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A New Horn or Two

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Jefferson58:
Also from the dungeon below; I finished a couple of new horns this past Friday. John Proud published his horn dying technique in the last issue of "The Horn Book" from the guild. Having used the RIT/shellac method for a while, I wanted to try something new. These are the results. Hope you like them.

The first horn is basically a simple Southern affair with a slightly-recessed throat that tapers right on into the spout. It is about 13" around the curve. A staple provides the strap attachment. The base is pine and stained with Aqua Fortis. I did antique the whole thing a bit, as is my normal practice.

The second horn is a copy of an original horn I own from the Ashland, KY area. I have wanted to make a copy of it for a while, so here it is. This horn is about 12.5" around the curve, oval-bodied, and somewhat robust in size. The tip is paneled, and base was hand-carved from close-grain pine to fit the body. My horn is in the background. I did make the tip of my horn smaller as the original appears to have been cut at some point.

The last horn is a pure experiment of what to do with a totally weird horn. This horn is just so oval and strange that I couldn't imagine it coming out. Maybe one of Scott Morrison's "fish" would have worked on it.

In any event, here is the result. About 11" around the curve, with a brass, mechanical spout and threaded brass base plug button. The pine base is hand-carved to fit the horn. It is definitely left-handed. Go ahead and laugh, you won't hurt my feelings at all. 

Thanks,

Jeff

Tim Crosby:
 GREAT job Jeff, they are GREAT! Nice job.
 
 Tim C.

Top Jaw:
Jeff

Can you share the jist of John Prouds staining technique that you used here.

Top Jaw

G. Elsenbeck:
And you got your new issue already?  Arrrggghhh. 

Anyway, good jobs on these horns.  They definitely look older and aged a bit.  Wait, it's sounding like describing me now..  Hmmm, this medicinal glass of wine .........

I guess I'll just have to wait for my new issue.   

Later, Gary

Jefferson58:
Thanks for the nice comments. I do appreciate it. For me, horn work is always more of a struggle than leather work. I have to use the old adage about thinking it through three or four times before cutting anything.

To answer the questions:

I was looking at John's article in the last Horn Book, published before Dixon's. I haven't seen a "new" issue yet.

In essence, John's dying method replicates what might have been done in the 18th. century to color a horn. He notes that there certainly seem to be old horns that were colored, not just left to the elements. Aqua Fortis and Manganese Permanganate  were available in that time period and used regularly for other things.

To dye with AF, clean the horn thoroughly with denatured alcohol to remove any trace of oils. Always wear gloves for the entire process. AF is an acid, and it is nasty stuff. Wipe a coat of AF on the horn, trying to cover it as evenly as possible. It will streak if it is not even. I put the tip of the horn on a steel rod clamped in a vise so I can rotate the horn on the rod while coating it when I start the whole project.

Let it dry for 20 minutes maybe. Wipe on one more coat to be sure it is covered. Let dry again. With a heat gun on pretty hot (I use 750 degrees on mine), start working over the surface of the horn. You have the get the horn really hot to activate the color in the AF, but you you do not want to burn it. You will see it change color and turn yellow. Keep working over the horn until you are satisfied.

If the yellow is not full enough, let the horn cool back to room temperature and repeat the process once more. Two coats are usually sufficient to get a good, deep yellow color. Every horn is different, so there is no "rule" about this. Be sure and let the horn cool. AF gives off a pretty bad set of fumes if it applied to a hot horn. A fan nearby might not be a bad idea, or work outside.

If the horn is too yellow, too bright, or whatever, you can cut it back and add more brown/gold tone to the color with the Manganese Permanganate. Again, wear gloves. This stuff does not seem as toxic as the AF, but it will stain you.

Put some MP on a cloth (while wearing gloves) and start wiping it on the horn. Different horns will react differently to this, and it is almost impossible to really control the reaction in my experience. You will want to keep a clean cloth around to wipe excess off too. Keep wiping it on with fresh applications to the cloth until you get the color you want. This can range from a nice darker yellow to orange-tinted, to a real brown. Practicing this whole process on a junk horn might not be a bad idea too.

Hope this answers the questions about the process.

Jeff

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