scrimshaw depth?

[Phil Neal]

Just getting started here, how deep must one scratch the surface to scrimshaw a powder horn?

[Tim Crosby]

 Not much of an answer but it kind of depends on what you are looking for, fine lines for shading deeper for outline work. I would suggest trying it on a scrap horn first to get the feel for it.

  Tim C.

[J Henry]

I use white plastic spoons to practice on ! Cheap easy to get and round ,some what like a horn so practice is more real.Key word, Practice,

[dogcatcher]

Practice, and more practice.  PVC pipe is a good source of practice material.  http://handeyemagazine.com/content/scratch-surface-0

[aaronc]

The more you do the more you'll get a feel for it,..I don't know if that ever stops. But I would suggest using real horn from the start if that's what your going to scrim. You can't get a feel for it if your not using it,..everything is going to behave a little different. I'd find a couple of cheap horns that will accept some ink and go at it,...don't have to be solid white. The thing is you can really spend a ton of time on 1 single horn.,...by the time you "cover it up" with some ink you'll be way down the road to where your headed. Just my $.02. Have fun with it,..-Aaron

[BOB HILL]

A little bit of scraping and you’ve got a clean slate to start over on with horn.
Bob

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I started by just going at a black horn.  And I left it as cut...didn't fill the cuts.  It still shows well some 45 years later.  I have a freind who has just taken up the art.  He was a tattoo artist before retirement, so has a natural artistic ability.  But he is doing fantastic work right off the get-go.  I'm considering having a rum horn scrimmed by him, even though I can do the work myself.  Go straight to the real thing, and let each of your pieces be your practice work.

[davec2]

I most heartily agree with the last three posters.  The horn is cheap.  It cuts differently than other materials.  You can always scrape it off and start over.  Go for it. 

[Hungry Horse]

 In my experience, line depth isn’t as important as line spacing. Scrimshaw is nothing more than crosshatching ( like is done with pen and ink) except it is cut in first, and then inked. The differences in the line spacing, are what give you the shading, that creates the three dimensional effect.
 I do a lot of my scrimshaw with a large screwdriver type handle made by Exacto, and one of their hook billed blades, that allow you to make cuts without dragging the back end of the blade through the work.

  Hungry Horse