Protecting Horn

[whitebar]

OK members of the P.O.G. and others who own horn handled brushes and straights with horn scales, I have a question for you. What is the latest school of thought on how to protect that beautiful horn and keep it looking its best? I know that previous posts on this subject mention the protection balm from Emsplace or using some kind of oil every now and then. Has anyone used any of these options and if so how were the results?

I'm also wondering about Renaissance Wax for this purpose. It is supposed to protect almost anything and is supposedly used by museums to protect things. Has anyone tried it on horn? Thanks in advance for revisiting this topic with me as I thought it was time for an update based on actual user experience.

 

[AFG]

The horn handles seem to dry out quickly and lose their polish. I was told by one vendor to use olive oil about once a year. Brush handles dry out a lot faster than that though. I read a post once by the handle maker in Viet Nam who said to polish with paper to get the sheen back. I've tried it without much success. I have been using Neatsfoot oil about every 90 days but that seems to dry out soon too. If the balm from Emsplace really works I guess I will have to order some. I have no experience with the Renaissance wax other than to know its highly regarded. I would be somewhat concerned about the handle getting overly slippery. I have even thought about using a diluted oil/polyurethane like Tru Oil used on gunstocks to give it permanent protection but haven't had tried it yet. I might try some on just the bottom to see what happens. I even did an internet search a few weeks ago on this and didn't really come up with anything.

 

[LeGaulois]

I use mink oil 2 or 3 times by year.

 

[woodsrider]

Stephen, I bought some of the Em's place horn dressing. It is a clear, light-viscosity oil that resembles mineral oil. Before getting the Em's dressing (which is made in Germany), I used mineral oil with about the same results.

I agree with Al in that in order to maintain a shine, you have to apply the oil fairly frequently. Soap, water and air exposure will cause the handles to take on a dull finish. So...the Em's dressing works, but I'm not sure that it's any better than drug store mineral oil. I also use mineral oil on wooden kitchen cutting boards, so I would assume that it would be just fine for natural horn.

 

[lax1mxr]

I use renaissance wax on all of my horn handles..brushes and razors. Works great on restorations as well. After waxing I have not noticed any dulling on shave brushes or razor scales. The handles are not slippery either. Puts a great polishe on the handles and seems to protect very well. I use several coats on the first polish, then one a year or so after that.

 

[whitebar]

I want to thank everyone for all the excellent suggestions. I have some cutting board oil that is just a fancy bottle of mineral oil and I have Renaissance wax so I'm going to take one for the team and do a comparison between them. Mink and neatsfoot oil sound interesting as well but before trying them I'll see what happens with what I already have on hand.

Tonight I took two of my horn Plissons that were beginning to dull and tried the Renaissance wax on one of them. The results were quite impressive. The shine seemed to return and it was fairly easy to apply. I did notice that the horn seemed a little slippery when I was done so I'll see how that plays out when I use it to make lather. The other Plisson is currently sitting with a coat of mineral oil on it and I'll wipe it off in a couple of hours and see how it turns out. It will be interesting to compare the longevity of these two methods and I'll report back if one of them lasts longer than the other. Stay tuned for the update sometime in the future.

 

[whitebar]

Thought I would report back to this thread after a few months have passed. Both brushes are holding up fine but the one that received the Renaissance wax treatment is definitely smoother and shinier. I want to thank lax1mxr for confirming that I should try the wax. It has turned out to be a winner and is what I will use in the future.

 

[Cuttingboard]

Thought I would report back to this thread after a few months have passed. Both brushes are holding up fine but the one that received the Renaissance wax treatment is definitely smoother and shinier. I want to thank lax1mxr for confirming that I should try the wax. It has turned out to be a winner and is what I will use in the future.

Thanks for the info...I've been wanting a genuine horn and I didn't realize that they lost their luster. Now, I know how to treat it. Is this the polish?

View attachment 100589

 

[Greyfox]

Good thread. Thanks for the info.

 

[whitebar]

Thanks for the info...I've been wanting a genuine horn and I didn't realize that they lost their luster. Now, I know how to treat it. Is this the polish?

View attachment 100589

That's the stuff!

 

[johnniegold]

My custom horn handle has definitely lost its lustre and I will definitely be obtaining some Renaissance. Thanks for the great info.

 

[ltjaw]

I thought I'd revive this thread to see if anyone has additional recommendations. I had been using Neatsfoot Compound on a couple of my horn handles until I realized that it is different from pure Neatsfoot oil. The Neatsfoot Compound contains solvent that reportedly is not so good for horn. I had been using it for 2-3 years on some of my horn handles with no detrimental effects. In fact, the horn has remained in excellent shape.

Now that I know the difference, though, I'll be using 100% pure Neatsfoot oil. After letting the oil soak in, I am going to apply Renaissance Wax.

I'm curious about another product I found locally: Natchez Solution. It is a mixture of beeswax, food grade mineral oil, and lemon oil. It is marketed for restoration and protection of wood (furniture). I wonder if it would do a nice job on horn, or if it could be detrimental? Has anyone tried it?