Straight Balistol Didn't Get It Done

D

DPris

Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
1,317
Think straight mineral spirits on these two hornies might expand 'em some?
Hate to have to file on the one Chiruwa, but it's really unusable as it now sits, without a glove.
Denis
 
Maybe hooflex? Mineral oil bath for a week? Heat up a jar of mineral oil in microwave, then give a bath?

I'm sure more knowledgable individuals will be chiming in shortly.
 
Yeah, was considering the mineral oil (always confuse that with mineral spirits). That I can find easily.
Have to order Hooflex.
Denis
 
The handle on my m43 (wood) was shrunk a tad, leaving the bolsters and the chiruwa a bit proud. Not like some of the pics I've seen shown here, but enough to shred some of the callous on my upper palm. I soaked it in mineral oil for a week, and it came back a tad, but still proud. Thinking (always a bad idea for me) of either filing it down- like the rounding of edge mentioned here, or just wrapping it.
 
I would use Mineral Oil only, let it sit at least a few days or longer if you can. It will hydrate the horn pretty nicely, not too sure on the expansion but it will some but not much.
 
I don't mind filing a wood tang, but I'll tear hell out of that horn & can't re-polish it if I have to go that route.
Denis
 
cul4u01 said:
Just curious, how do you polish horn anyways?
Click to expand...

I've done some polishing of horn handles after filling cracks with epoxy or superglue. There's always some overlap where the epoxy gets on the horm around the crack and you have to sand it down.

I tape around the crack to minimize the overlap. After the cement dries I use a small, fine file to level off the epoxy or superglue. Then I sand the surface of the area, starting with 400 grit and working up to 2000 grit in steps. By the time you get to 2000 grit the horn is pretty much polished. You can go higher if you want, with polishing powders. After that, some mineral oil or Hooflex cream. (I think some people make the mistake of starting with too rough a file or sandpaper, and that's when you can get tearout.)

It's pretty easy for a small area, but I wouldn't want to do it on an entire handle.
 
I polish mine on a buffing wheel. Red rouge and a soft cotton wheel makes it smooth as glass.
 
I second Dirtbiker. I've gotten horn so slick on the buffer that I had to scuff it up or I woulda had a WWIIapult.
 
davidf99 said:
I've done some polishing of horn handles after filling cracks with epoxy or superglue. There's always some overlap where the epoxy gets on the horm around the crack and you have to sand it down.

I tape around the crack to minimize the overlap. After the cement dries I use a small, fine file to level off the epoxy or superglue. Then I sand the surface of the area, starting with 400 grit and working up to 2000 grit in steps. By the time you get to 2000 grit the horn is pretty much polished. You can go higher if you want, with polishing powders. After that, some mineral oil or Hooflex cream. (I think some people make the mistake of starting with too rough a file or sandpaper, and that's when you can get tearout.)

It's pretty easy for a small area, but I wouldn't want to do it on an entire handle.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave...I'm gonna try it.
 
You can get a mirror finish with a suite of sandpaper alone if you dont have a buffer. Work up to the highest grit sandpaper then rip the cotton hem from the bottom of your T-shirt and buff it out like your shinning your shoes. That easy. Hooflex or mineral oil it to keep it that way.
 
It occurred to me this morning (once in awhile something occurs in my head) that the slabs on a chiruwa handle are LaHa'd as well as pinned when they are installed.

The very qualities of laha (tough stuff for sure) if applied properly would inhibit any effort to swell the handle material especially at the edge where we need it most.

That being the thinnest portion of the handle slab it would be the first to dry out but also benefits from any oil it contacts even from just being held in the hand.
I've seen a few bowie handles where the laha apparently cooled before the handle was on and it didn't adhere well but it still created a non skid surface for lack of a better term.

I'm thinking this might be why we don't see better results on chiruwa applications?????

I think I'll sit here a spell and see if anything else occurs in my head today. Not likely, half man has to know his limitations ya know?
 
I'd be interested in anything else khukuri-wise that you pull outa your head, but no more "half man" stuff.
K?

You may be in a chair, but you're still you, and that makes you no less of a man where it really counts.
Denis
 
The other half is Rottweiler. I just figured anything less than half man would be false advertising.
 
What defines a man is not what's gone.
What defines a man is what he does with what remains.
Denis
 
Rottweilers are people too!
I kind of wonder if the scales that you see that have shrunk considerably might have already broken their bond and just pins are holding it and like you say the laha keeps it from sliding around. Ive seen the same thing on a micro as well when I cut mine in half. Its half Rottie as well.
 
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