice. For me its a matter of not being able to handle and see before buying and then if there's a problem the return post is a forbiddingly long time I would rather avoid.
I'm leaning towards the cutting of the horn being crucial to its performance rather than any stabilising process. As we saw in Wooodrows vid they must be pretty darn stable and tough to take that punishment.
 
I haven't found a natural handle material more"alive" than buffalo horn.

- Christian
 
I just got my first buffalo horn GEC and was unaware of any problems with warping. Mine has been fine so far, and I LOVE the material. I wanted to go out and order a whole mess o' knives in buffalo horn, but now im worried.... I will keep an eye on this thread

I wonder what Gec's warranty covers on things of this nature (time span wise)?....
 
My first thought upon seeing this thread was "GEC hasn't been around long enough to be able to gauge whether or not their buffalo horn handles will shrink or warp." I'm shocked to learn that some people have already experienced this. I wouldn't expect to see any problems of this sort until after 20 or 30 years.
 
I think if it hasn't warped within the first year say. It would be OK after that. Or in other words warpage is a problem with fresh horn.
Its just a theory. Do GEC make anything with cattle horn like longhorn or hereford or those type of cattle. Is that horn as tough as buffalo? Don't see why it wouldn't be.
 
I have a Wrangler in Buffalo Horn. Too early to speak of shrinkage, but it holds up very well. I quite like the material.
 
Cow horn seems far more liable to delaminate. in my experience meako. But then, that again May be down to it being too 'fresh'. It's been used for drinking horns for long enough.

Ps. I love that pic :D
 
roninelh,

I sent mine in, and was told the scales would be replaced. I got back the same knife, same scales, same problem.

So, I guess you have the option to have the scales replaced if something happens to them that isn't your fault. Again, just my experience, and probably not typical.
 
StuntDouble said:
roninelh,

I sent mine in, and was told the scales would be replaced. I got back the same knife, same scales, same problem.

So, I guess you have the option to have the scales replaced if something happens to them that isn't your fault. Again, just my experience, and probably not typical.
Click to expand...

Are you saying they sent back the knife with its original scales? or same scale material with same problem? I 'm thinking the latter.
With that in mind could it be that scales are too thin for this type of material ? Though plenty of posts say there is no problem and it does look fantastic of that there's no doubt.
I mean would a fat hefty buffalo scale be as prone to warping as a wafer thin piece?
Also I believe S&M made a Texas Longhorn handled toothpick. The horn looks more green than black.(different species of cow basically). This begs the question -does the colour make a difference? -for instance is GEC black buffalo horn the same as the Dusky reddish coloured horn or the stripy black n white horn in terms of durability? I imagine that they are much the same.
 
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