Horn shrinkage question

D

davidf99

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Sep 27, 2011
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Greetings to all the experts out there.

I just scored a beautiful 20.5" Chitlangi with brass fittings and a horn handle -- my first horn handle. The handle has a hairline crack and slightly loose buttcap. I'm not complaining -- it was sold as a blem and the price was great. But I'd like to fix the crack and tighten the buttcap.

I can probably squeeze some epoxy into the crack, but there isn't any gap to do that with the buttcap. It moves sideways under the keeper, about 1/32" and makes noise when it moves. Obviously the laha isn't holding, and although it's a minor annoyance now, I wouldn't want it to get worse.

The handle is full tang. I could try hammering down the peened end, but it occurs to me that the hairline crack and loose buttcap probably both have the same cause -- horn shrinkage. This suggests the possibility of a safer solution.

A search turned up a thread about how to prevent horn shrinkage, but not how to reverse it. I vaguely recall someone writing that it's possible to treat a handle so the horn swells up a bit to the way it was before the shrinkage. It wouldn't take much swelling to eliminate the looseness of the butt plate. Less than 1 percent swelling would probably be enough.

Can someone suggest how to do this and what to use? Hopefully someone who has actually done it, or knows someone who did it, or can point me to a previous thread on the subject.

Obviously I wouldn't want to use anything that would leave a sticky or smelly residue, or mess up the brass fitting.

The thread that I already know about is this one. It has some good ideas but not clear about reversing shrinkage: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...orn-Treatment?highlight=horn+handle+shrinkage

Thanks in advance.

-- Dave
 
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Mineral oil works great. Buy it at any drug store.

I use a product call Oakwood leather conditioner. It has lanolin and beeswax and stays on the handle better. I coat the handle and leave it coated for a couple of days.
 
David, I'm pretty sure that once a horn handle shrinks some, that's it. You can't get it back to it's original size. :(
For ongoing protection though, I've heard people have success with a product specifically formulated for horses hooves !!
Don't know the brand name....
With the loose butt cap, there must be enough of a gap to use a syringe and inject some epoxy in there ?
 
David,
Get some mineral oil from the drugstore and get a big soda bottle or something you can put the handle in. Tape off the blade edge so you dont cut yourself, put the khuk in handle side down and fill with mineral oil until the handle is fully covered. make sure it secured so it wont tip over and leave it in for at least three/four days. This will help rehydrate the horn and might bring out some colors you don't even see. I do this with all my horn handle khuks and it works wonders, you will not be sorry if you do this, the mineral oil is very inexpensive and works great, give it a try.
 
Hooflex is the product mentioned for horse hoof protection. I use it on my horn handles. It does wonders conditioning the horn. It can be bought at Tack shops or any place that sells horse care products. It will not reverse your cracked handle, but once you repair the crack it will keep your horn products well conditioned and reduce the chance of future cracking.
 
davidf99 said:
The thread that I already know about is this one. It has some good ideas but not clear about reversing shrinkage: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...orn-Treatment?highlight=horn+handle+shrinkage
Click to expand...

Hey Man,
I tried all of this also, it may work for you. Mine had shrunk to where the front and back tangs where exposed enuff to where I could feel it when I gripped, not just running my finger over it. I had to sand down the tang to get it close to the horn. Then polished and buffed as best as possible. I have also painted thin layers/beads along the tangs of some shrunken wooden handled khuks with clear 2 ton epoxy. It holds up great if you sand where you want the epoxy to stick. I have also painted entire horn handles with lots of cracks with clear 2 ton epoxy, 2 to 3 coats with drying in between. It turns out very nice with a high gloss finish. For the Buttcap, I have filed a very small groove where the horn meets the buttcap, then ran a bead of the clear 2 ton epoxy. Shrinkage sucks, but if its a user, fix it. And if it's a display, then it wont be hurtin any hands, just fill the thin crack with superglue and try it with the edges of the buttcap also. Just sayin
 
pugs75 said:
David,
Get some mineral oil from the drugstore and get a big soda bottle or something you can put the handle in. Tape off the blade edge so you dont cut yourself, put the khuk in handle side down and fill with mineral oil until the handle is fully covered. make sure it secured so it wont tip over and leave it in for at least three/four days. This will help rehydrate the horn and might bring out some colors you don't even see. I do this with all my horn handle khuks and it works wonders, you will not be sorry if you do this, the mineral oil is very inexpensive and works great, give it a try.
Click to expand...

Agree, after I condition my handles I see colors and detail that I couldn't before.
 
repair the crack BEFORE YOU add oils and so on.

superglue for the crack. wick it in, wait at least a day or two before oils/lotions/etc. otherwise, it might not take. lightly sand with like 400 or 800 grit smooth. very lightly. wet sanding imho works best.
 
Bladite said:
repair the crack BEFORE YOU add oils and so on.

superglue for the crack. wick it in, wait at least a day or two before oils/lotions/etc. otherwise, it might not take. lightly sand with like 400 or 800 grit smooth. very lightly. wet sanding imho works best.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I know that I have to repair the crack first, and let the glue cure. I'm in no rush.

I'm wondering about the pros and cons of epoxy versus superglue. I imagine that epoxy is stronger and fills better, but superglue would be more fluid and easier to get into the crack. Is that your thought? Do you recommend any particular type or brand of superglue?

I don't plan to do any heavy work with this Chitlangi, but I still want to fix the hairline crack in the handle and the slightly loose buttcap. It's been my experience that cracks and looseness only get worse over time if they are not nipped in the bud. That probably applies to people also. :)

-- Dave
 
Thanks to everyone for the helpful ideas.

Update: So I got a bottle of mineral oil and some Devcon 2-ton clear epoxy. I taped the handle on both sides of the crack. I did a practice run filling a narrow crack in a piece of scrap wood with the Devcon epoxy. I also tried a couple of other glues for comparison. The Devcon was the best at filling the crack and it looked good when it cured.

Then I decided to wait a bit because we were due for a week of rain, and I wanted to see if the extra moisture in the air would affect the horn shrinkage. Sure enough, the crack got narrower and the butt plate movement disappeared altogether. I can't move it even if I try hard with finger pressure.

I still plan to fill the crack with epoxy and give the handle a mineral oil bath, but first I'm going to wait and see what happens after a couple of dry weeks. I'm learning more about the behavior of a horn handle -- a material that I'm not familiar with.

-- Dave
 
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