Fixin Horns.

[northmn]

I had an old small horn I thought would make a nice little horn for my 25.  In the process of working it down to look somewhat like what I have seen on this site I ended up going through at one spot as it looked a bit fat.  I patched the hole with epoxy and a piece of leather that will be soaked up by epoxy.  The hole was a little far back to stick on a wooden plug. I really am not to upset as it is a horn usable in the squirrel woods and not a show piece anyway.  I did replace an end that broke out on a horn of sentimental value with a walnut plug I turned out.  Looking at what some of you do I should have made it a screw tip.  Some of my older horns are starting to deteriorate.  Any suggestions?  A friend that recently died used to scrimshaw horns and I have a couple of those.  I know most of you have never screwed up like that, but wanted suggestions as the leather looks a little tacky.

DP

[wormey]

I have repaired some holes in old horns by soaking a piece of cloth in epoxy and inserting it into the horn with a wire bent to shape.  Smoothe it out as best you can.  When dry, apply epoxy from the outside and sand and polish smooth.  If you are careful and use the right stain in the epoxy, the repair is almost unnoticeable.  Hope this helps., wormey

[smylee grouch]

I wonder if wet rawhide wraped around and stiched tight and alowed to dry might work as a more traditional repair, just a thought.    Gary

[bluenoser]

I have stitched wet rawhide over a crack in a  horn I had made years earlier, and it worked great.  Sealed with shellac.  It made an authentic looking repair and, IMO, enhanced the look of a well used horn.
Laurie

[skillman]

If the base plug has not been installed you can go inside and apply a patch of like colored horn.A number of adhesives work well. If the base plug has been installed well that's another matter.
Skillman

[northmn]

As the horn is black and white and the hole is in the black section I can possible go back and use the Epoxy idea, although using a horn patch from the inside would have also worked.

DP