How do I seal bone scales?

I

indy

Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
133
Title pretty much sums it up. I'm finishing my 1st knife with bone scales and will be ready to polish tomorrow. After it's shiny what do i use to seal the bone?

Thx.
 
It is best to seal the bone by having it stabilized before you start. Since you have already finished the knife, the best choice would be to use thin CA. Coat the bone and let soak in and cure. Sand off and repeat until no CA will soak in any more. The final; sanding will leave a smooth surface that you can sand/polish to 2500 grit by hand for a gleaming finish. You do not want the CA left on the surface like a coat of varnish, but soaked in and filling all the pores.
Stacy
 
Thanks for the replies. I just emailed the guy I bought them from to see if he stabilizes his scales before shipping them. I bought it as a kit with directions :laugh: and they didn't mention needing to stabilize. Is there any way to tell by looking if it was done?
 
My grammar in the 1st post should have read "I'm getting ready to finish my first knife(period). It has bone scales :laugh: Re-reading it I look more like a dufus than a newbie.
 
Ha, actually you look like a Dufus Newbie. Don't worry about it. This place isn't big on spelling bees and they don't correct you for grammar very often. They will give you lots of good advice.
 
ib2v4u said:
Ha, actually you look like a Dufus Newbie. Don't worry about it. This place isn't big on spelling bees and they don't correct you for grammar very often. They will give you lots of good advice.
Click to expand...

Should read:

"Ha! Actually, you look like a..."
 
If I can lose a finger during the buffing process I can probably be elevated to super dufus newbie.


Buuut back to the topic :) Seller emailed me and said they scales are treated and ready to roll. So just buff/polish and it's done?
 
Sand as smoothas possible first. At least 400 grit and I sometimes use superfine steel wool. On the buffer. If the blade is sharp you should cover the edge and maybe duct tape it. Be very careful. Hang on and don't run a corner into the buffer also to long or hard and it will leave a burn mark on your material.

Oh, darn now I have a grammar demerit.
 
As an alternate method, you can use superglue to seal all the porous parts, small cracks, etc. You can use in conjunction with an accelerator to speed the drying process. You can get both from hobby stores and it's cheaper than buying name brand at the hardware store. Don't forget to glue your hands to the handle material, the superglue bottle, and your workbench.
 
LOL, that reminds me of yesterday. I have to get a new federal ID called a TWIC card. It has to do with access to certain facilities mostly related to marine terminals and what the dept of Homeland security figures is a sensitive site. Any way part of it is getting finger prints by a glass screen and a computer that magnifys them. Of course my finger tips are ground up, callused, scarred, cut and superglued. The girl says hey did you know that skin on the ends of your fingers is all messed up. LOL. Oh really.
 
DSCF2015.jpg


Here's how it ended. Not perfect by any means, but it's going to be used so perfect would have only lasted so long anyway :)
 
DarkPilgrim said:
How do you stabilize bone, and what is CA.

That is a cool looking knife.

Thanks!
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Super glue. Just the dollar store variety will work fine. Just smear it on and sand it smooth as many times as needed to fill pores. I hate buffers and very rarely use mine so I just use sand paper and go finer in grits up to about 2000
 
CA is cyanoacrylate ......commonly called super glue. It is used to "stabilize" some handle materials.
In its very thin form it penetrates the fiber and pores of bone and ivory well. It seals these spaces, making water absorption and dirt collection much less of a problem. Not only will the handle material finish with a better shine, it will resist warp and movement much better. It is best to stabilize the bone/ivory handles completely once they have been pre-shaped. Don't forget to do all sides and ends. Repeated filling and sanding with CA , finishing it off with a 2000-2500 grit, and hand buffing with a soft cloth,will seal the handle well and leave a nice finish.
Stacy
 
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