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If I've missed a thread on this subject, someone please redirect me.
If not:
1) What is the process by which horn is dyed 2) Why & how often is it dyed 3) How can I tell if a piece is natural 4) Does any of this even matter 5) what is the meaning of life
I'll be much obliged for info on any of the above (especially #5).
floater
It's all here before your eyes / Safety is a big disguise ....
That hides among the other lies / They divide and conquer.
tr4252 wrote:Mr. Floater,
The answer to the question of; What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? Is..... 42.
For your other questions, I have no answers, but will ask everyone I know.
TR
TR...that's pretty funny, because I literally just finished reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last week.
Floater...to be honest with you, I've been curious about the same thing lately and have been searching for the proper method. I know I read somewhere Nemo describing the process, but cannot find it. I've been bugging the hell out him lately with questions, so I haven't had the heart to ask. I have to email him anyways, so I'll see if he can give us some direction.
Floater I have heard of horn being painted but not dyed like stag or bone. If you have a piece of say that light translucent green horn you can carefully sand nooks and ruts or one big splotchy piece inside then you fill it with white or ivory colored paint ( don't know if its oil or what type is used) dump the excess and let dry. You now have a much lighter streaked piece that when done properly you can't tell unless you took the scale off. I think it is fine to try and experiment with ones own knives,but if someone were to sell one with out mentioning it I believe that person would be fraudulent and not worth doing business with.
PB
Awhile back, I was giving a blonde Catalana the B-12 douche, when all this dye came pouring out. They put the dye in there so you couldn't see the mechanism through the translucent horn. Well, you can see the inside guts now. I know that Nemo has a pressurized dye set up in his shop, but I think it's for mainly wood scales. He posted some pics on Bills forum, if I remember right.
Best Regard's,
Bonz
"A little rebellion now & then is a good thing"
Thomas Jefferson
Mr Bonz
That makes sense. I was referring to people selling and saying what beautiful horn it has on both sides and not saing its been doctored. If my memory serves me I also read about it a few years ago on TSF and I believe DeShiv's was the author because Arlin or someone had a scale break and when they took it off they saw all this dried paint in the shell. I have a set of blondes I put together at different times and for some odd reason they look like they came from the same family although some were years apart.The front scale on all is so white that everytime I look at them the thought goes through my head.
PB
Powdered analin dyes, available in many colors from shops that cater to furniture refinishers, when mixed with ethyl alcohol will dye anything organic including wood, bone, horn, and you. If you ever use this stuff, wear long gloves, eye protection or a face sheild, and old clothes. The liquid dye seems to want to jump out of its container and make you Mr. Polkadot. Does it sound like I'm speaking from experience?
I hope Chad doesn't mind but I copied his response regarding thing question:
...dyeing bone is not the easiest thing in the world.I tried a vacuum.but it doesn't work very well....so now I take it to my buddies and use his compression chamber I could never afford....it pushes the dye right in..and I use clothing dye cause the alcohol stuff will mess up his machine....anytime you need dyed bone.let me know.I almost have it down to a science.....if you don't have the equipment.you can try aneline dye.it is alcohol based ind gets in there pretty good just soaking it .it won't go all the way through.but it does a pretty good job.
Hope this helps. I think I will not be attempting this. Beside camel bone looks nice with it's purple hues already. Has anyone seen Nemo's awesome multicoloured dyed bone. He has a beautiful hubie camper he fabbed up on his site.
Ahhhhhhhh...I don't mind at all!!!..... ....I have tried to dye horn and it will go in there just fine....the problem is getting it to stay....horn is not solid ...it is actually layers of growth..so I can get the dye in between those layers...but as soon as it gets wet or gets a mineral oil bath...it all just comes pouring out...so I gave up and will not dye it for anyone until I figure out how to make it last forever...but so far with lots of research ...trial and error ......no luck.....now bone is a whole other story..I have that down pretty good....I just put lots of it up on auction....not trying to get anyone to buy it....just check out the colors!...if it doesn't sell ....you will see lots of custom Mikovs with dyed bone here soon...... ..Nemo
Horn shouldn't die anyway it should live free on the open range where it can grow big, strong, proud and a credit to its species.
[maybe it's time to ease up on the Sambvca]
1) What is the process by which horn is dyed
....I have tried to dye horn and it will go in there just fine....the problem is getting it to stay....horn is not solid ...it is actually layers of growth..so I can get the dye in between those layers...but as soon as it gets wet or gets a mineral oil bath...it all just comes pouring out...so I gave up and will not dye it for anyone until I figure out how to make it last forever...but so far with lots of research ...trial and error ......no luck.....now bone is a whole other story..I have that down pretty good....I just put lots of it up on auction....not trying to get anyone to buy it....just check out the colors!...if it doesn't sell ....you will see lots of custom Mikovs with dyed bone here soon...... 
..Nemo
Cheers the spotlight kid. 
