Shrinking Buffalo Horn?

coyote711

coyote711

Joined
Sep 19, 2009
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I believe it was Rick (the great photographer, from the ashtray of California) - who commented in a thread a while back that he wondered if the buffalo horn on one of his GEC's was shrinking.

Unless it's my imagination I think I'm seeing the same thing. I've got a GEC White Owl in Dusk Buffalo Horn. When I rub my thumb from the horn to the bolsters I feel a little "catch" in the transition. Same from the horn to the liners. Maybe it was that way when I got it, but I sure don't remember it being that way. There aren't any gaps between the horn and the bolsters or liners. It just seems the horn is a little less "tall" than it was, if that makes any sense.

As it stands now, if it doesn't get any worse it's not going to bother me. If it does get worse there's probably not much I can do, but I'll be disappointed. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else with Buffalo Horn could chime in and comment on their knife. Thanks! :thumbup:
 
I have that same knife, Keith. Got mine about the same time you got yours. Right around Christmas. As far as I can tell the horn on mine has not changed since I got it. Mine is virtually unused though. Carried it for two days I think and it has been in storage ever since.

Our climates are about the same so that must not be the culprit.
 
Thanks Rick. Yes, I remember ... I think we got ours on the same day! Glad to hear yours is fine. I've only carried mine a day or two so it's also virtually unused. I'd guess you're having the same non-winter winter we're having. (I'm actually kinda disappointed - I like a good blizzard with -10 or -20 from time to time). :D But yeah, you're right - no climatic differences that would affect the knives. Thanks again!
 
Horn is subject to shrinking. Oil it periodically with mineral oil or something similar and it should keep it from shrinking on ya. Also recommended for Ivory and stag.
Darcy:)
 
coyote711 said:
(I'm actually kinda disappointed - I like a good blizzard with -10 or -20 from time to time). :D
Click to expand...

Man, that's too cold for me! I can hack it but I sure don't like it that cold.

On a more serious note: I know you will be keeping a close eye on that Horn from here on out. I would be very interested in knowing whether or not it gets worse. I'll check mine from time to time as well.
 
Hey Keith. As you've noted, the black buffalo horn scales on my #57 are similar to your White Owl; slightly shy width and thickness-wise at the bolsters, liner edges, shield and rocker pin, but perfectly flush against the bolsters length-wise. It's not really obvious visually; more of a tactile thing. It came that way from the factory, and hasn't changed a bit since then. Never bothered me, though I know of at least one GEC customer here at BF who returned his knife for that reason, but perhaps his scales had more settling than mine.

Seems to me that any shrinkage would result in at least a small gap between the scales and the bolsters, but these's none whatsoever. All the old horn knives in my experience that showed scale shrinkage had obvious bolster gaps. My guess is that, being a relatively soft material, the scale thickness was diminished slightly during the final polishing at the factory, either from being slightly over-buffed, or from subsequent settling after the heat expansion at the buffer. OTOH, by ram's horn GEC displays no such issues. It remains both flush all around and stable.
 
Thanks for the tip on the mineral oil, Darcy. :thumbup: I'll have to give it a try.

Rick (T) ... I'll try to remember to update this thread in a couple months regarding the stability, or lack thereof, of the horn on my knife. If yours would happen to take a turn for the worse please let us know also. (Although I feel much better now after reading (LA) Rick's comments). Re: winter .... not that I minded grilling steaks outside on Christmas day, or a few times during January also! :D

Rick (LA) ... Thanks for refreshing my memory about the horn on your #57 - I couldn't remember exactly what the issues were, but not nearly as bad as my imagination apparently made them. The fact that there's no gap between the scales and bolsters on mine had me wondering about this whole shrinkage thing, too. (How the heck could it shrink one way but not another?). Your guess about the final polishing makes a lot of sense. Thanks!
 
Keith, I've got the same knife, but have only had it a couple of weeks. It's fine now, but I will keep an eye on it. And just gave it a little mineral oil rub down!

Andrew

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Andrew ..... WOW! That is some sweet looking Buffalo Horn! :thumbup: Is that the "dusk"? Mine has very subtle shades of brown and grey, depending on the light, but no red as in yours. Your's looks great in that pic, and I'll bet it too "changes" depending upon the light. Absolutely gorgeous - thanks for posting!

