finishing a black horn

[malachi]

how do you get a black horn to shine ? I made one out of a green horn and all I had to do was steel wool it to shine. the black horn just looks dull no matter how long I work it. what would I use to finish it that is p.c. I'm thinking that polyeurathane or birch wood casy is not exactly p.c----- thanks for any info :bow:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't know why you want the horn to shine, but put it on a buffing wheel and use various grades of buffing compound to get that shiny finish. Original horns did not receive the benefit of power equipment, and were left dull. Who would want to carry something that shined in the woods, anyway? Handling it over years will give it a certain sheen, just from the oils in your hands, and the polishing of the horn by handling it. The sheen will be the same as that of you fingernails. Anything brighter than that looks like Plastic!

 

[Black Hand]

I'm with Paul on the matter of shine. That said, you can get a bit of a shine if you polish it with steel wool, give it a coat of beeswax, then polish with a cloth.

 

[Griz]

Johnson's paste wax

 

[Norskie]

Neatsfoot oil, very sparingly.

 

[Griz]

I was going to mention that, but I didn't know if anyone would know what it was. It is a very good idea to rub a little neetsfoot oil on all of your horns every once in a while. It will actually get into the horns top layers and keep it from drying out, giving you a longer lasting horn. If you just put a little on your hand and just rub it down real good it will help your horn and your hands will be supple and smooth :shocked2: :shocked2:

 

[malachi]

thanks for info. but I gota addmitt what is neetsfoot oil and where does one get it ?
plus I would really like to have soft and supple hands :rotf:

 

[crockett]

I use 1000 grit sandpaper from auto shops and then toothpaste as a polishing compound. Trouble is..it gets too shiny and looks like cheap plastic so I take it back a notch.

 

[GrayBear]

It's spelled "neatsfoot" oil. It is a leather preservative and helps to soften stiff leather and to waterproof it. The current container I have came from Ace Hardware.

GrayBear

 

[Birdman]

Malachi plain ol olive oil will work fine. Just dab a bit on your finger tips n then give the horn a good rub, you can tell where the oil is on the horn so just move it around in the light so ya get all of it covered. You don't need much, like the old Brylcream ads used to say" a little dad will do ya". Really no need for any fancy oil on a horn YMHS Birdman

 

[guncobbler]

"What is neetsfoot oil and where does one get it?"

And how many Neets do you have to catch to get a pint of the stuff GC

 

[rusty]

make sure you get real neetsfoot oil not neetsfoot oil compound

 

[Buffalo Bones]

After using fine steel wool, a few drops of linseed oil rubbed on a black horn will give it a nice look.

 

[AZ-Robert]

Before you wax or oil it, try burnishing it. I used the back of stainless steel spoon on a buffalo horn and it gave it a nice low-gloss sheen. It will take some time, but just rub the whole thing down and you'll get the look you want. Rub a coat of bee's wax in on top of that and you'll be golden.

A short cut is to use a cloth buffing wheel and some compound with a bench grinder or a drill. The horn will end up a whole lot shinier than you want it to be, but that shine will wear off the first time you handle the horn with BP residue covered hands. If you go with the buffing wheel routine, just don't wax or oil the horn until after you've used it a few times and it takes on the look you want it to keep.

 

[malachi]

I tried the olive oil and it gave it the look I was wanting. when I said a shine I wasn't meaning a plastic shiny type of look just something to take the dull off and the oil did just that thanks for all the info you guys are just great :thumbsup: