Dyed Horn

[Frank Shaves]

I recently bought this George Wostenholm Pipe razor. I like the blade, but the dyed horn scales lack a certain je ne sais quoi and look tired to my eyes. This is the second time I have experienced this with dyed horn.

How was dyed horn made? Is each scale made from two layers of horn with dye in between?

I am thinking about replacing the scales with black horn perhaps mimicking the style that @Doc226 used for this Pipe razor:

The Goods! Straight Razor Hobbyist Gallery

The Craftsman, W&B Paddleboat and Depew razors shave as great as they look. Thanks, Alfredo for bringing them back to life! My pleasure, glad you are enjoying them.

www.badgerandblade.com

I should point out that Alfredo's Pipe had a square point whereas mine has a small barber notch.

BTW, there is a good discussion about real tortoise shell scales at Real tortoiseshell scales? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/real-tortoiseshell-scales.603474/.

 

[thp001]

The dye was simply painted on in the desired pattern. They used chemicals in some of their dyes as well as certain pre-treatments for the horn which would allow the dye to sink deep into the horn. These days aniline dye is a reasonable substitute. I’m not really a fan of those faux tortoise horn scales either, I think a glossy black horn on an old Sheffy is about as classic as it gets. There’s a really nice imitation tortoise available from Masecraft called Tortuga which is absolutely stunning but I’ve made the vow personally to stick to all natural materials for my own work (a pair of razors I made for my vegan brother not withstanding) but if you don’t mind the use of synthetics you really can’t go wrong with the stuff it really is beautiful material and very accurate to real shell.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

The dye was simply painted on in the desired pattern. They used chemicals in some of their dyes as well as certain pre-treatments for the horn which would allow the dye to sink deep into the horn. These days aniline dye is a reasonable substitute. I’m not really a fan of those faux tortoise horn scales either, I think a glossy black horn on an old Sheffy is about as classic as it gets. There’s a really nice imitation tortoise available from Masecraft called Tortuga which is absolutely stunning but I’ve made the vow personally to stick to all natural materials for my own work (a pair of razors I made for my vegan brother not withstanding) but if you don’t mind the use of synthetics you really can’t go wrong with the stuff it really is beautiful material and very accurate to real shell.

I was kicking around on Masecraft's site and the Tortuga and the faux ivory both caught my eye, but their photos are not great. I'd be curious to see better pictures if anyone here has used either product.

 

[thp001]

Razor by Karlej over at the other forum in Tortuga. I’ve used the Col.849 ivory, too soft, I made scales with it but once in use they bent with hand heat.