(I plan on running into town this week and getting some mineral oil).
 
Andrew, LOVE that horn.

I've used neetsfoot oil to very very good effect on horn on several razor scale restores. Never used mineral oil, but NO works GREAT. Just throwing that out there.
 
Thanks, Keith and medicevans. Yep, mine's the dusk buffalo, and it does indeed change depending on the light and the angle---sometimes it just looks like a dirty brown, and other times it has the nice reddish glow. I had to really scout around to find one with that much red in it, and even so, the pile side has barely any.

Andrew
 
Heck, I've got some pure neatsfoot oil on hand - I might as well give that a try! Thanks medicevans! :cool:

Andrew, that's interesting that the pile and mark sides differ on yours. I suppose being a natural material that shouldn't be surprising, but given a choice I'd probably prefer a fairly close match from side to side. I guess that's at least partly why I've only bought one stag knife. (Don't take that as a slam against your knife - I still think it's absolutely gorgeous and I'd take one with that coloring in a heartbeat). ;)
 
I've experienced this with khukuris as buffalo horn is commonly used as a handle material. The problem arises most often when the maker uses green horn (i.e., insufficiently cured horn). Basically, the horn is used prematurely before it has fully stabilized. Sometimes it shrinks, and sometimes it even splits. Splits tend to happen with knives with fully enclosed tangs, so they aren't a problem you'll experience with pocketknives. If the horn shrinks, there's nothing to be done about it. It'll never return to its original, larger size. The most you can do is minimize the problem and keep the horn from drying out. The guys at the HI forum have gotten good results from using hair conditioner with lanolin to treat their horn handled khukuris.

- Christian
 
I have heard of some people "re-hydrating" their horn handles by putting the knife in an enclosed, airtight container with a cup or bowl of hot water in with it to humidify the container.

Of course you would want to wipe the metal liners, bolsters and blades down with oil before subjecting the knife to the humidity. Change the water out frequently to keep it hot, increasing the evaporation.
 
In the Maintence forum
folk in the know say not to use mineral oil on horn as it damages it

Wax is recomended
 
Christian is right when he says that once horn starts to retreat, curl or split, there's nothing you can do about it. Unlike bone or stag which do retreat and then recover in humid enough conditions. It is due to improper curing, problem is, how do you know if the horn's been cured before the knife maker turns it into handles? This is the main reason I steer clear of horn, it certainly looks nice and I've seen pictures of very old horn knives still in fine fettle. I've had some bad experiences with bovine horn on some good Laguioles and Ram's Horn too. On the other hand, I've got a cheap Italian knife with beautiful 'platinum blonde' horn that is shadow (bolsterless) this has shown no problems at all and it's in an environment that is rather too dry for most scales. So, it is all down to the cure.

Neeman, I've heard others say this about mineral oil too and I must say, some of my experiences with it have not been too good. I think a wipe down with it is excellent, but a soaking is more questionable. I favour Beeswax, Lemon oil (furniture polish) Antique Wax or Ren Wax found first rate results with this on all materials.
 
I had a beautiful #73 with Buffalo horn scales, after a while it "tightened" up slightly. But, it was never a major problem.
P1019985-1.jpg

Great knife, is now owned by a better man than me. :thumbup:
 
I admit to not owning my buffalo horn conductor for very long, but once a week when I give the blades a wipe down, I use the same cloth, now impregnated with some mineral oil, to rub down the handle. Not soaking it. Just wiping it down with the oil already in the cloth.
Fingers crossed, but so far, so good. And I live in the northeast, where the weather has changed dramatically from day to day this season.
 
Here's a big Thank You to everyone who has replied to this thread! :thumbup: I respect everyone's opinion and experiences regarding horn. I guess I still haven't totally decided what to do, or not do, although I'm leaning towards doing nothing or possibly giving it a light coat of wax. Thanks again, guys!
 
Keith, I reckon carrying it might be the best option. Sweat, oil from hands etc usually keeps scales looking healthy. As a side note, I picked out a CASE Med stockman in Amber Bone hat was looking a bit sorry,a day or two of carry and the scales look a treat. Moreover, this method would allow you to keep a hawk's eye on it for any shrink over the next few weeks.If this does happen, you must send it to GEC for a change of scales.
 
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