Shrinking Buffalo Horn?

willgoy said:
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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What??? :eek: Then ..... I ..... would ..... have ..... to ..... stop ..... carrying ..... my ..... CONDUCTOR!!! :eek::eek::eek: ..... :D

Seriously, that's probably the best advice of all! Not hard to do ..... it's not like I don't like the White Owl. (Two seconds elapsed time): Done deal!

Thanks Will! :thumbup:
 
Resurrecting this thread in the hopes of an update.
I'm curious about Buffalo Horn's durability...
 
SubSpace said:
Resurrecting this thread in the hopes of an update.
I'm curious about Buffalo Horn's durability...
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Since I participated in this thread I should probably make it known that I have since sold my Dusk Buffalo Horn White Owl so I can no longer provide any updates.
 
I use a lot of buff horn on my folders. I have big chunks of horn that I just cut slabs out of but when I'm done shaping sanding and buffing the horn I'll clean it up with a rag lightly damp with wd-40 clean it really well then take a dry paper towel for any extra wd that might be on the scales then once it's dry I put 3 coat renaissance wax then wipe it all down with the same paper towel I used to mop up the extra wd. Never had any probs with shrinkage.
 
I have buffalo horn on a sword I had commissioned years back and I will say it has moved around over the years but has not effected its integrity...i notice slight changes when I have moved, especially when I came to KS. As said just keep it oiled and it'll last years.
 
I've had this Buffalo handled Ablett for a few years. I posted in a thread a while back about fixing a crack with with high impact superglue.
That has not worked. I'm just wondering if anyone has a solution to this warping problem.I can get my thumbnail under here now and thats not good.
Sorry to hijack but yours is the most relevant (sheffield buffalo) and recent thread on the subject.
I like the looks of that barlow too-just concerned that you don't have the same problem as me.
cheers
DSCN6497.jpg

I pasted this over from another thread.Since then I used a hypodermic needle and syringe to inject twopack epoxy under the offending scale.
It was not easy. The scale has bent /lifted/warped/curled away from the pin IMO severely.The repair seems to be holding up so far.As this knife has never been a regular user I point my finger at
improperly cured /stabilised buffalo horn.
cheers.
 
Its my understanding from a good friend and blade smith (who made my sword) that you cannot stabilize buffalo horn...it is what it is and is best used on fixed blades rather than thin slabs or like bull horn and other similar materials it will warp. IIRC you can mold horn under high heat but you'd likely need to remove the scale to do that.
 
Robert.B said:
Its my understanding from a good friend and blade smith (who made my sword) that you cannot stabilize buffalo horn...it is what it is and is best used on fixed blades rather than thin slabs or like bull horn and other similar materials it will warp. IIRC you can mold horn under high heat but you'd likely need to remove the scale to do that.
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Well that is interesting.I guess I owe Ablett an apology for castigating his buffalo.Makes sense though. With that in mind I would probably get acrylic over buffalo horn from now on.Perhaps they need to leave the horn lying around for years before using it-green horn is a term of derision is it not?
cheers
 
I'll say it showing some wear, it does look good though.
Any chance it went through the washing machine?

I have a way of washing my knives through the machine and I've always wondered what would happen to Buffalo horn?
 
I have found horn is best stabilized using tincture of time before working it. Fresh horn seems to be most prone to warp.
I suggest Mink Oil (without silicone), Lanolin, Tree Wax, mineral oil and last week I tried some neatsfoot oil on an old buffalo horn powder horn, seems to be working well but see what happens over time.

The best is oil from our higher more developed species. Sperm whale oil and today the natural oil from behind your ear or from the side of your nose, or your hands, unless you happen to be one of those rare individuals who can touch a blade and leave rust in minutes. These are rare individuals who are cursed with this problem, but I have known two.
 
abb846ce.jpg
No washing machine and it's only like that on one side. Here is a quick pic of the other side. I soaked the knife overnight in 3n1 with no long lasting luck. I have carried it with change and a peanut in the same pocket for about six months religiously.
 
Try an application of Lemon Oil, leave 20 mins and buff it off. Might help a bit.

Meako's point about 'greenhorn' is apt. The curing of horn in former days was complex, apparently, and it is an art which may have been lost. Otherwise, why do century old horn knives look reasonable when many contemporary horn knives often show shrink/warp? The animal bearers of those horns won't have changed radically in structure in a 100 years.
 
Wow ..... deja vu all over again! I had forgot about this thread and the issue that started it. I ended up just carrying my White Owl for a couple weeks (after the OP) and applying some natural face oil to it - no neatsfoot oil, no mineral oil, etc. I don't recall the horn "expanding" any during that time.

Fast forward to today. I haven't carried the knife any in the past four months or so and just checked it out. It's better. Not nearly as much of a "bump" when dragging a thumbnail from the scales to the bolsters, and absolutely none when going from the scales to the liners. (Needless to say there's no warping or curling - never was).

I'm wondering if this might have something to do with relative humidity? The OP was in the wintertime (February), and of course it's now summertime with an increase in humidity. I'll have to check it out again next winter to see if it's "shrunk" again.

Sidenote: Man, I forgot just how much I liked this little knife ..... it's going back in the pocket! ;)
 
Keith, humidity plays a key role. Here in Scandinavia, it's very dry and hot indoors during long winters.(less than 20% humidity!) some of my knives display drawback from the scales, come summer with humidity over 40% they all perk up greatly, stag shows this, woods too.

Another thinking aloud about horn. I've noticed on a horn Opinel and a horn Italian knife (shadow) that these knives show no problems, but both are light colour/'blonde' Whereas dark horn does show a tendency to play up. Looks like blondes have more fun than brunettes after all!

Regards, Will
 
willogoy: The art has not been lost, economics plays an important roll, it takes time to process and age horn, and as you mentioned knowledge.
 
The humidity in Wollongong is likely different to that in Sheffield. Perhaps this is a more significant factor than I thought.
hmmm.
 
I have two fixed blades with fairly thick buffalo scales. Both showed significant shrinkage. Following advice from the forum, I soaked one in mineral oil. Other than darkening it from the wetting, it did nothing.
 
Railsplitter said:
Since I participated in this thread I should probably make it known that I have since sold my Dusk Buffalo Horn White Owl so I can no longer provide any updates.
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:D The knife in question( Thank You again Rick :) ) still has everything perfectly flush, and smooth...no signs whatsoever of shrinkage...It's in my pocket right now, and just recieved a generous portion of nose oil ;)
There won't be any coins, or keys, or other knives sharing pocket space with this one ;)
 
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