Entering Horns at Dixons

[Berks Liberty]

Anyone ever enter a Horn at Dixon's Gunmakers Fair.  I'm thinking about it but I don't know what the judges look for.  I got a breakdown of what they look for in the rifle area but not horns.  Any pointers? 

[Randy Hedden]

Jason,

Being a horn maker I know what i would be looking for if I were to judge powder horns, but I have no idea what the judges at Dixons use as a criteria for judging horns. If I were to enter a horn at Dixons, I would think it would be a good idea to keep the Golden Mean in mind while building the horn.

Randy Hedden

www.harddogrifles.com

[wpalongrifle]

hey berks liberty, one thing they do is, judge horns as first place work.. a few years ago they had a hard time between first, second and third. so now everyting that wins a ribbon is" first place work" ..makes it easier on the judges. Now what are they looking for!!! Randy is right, horn architecture is number one.
a lot of horns very well engraved but the horn looks bad..not going to win a ribbon!! craftsmanship is next.
poor fitting plug, violin fiddle peg, and crooked drilled spout hole..not going to win a ribbon. Pay attention to details.. If your going to copy an original it better be right, these guys own a lot of them that are in the books!! so they see them all the time.  Two years ago i had a junior hornworker  at the workshop at Dixon's and this past year he won a first place ribbon.. he said he will be back this summer. that's ribbon enough for me.... later, mike

[rich pierce]

Be careful with copying originals.  The judges at Dixon's won't judge a horn or gun well if it is styled after an original that does not meet their standards.  That is a hard pill to swallow but I think it's true. That philosophy is evident in the judging but can be a surprise to makers who revere originals.

The horn judges care very much about proportion.  They expect you to pick a good horn for your work.  If its coloration or shape is not "appealing" then it won't do well, no matter how well executed.  If you choose odd wood for your plug, bad move.

[David Rase]

You also need to understand that accoutrements judging at Dixon's is two fold.  There is the critiquing phase and then there is the judging phase.  The judges first go through every entry and critique the item.  That happens first.  Critiquing is performed by individual or pairs of judges who specialize in a certain area, like horns.  When all the critiquing is done and the critique sheets are filled out the judges panel then starts the judging phase.  All items from one of the categories that the judge feel are first class work are separated from the rest and the process of elimination through debate starts.  Last year the judges spent 45 minutes alone on one category picking the winner for "best folk art".  I can tell you from personal experience that the accoutrements judges take their job seriously.
DMR

[Berks Liberty]

Thanks for the insite.  Do they catagorize or judge horns by traditional work and contemporary work?  Or is it one catagory?  I know this was discussed during a seminar on rifle judging last year.   

[Osprey]

Pm or e-mail me, I've got a copy of a judging sheet you can pick some stuff off.  Last year I asked for a blank sheet so I could see what the criteria were, but they wouldn't give one out.  They would, however, let me take digital pics of one.     Don't want to post the pics as it has comments on a specific horn and I don't know how the maker would feel about it, whoever it may be.

One thing I hadn't thought of on the judging was the horn couldn't leak air, don't know if they water tank test 'em or what?!

I remember categories for map horns, traditional, contemporary and horn/bag combos.  I hope to do a contemporary for this year if I can get it done between other tasks.

[Tim Crosby]

 This info is all from personal experience. There are different categories for horns as has already been sited. On the entry sheet for each category are listed things they look for. Here are a few, some of them are the same in each category  but there are others.

For Undecorated Powder Horn the following are listed
1. Overall Presentation & Refinement of skills(clean workmanship, proportions,etc...)
2. Spout and Throat Detail
3. Screw Tip Horn Detail (if appropriate to entry)
4. Base Plug Detail
5. Functionality
6. Fit and Finish
7. Overall Design and Conformation
8. Choice of raw Material
9. Aesthetic Appeal

 Under each heading are listed pro/cons and suggestions.

 Then there is a place for further Comments/Suggestions

  Artistic Merit  was also listed for Decorated Powder Horn   

 I had four entries last year and found the Critique sheets and comments helpful. They were not done haphazardly, someone took a lot of time to do the write ups I got back. Some positive feedback and constructive criticism.

Tim C.

[Berks Liberty]

I also hope to have a horn completed for Dixons but we'll see. 

[Robby]

Berks, My suggestion would be to make it the way you see fit and of course, do the best job you can in that light. They will sort out the what category it belongs in. I have only submitted horns twice, some years ago, I was fortunate to win a blue ribbon the first year for a horn set, and a red ribbon the second year for a hunters blowing horn. Even when you win, they include a critique with your returned horns, and in my case they were spot on. In fact, the only criticism on the blowing horn was exactly what I was trying to achieve, So even though it was a fault to them, I felt pretty good in that they saw what I was trying to do.
I didn't make them to suit anyone but myself. Best of luck to you!!
    Robby

[G. Elsenbeck]

Great information guys.  Given the quality of the past winners I've seen alot of attention to detail would be an absolute must.  As far as overall general criteria I would imagine oval or somewhat oval horns wouldn't make it regardless of color?  In addition, they don't all have to be scrimshaw grade??  I guess dyeing would also be out of the question? 
Trying to see if I can make it down there this year with possible an entry or two. 
gary

[rich pierce]

You'd get dinged for selecting a less than ideal horn and since you'd be going head to head with ideal horns, I guess that is fair.  Most folks dye the throat on scrim quality horns.