How do you like Buffalo scales?

R

RobbW

Joined
Oct 15, 2003
Messages
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How do you all like buffalo scales on traditional slipjoints? I saw a Moore Maker that looks good to me. If I get it in buffalo, I can also get rounded bolsters, which I prefer. How does it hold up, wear & tear, and look, compared to bone or stag?

Thanks.
 
As a folder maker I DO NOT like them !! I have tried over the years on a few knives and they are the worst material to warp I have ever used. It looks really nice at first then it curls up like a ball in just a short amount of time. I have talked to several other knife makers that have gave up on the stuff.
 
I like it. It seems to hold-up quite well but can show some shrinkage. I like the variety of patterns and colouring. Just my 2p
 
heatride said:
As a folder maker I DO NOT like them !! I have tried over the years on a few knives and they are the worst material to warp I have ever used. It looks really nice at first then it curls up like a ball in just a short amount of time. I have talked to several other knife makers that have gave up on the stuff.
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Do you mean it curls up on you as a maker and is difficult to work with? Or do you also mean that it will continue to warp and shrink on the user, even after the knife is built?
 
smiling-knife said:
I like it. It seems to hold-up quite well but can show some shrinkage. I like the variety of patterns and colouring. Just my 2p
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Is this the kind of shrinkage some mineral oil will prevent/cure, or is it inevitable?

I guess I'm beginning to see why the bone-scaled knives costs more than buffalo horn.
 
I've cleaned lots of fish scales... just some newspaper and a smaller hunting knife (110 works well.). Don't really like them, but cleaning them is a problem - but must be done. I guess maybe a 120 and a LOT of newspaper for buffalo scales, just never knew they had them!

Seriously, horn is like hair - it's hygroscopic - sucks up/loses moisture content with humidity changes, causing it to grow/shrink like wood. Sealing one side - and not the other - will cause it to warp. Not sealing the ends will cause the length to shrink as it loses moisture content. If you sealed it all over, it would look more like plastic. Lose-lose, I guess. It is pretty, though.

Stabilized, like some burl woods, might be a choice. Turning raw wood is fun - but it is a large-scale version of the shrinkage/warpage problem, often remedied by submerging it in PEG1000, a polyethylene-glycol mixture, no, not 'Prestone II', that actually displaces cellular water. Has anyone tried that? It may not even take epoxy as an adhesive afterwards - and takes time.

Stainz
 
OK, thanks for the advice everyone. The link was especially helpful. I think I'll take a pass on buffalo horn and stick with Stag or Bone. I do have an ivory Dozier folding hunter. I lightly rub it down with mineral oil every couple of months and have had no problems whatsoever. Seems very stable.
 
Buffalo horn is tough stuff, and beautiful when finished, but it is "alive." I have several khukuris handled with it, unless it is properly cured, it will shrink.
 
When you say buffalo, what species is it?
Water buffalo?
Musk Ox?
Bison?

Whilst we're on it, any problems with Ram's Horn as well? I like this as scales material and feel it's a bit overlooked
 
I just checked on my buffalo-horn knives for a quick inspection. One is an antique karda and one is a modern custom hunting knife made with some sort of buffalo horn. Neither of these has any evidence of shrinkage, cracking, or warping.

My only other is a Laguiole that's about ten years old. Don't know what sort of buffalo horn was used, but it does appear to be shrinking. No cracks, but there are gaps developing at the bolsters.
 
willgoy said:
When you say buffalo, what species is it?
Water buffalo?
Musk Ox?
Bison?

Whilst we're on it, any problems with Ram's Horn as well? I like this as scales material and feel it's a bit overlooked
Click to expand...

It's water buffalo.

I believe ram's horn is quite stable. I like both domesticated and wild bighorn. They look great and have fantastic natural grip.
 
I have a couple of Kissing Crane slipjoints with jigged buffalo horn scales that have held up quite well through 15 years of regular carry. No shrinkage or warping. I like it.
 
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