Problems with horns

[Chris Treichel]

Problem horns... so two attempts in a row I get horns that have split growth rings... is there any way to tell before starting work or is that just an inherant risk in making powder horns? 

Guess I am going to turn one into a pulverine or drinking cup...

[Cory Joe Stewart]

It is something of a risk.  However, if you are looking at a raw horn that has a lot of scaling and is really bump (for lack of a better term) it has been my experience that those are more likely to have problems. 

Coryjoe

[G. Elsenbeck]

Chris, pictures of the horn your working will would be helpful too.
gary

[Chris Treichel]

Thanks for the tip about looking for bulges... I don't recall this one having any big ones... 

I'm already past the problem on the current horn... its as if your looking at the growth rings on a tree when you cut the tip off of of the horn and there's a gap between the rings.  Decided to $#*! with it and used a carving knife to just cut away at it until I got though it.  Seems to be enough horn left to make something... Of course I also got a drill bit stuck and broke off in the mouth... not my day but its comming along, sort of a little bit shorter horn now. The horn had some nice brown red coloring towards the tip.
http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii614/ctreichel/

[ed1215]

Chris
All I can tell you is that it is the nature of the beast ..talking with Mike Small just weekend he came across the same thing no to long ok as did I ..working on a horn then all of a sudden out of no where a crack ... nothing we can do to forsee it I guess when it happens to me that horn goes on another pile and made in something else

ED

[Chris Treichel]

I think I will change my procedure to stop wasting time on the horns body and first thing cut off the tip.  If its split inside at least its only a few minutes wasted on that. 

[Tim Crosby]

  The first pic is a side view of some tips that I cut for screw tips and collars. In the second looking at them from the end you can see a couple wide cracks, top left and center right. On the others you can see light colored cracks. I may or may not be able to work around them.
 As for horns themselves, I’m not sure how to see the crack/delaminating from the outside but I think I get fewer if I, cut and drill the tip as soon as I get the horn, like taking any stress out, may be just luck. Cracking may, IMHO, depend on how old the horn is, type of cow, age, etc…


  Tim C.

[Chris Treichel]

Managed to salvage it
http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii614/ctreichel/?action=view&current=horn2.jpg

not the great but it will do

[wet willy]

Yep, cracks and flaws will appear, despite your best efforts.

I've found that looking carefully at the base before heating/sizing will most often disclose cracks. Those that are cracked become small pouch horns, or drinking cups.

There is no standards or consistency or uniformity with organic material such as horns, so you should expect a few hidden flaws to appear.

Among the nice things about working with horns is that even with a bad split, there is nearly always something one can make with the remnants: comb, needle, cup, etc.

I use a "Fry-Daddy" with cooking oil to soften the horn prior to using a sizer or attmpting to flatten or curl it. Tried hot water (not enough heat to soften), a paint-stripping heat gun (slow, works OK, can scorch/yellow the base end), and hot oil (works great, just don't overheat, need to experiment with how long to heat in oil bath).