What would you do with this?

yablanowitz

yablanowitz

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Apr 14, 2006
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When I pulled all my Traditional fotum knives out to take a family photo, I noticed something on my Viper from a few years back. I've never been a big fan of horn handle covers, and this reminded me why.







It didn't look like that new, but it sure does now.
 
Looks like the Horn is drying out . If I remember right , someone posted 6 or 7 years ago to put some Lanolin on them . I have a few Horn covered knives and that has not happened to them , so I have never tried . I hope someone will answer your post with a Tried Out Remedy .

Harry
 
The main issue I had with horn. on a knife that was stored for over a decade, was that the horn got eaten by worms.... I have on idea if the worms were originally in the (thick, large, ram) horn or they came later.
 
yablanowitz said:
When I pulled all my Traditional fotum knives out to take a family photo, I noticed something on my Viper from a few years back. I've never been a big fan of horn handle covers, and this reminded me why.







It didn't look like that new, but it sure does now.
Click to expand...

Sorry to see that. It is really disgusting. I don't know if (doubt) there is any recourse against the manufacturer, but I would be sure to complement them adequately.
 
I'm with you on horn, and uh-oh, I have one of those. I will have dipped mine in kerosene and linseed oil, which should retard the curling, but I'll get out my horn handles and repeat. And store in zippered snack bags. Why haven't I done that already?
 
With straights razors, to restore horn scales you soak them in neatsfeet oil. Sometimes up to a month. I occasionally apply neatsfeet oil to my razors made of horn to keep them from drying out and warping. Keep in mind, these scales are fairly thin compared to knife covers.

I've never had to do this, but I would try this procedure.

Place knife in sandwich bag, add some neats feet oil and let it soak for a week.

I would then place the knife, while still inside the bag, in a vise with appropriate protection.

Then slowly turn the vise to straighten the covers. I would leave it in the vise for two weeks.


Of course, you could always send it out for new covers.
 
Horn is such a fickle material, i had a few knives with the material and have always been wary. That is likely gonna need some slow reconditioning
 
Yeah, if it wasn't a Forum knife I'd pitch the covers and make new ones out of carbon fiber. That's what I get for living where 1095 doesn't rust.
 
abcdef said:
Sorry to see that. It is really disgusting. I don't know if (doubt) there is any recourse against the manufacturer, but I would be sure to complement them adequately.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's the manufacturer's fault, that's horn unfortunately :( A big part of it seems to be where you live, if you live somewhere hot and dry you need to take precautions. I left a couple of horn-handled knives on my coffee table a few years ago, sun got on them, and the horn peeled off, much like that. In my case, all I did was put them in a drawer and forget about them. When I looked again, a couple of months later, they were fine :thumbsup:

As I say, there's good info in the Guardian's thread for anyone who cares to look, based on real events. Or keep guessing, and experimenting, and maybe you'll fix the issue other ways, or not :thumbsup:
 
And this is why I now only buy horn that is specifically stated as Horn Tip
... not the processed, heated and pressed cheaper alternative.
My method of repair would not be recommended nor is it without a bunch of red flags
It might involve a vise and some judicious low viscosity super glue ... then treated/soaked with mineral oil or other treatment methods
Recover? ... several members specialize in that
 
Mine did the same thing, and I couldn't tame the curl in one cover. I recently posted a thread asking about aftermarket replacements. I don't mean to put him on the spot, but Mike at CK is an really good guy and sent me some replacements. He really went above and beyond in 2020 to bring us a amazing forum knife, and went WAY above expectations to help me out. I hadn't had these replacements on 15 minutes when I read your post. 20221229_132749.jpg20221229_132753.jpg
Obviously the replacements aren't horn,but gotta admit this burl is really nice! I will gladly do business with CK again. I wouldn't hesitate to buy knives from Viper in the future either.
 
Contact the manufacturer. I have 2 horn covered knives that are old and are in good shape.
 
Misplaced Hillbilly said:
Mine did the same thing, and I couldn't tame the curl in one cover. I recently posted a thread asking about aftermarket replacements. I don't mean to put him on the spot, but Mike at CK is an really good guy and sent me some replacements. He really went above and beyond in 2020 to bring us a amazing forum knife, and went WAY above expectations to help me out. I hadn't had these replacements on 15 minutes when I read your post. View attachment 2029550View attachment 2029543
Obviously the replacements aren't horn,but gotta admit this burl is really nice! I will gladly do business with CK again. I wouldn't hesitate to buy knives from Viper in the future either.
Click to expand...
That looks like Amboyna to me David . knifeswapper knifeswapper is a great guy and his shop is a great place to do business with . I looked quite some time to get a knife with Amboyna on it and also got one like your's now from him a couple of years ago .
oJ2iN3u.jpg

Carry it in good health in 2023 my friend .

Harry
 
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