Horn Aging

[Mule Brain]

I acquired this horn I would like to age it, what do you recommend?

Thanks

Darn image up loader, just loves to upload upside down 

[Hungry Horse]

The quick and dirty method is to use Lincoln’s shoe dye in medium brown. Wipe it on, and wipe it off with a soft damp cloth. You can keep building color until it is the color you like.
 
The other way is to mix yellow Rit dye, and brown Rit dye, in hot water, and suspend the horn in that until it is the color you  want.

Hungry Horse

[Tim Crosby]

 The leather dye works well, I follow it up with Brown shoe polish. Scott Sibley gives a good how to on adding Patina and color to a horn using Walnut stain and Black powdered tempera paint in his book:
"Recreating the 18th Century Powder Horn". The book itself is well worth having if you are going to go horn work of just as a reference for questions like this.

  Tim C. 

[bigsmoke]

Oh, how do I dye thee?  Let me count the ways.

Well, plus the above, you could make a "tea" out of yellow onion peels, then dunk it in there.
Or, you could use Potassium Permanganate, and dunk it until you get the right color.
You can also strengthen or weaken the solution by adding more pot perm to the mix or adding more water.
After I have aged the horn, I always put a coat of MinWax on it and polish with a soft cloth.
And more.  That's all that came to mind right off hand.

BUT

What I would do first is to deglaze the horn with 0000 steel wool and get all the polish off.  Might be a bit tricky with the engraving on it.  Also, I would clean up the strap groove a bit more.  400 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of 1/4" dowel should do the trick.  On the photo, I do see some "feathers" around the body side of the groove.

Have fun,
John (Bigsmoke)

[Hungry Horse]

 Yellow onion skins works if it is simmered in white vinegar. The horn must be deglazed, and have the wooden plug removed. It take some time, and it does seem to make the horn brittle. The color is outstanding though.
 Potassium permanganate is bad to fade in sunlight.

  Hungry Horse

[Cory Joe Stewart]

All of these are good options. Nothing to add here.

Cory Joe