Fixing/Cleaning/Polishing/Sanding Old Buffalo Horn Pieces

M

mhutch

Joined
Mar 1, 2015
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88
Ok, so confession first. This has nothing to do with knives or knifemaking. The pieces in question are from a rifle. And I actually don't know what they are with certainty but my guess is water buffalo horn. Anywho, I figured folks here would be the most knowledgeable when it comes to dealing with odd materials like horn.
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The first issue is that the cracks are all so fine that I don't think any type of epoxy would even get into them. Thin CA glue maybe but even that may not work. I realize they'll always be more or less visible but I want to make sure nothing gets worse.

Then, the dings on the butt plate. Can I just sand those out and then polish?

Is there anything I can do to stabilize horn? Any sort of finish I should use?

How would you guys handle these pieces?

Thanks
 
Horn is pretty easy to finish. Just sand to a high grit like 1200 or better and buff gently. Don't get it hot. Don't know what to tell you about the cracks, but I'd likely try thin CA glue.
 
Use a medium-point Sharpie and soak as much ink into the cracks as you can. Let it dry a while and then use CA glue.
Clean the cracks first with brake cleaner and let dry thoroughly. The horn is either caribou or cow horn-most likely cow.
Finish by filing out the dings and sand to 400 grit. Then buff with 0000 steel wool and polish with green or white rouge. If you are using a 3450 RPM buffer, be very careful not to overheat the horn!
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. Dripping ink into the cracks is not something I'd heard of before so I'll be giving that a shot.
 
As both stated, don't get it hot. If it doesn't work out, Numrich may have a replacement.
 
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