All About Pocket Knives

Do you guys polish rams horn knife handles like you would with bone handles or do you leave it in its natural state?
Thanks.
Jeff

Jeff I polish it. It really comes out really nice, almost acrylic like. Just don't get it too hot. Rams horn and buffalo horn like to warp when they get too hot.

Eric

ea42 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:51 pm Jeff I polish it. It really comes out really nice, almost acrylic like. Just don't get it too hot. Rams horn and buffalo horn like to warp when they get too hot.

Eric

Thanks Eric,
I appreciate the input. It’s my first time working with Rams horn so we’ll see how it goes.
Jeff

Of course, I don't make 'em but I sure do like 'em and polished is fine with me.

The "bark" can be left or polished away.
One thing to bear in mind-ram horn shrinks badly. Make sure it has been aged before using it.

I haven't worked with ram's horn so I can't say.....
BUT.... I sure am looking forward to seeing your results!

Mike

Bill DeShivs wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:07 am The "bark" can be left or polished away.
One thing to bear in mind-ram horn shrinks badly. Make sure it has been aged before using it.

Good to know. Thanks Bill!

It’s an interesting material to work with.
The fibrous nature of the horn makes it challenging to clean once it’s been polished (compound gets trapped in the fibers).
The two slabs I received from Culpepper (they were bargain priced so I wasn’t expecting a lot) were vastly different in terms of thickness. The ends were pretty much the thickness I needed to match the bolsters but the middle of the horn was really thick on one slab and really thin on the other (similar to what you might find with some stag).
It polished up nice. Some of the sections were almost transparent while other sections were opaque or solid colored.
It’s something I would probably work with again but Id want to see the actual pieces that Im buying.

Interesting material for sure!
I love the way it looks when polished.
Great job on the re-handle job Jeff!

I'm gonna have to try me some of that stuff!