These pics (used with permission) sort of illustrate a couple of points I was writing about. Some of you may have seen them on the Contemporary Makers blog on 6 August, 2013. I've reduced the size from the original photos to better fit our posting space here, and cropped some areas to define what I mean.
I really like this horn; aside from being a really nice horn, it is one of the few pressed buffalo horns I'm aware of, and the only one I have such detailed photos of.
Note the lines of the horn--no raised neck, rings, etc near the spout. I suspect this horn was cleaned up as I described, using a drawknife or crooked knife to "peel" off the scaled horn.
In this closeup crop, under the number "1" is a lighter-colored area. This coloration is what we tend to see where the horn is almost ready to fuzz or separate/scale. To the right of the number "2" is an area where we can clearly see the maker went through the layers.
When playing around trying to replicate various aspects of this horn, the only way I was able to get a stable separation like this ("2") was by first "peeling" the rough horn, then flattening, then shaping the broad flats (on the side) with a sharp scraper. There are some other aspects that lead me to think this is how the horn was shaped, rather than with abrasives.
Assuming the horn was carried on the right side, this would be the "face" of the horn.
In this close-up crop, there is a lighter colored line to the right of the number "1". This line, almost continuous from the butt to the worked area near the spout, seems to be a llayer of the horn exposed by shaping the flats.
Obviously, a bottom view. Note that the horn was not entirely flattened, there is still some curvature to the neck--not as much as in a double-twist cow horn, but it is there. I think this is close to the maximum amount a buffalo horn can be flattened. I suspect the white inlay at the neck on the
back side of the horn may cover up an area that was worked too thin in shaping.
This is a shot of the area near the butt, on the face side of the horn. We can see a number of areas where separations are starting, but the horn is still very stable: there are separations, but no fuzzing.
Also, notice the light line just to the right of the heart? That is a highlight off the corner. It isn't a smooth even curve, but retains some of the "bumps" of a natural buffalo horn. This is another detail that I think supports the idea that the maker tried to work with the natural layers in the horn.
A closeup crop of the previous shot. To the right of the number "1" we can see a separation starting. I think this may have been a high point the maker scraped through when shaping the side flats.
To the right of "2" we can see more separations starting. They seem to follow the curve, and while there is separation, there is no scaling.
Just below "3"--a distance about equal to the height of the number--there is a discontinuity, one that almost looks like smoke in a mild breeze. This is definitely a point where the maker scraped through a high point, I've had the same thing show up on my experimental horns.
In this shot of the butt plug, there are a number of scratches running the length of the plug. These seem to be scraper scratches, I don't see any sign of an abrasive being reversed in direction.
Here is a shot looking down at the inside of the curve. The hole near the neck seems to be an attachment point for a threaded knob or eye for the strap. This would eliminate the need for raised rings to retain the strap.
In this closeup and lightened crop of the previous picture, the rough area in the center seems to be a spot where the maker was unable to work along the grain lines. The roughness is some separation, possibly--given the apparent lack of fuzziness or scaling--present before the horn was finished.
