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question on horn scales...

I have a beautiful piece of horn to make scales from, and I don't want to screw it up. The guy I bought it from said stabilizing isn't needed, and he just polishes and waxes his. When I finish it, should I just polish/wax/buff, or should I seal it with a finish to be extra thorough? What do most do? I lean towards CA if sealing is needed on horn...
 
What he said. Horn is a wonderful material to work with and polishes to a beautiful shine and is incredibly durable.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Good horn polishes up nicely. The main problem that you might have is warping. When you slice horn for scales, often it will warp badly. Even when you buy it already sliced, sometimes when you cut out a scale, the scale will warp. You can heat horn and it will bend and take a set as it cools. Mostly, we boil it for a few minutes and press it between steel or aluminum plates. But sometimes it will just spring right back to the shape it wants to be. I like scaling in horn but I will admit I have had a few pieces that were a bit of a challenge.
 
There used to be a trade of horn pressers but probably not many in the world now.

Horn is shaped and pressed dry with heat professionally. It works really well actually. Shape after cutting from slabs to prevent later warp age.
 
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