Bovine horn for handle?

[JRMoore]

Greetings,
My first post on this forum. I am a fairly new knife maker as I have only made cabinet makers marking knives in the past.
My question is about bovine horn material used for handle scales. I have a rather hefty horn with about a seven inch solid core. While I am sure I could slab the horn into workable scales and drill, cement (rivets too?), and polish, my concern is about longevity. Will the horn material (being nothing more than modified hair protein) be strong enough?
Thanks for any assistance.
John

[sdcb27]

will if you stabilize it

[RICK LOWE]

Interesting question. A lot of makers, myself included, use water buffalo horn for handle slabs. Generally the slabs are 3/8" thick and solid. It works very easily (except for smell when cutting and sanding) and holds up very well. Cow horn is pretty thin when taken off the core, but I'd think you could find a way to use it. If you cut through the core to make a solid slab the outer part might come loose. I've seen old black powder rifles with horn inlays so it can be worked. There are a number of knives with sheep horn handles which would be very similar to cow horn. I bet somebody will chime in here with more experiance in this area. Good luck!
Rick

[Ferrari]

John, in Brazil bovine horn it?s very easy to find it.

Some knifemakers like this material for handles, but I don?t liked it.

Bovine horn it?s hard to grinding, and can to crack after the polishing and with the temperature and wet or dry air. I preffer Woods and stag horn.

Sorry, my english isn?t good. Be caareful! Cheers

[JRMoore]

Sr. Ferrari,
Gracias Senior. Penso que sus Engles es mejor a mi Espanol. E muy mejor que mi Portuges.
Anyway, I agree that working the horn is very messy and smelly. Based on the responses I received, I don't think I will pursue working with the cow horn.
Again, thank you for your help.
John

[JRMoore]

Thank you Rick,
However, based on my short experience with this material, the dust and smell have caused me to re-evaluate the "beauty" of bovine horn material. I think I will stick with wood as Sr. Ferrari suggests.
John

[jdm61]

agreed....exotic hardwoods smell marvelous when you grid them.......assuming that you aren't one of those people who is violently allergic to cocobolo....whichis a shame because it smells the best :-)