I recently acquired a small piece of musk ox horn, with the intention of using it as a ferrule. The transaction went fine, the piece is the right size, and it's a nice color. It's relatively straight-grained, rather than "brainy".
So, after having the piece for a couple of days, I sanded and buffed the exposed surfaces just to see what it might look like on a knife. I have to say, matched with the right wood, it would look good.
The question is, what happens when this stuff gets wet? In another recent thread, the owner of a knife with a musk ox horn handle allowed as how the handle got very sticky when wet. This would correspond with my experience, except that my piece also gets dull. A wet thumbprint has to be buffed out after it dries to return the original gloss.
So, what's the story? Is this handle material or not? Does it have to age? Should it be coated with something? Or should the knife just be put on a pedestal?
So, after having the piece for a couple of days, I sanded and buffed the exposed surfaces just to see what it might look like on a knife. I have to say, matched with the right wood, it would look good.
The question is, what happens when this stuff gets wet? In another recent thread, the owner of a knife with a musk ox horn handle allowed as how the handle got very sticky when wet. This would correspond with my experience, except that my piece also gets dull. A wet thumbprint has to be buffed out after it dries to return the original gloss.
So, what's the story? Is this handle material or not? Does it have to age? Should it be coated with something? Or should the knife just be put on a pedestal?
Nothing Ive tried so far...
