Antler Pens

[Julie Wright]

antler pens came up in a converstion last night I was having and I am wondering about wet sanding them. Do you folks dry or wet sand your antler pens/calls/power horns? It would seem like a great way to sand them, maybe a little BLO then add CA. Just wondering if anyone has tried this?

Thanks
Julie

[Scott Greaves]

antler pens came up in a converstion last night I was having and I am wondering about wet sanding them. Do you folks dry or wet sand your antler pens/calls/power horns? It would seem like a great way to sand them, maybe a little BLO then add CA. Just wondering if anyone has tried this?

Thanks
Julie

Hi Julie!

I think wet sanding might work fine. I have to tell you, there is no one right way to turn pens. Heck, after hanging around the penturning forums for as long as I have, there isn't even just a hundred right ways to turn pens!

How you sand a treat antler depends a lot on how deep you end up turning it, which depends a lot on the type of antler you're turning, and how big the pieces are. If you turn down far enough to get into the porous inner part of the antler, then you need to treat it much differently than if you only turn into the outer enamel. I have been turning some big pieces of antler lately, so I get into the porous part quite often. When I get close to the final shape, I sand to where I want to be, then using 180 grit paper I sand in some CA glue. Using the sandpaper to apply the glue creates a slurry of antler dust and CA that seals the surface of the pen quite nicely. Then I'll sand this even, and sand up through the grits, and Micro Mesh.

If you don't get into the porous part of the antler, then you really don't need much of a fancy finish. Sand through the Micro Mesh, and then maybe a nice coat of a good wax. Of course if you want to apply a CA finish it would do fine, but I'm not sure it's needed.

Wet sanding with BLO then applying CA would work fine, I believe. I wonder if the BLO would affect the color of the antler? You could always sand with something neutral, like mineral oil. You've got me curious now - I'll have to give it a try!

I hope this helps.

Scott.

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

antler pens came up in a converstion last night I was having and I am wondering about wet sanding them. Do you folks dry or wet sand your antler pens/calls/power horns? It would seem like a great way to sand them, maybe a little BLO then add CA. Just wondering if anyone has tried this?

Thanks
Julie

and it keeps the dust down. I can't add much to what Scott says, except on Powder Horns. I've been making Museum Quality Custom Powder Horns for (good lord!) 30 years. The cow horn is much more porous than the antler and has to be treated a little differently. They both still stink, though. I sand my horns up to 400 grit sandpaper going with the "grain" and getting all of the scratches out. Then, depending on the finish the customer wants, I'll stop there and add some mineral oil for a nice matte finish. If I'm going to do scrimshaw (actually engraving), I will buff the horn with jeweller's rouge to a high gloss. They, like good wood, develope a beautiful deep finish.

Thanks,
Ron