Medium sized early lobed horn

[rich pierce]

A dear friend gave me this for my collection of plain horns. It feels owner-made, not as thin as “professional” horns. I am debating adding a plug, simple wafer of flat pine. Maybe not.

[Tim Crosby]

 Neat horn, I think I'd leave it as is since it will probably not be used again and it shows the inside. Which is probably not interesting to anyone but me.

  Tim

[rich pierce]

Neat horn, I think I'd leave it as is since it will probably not be used again and it shows the inside. Which is probably not interesting to anyone but me.

  Tim

And a couple other oddballs like me!

[Tim Crosby]

 Looks almost like a liner in it or is that where it is separating?

     Tim

[rich pierce]

De-laminating, looks like.

[Top Jaw]

Nice early horn.  I’d have to look it over first. But I would consider putting a pine base back in it to protect it long-term. And If I did, I would age it and grunge it accordingly.  For instance the divot that is out of the side I would also take out of a portion of the base.  And I might also rub some olive oil or similar on the inside and edge of the base to get some moisture back in it.  Not necessarily on the outside surface, as that sometimes removes good dirt and patina.  I have done this to a couple of horns as a restoration project, to help save them long term.  My 2 cents. 

[Bob Gerard]

It’s a cool old horn. Stuff like that lends me to imagine about its life.
Unfortunately it looks like it would leak now a days ☺️

[JSMOSBY]

Nice early horn.  I’d have to look it over first. But I would consider putting a pine base back in it to protect it long-term. And If I did, I would age it and grunge it accordingly.  For instance the divot that is out of the side I would also take out of a portion of the base.  And I might also rub some olive oil or similar on the inside and edge of the base to get some moisture back in it.  Not necessarily on the outside surface, as that sometimes removes good dirt and patina.  I have done this to a couple of horns as a restoration project, to help save them long term.  My 2 cents.

Stabilize.  Do not restore.  Bottom line, it's your horn to do with as you please to enjoy.  BTW, olive oil and similar become rancid over time.

[Top Jaw]

JSMOSBY

Just curious on the reluctance to restore, (which also stabilizes in the process). 
Old rifles are restored all the time.  Why shouldn’t accouterments also be?  It’s not a value thing in the case of a horn like this.  The time spent to do it would eat up any value gained. 
It’s not counterfeiting.   It’s doing something that would have been done to the horn if damaged during its useful life, to keep it going in stable working order.
Again, one mans opinion on the topic.  But I see no harm, and actually a benefit- if done properly, tastefully, and in keeping with the design and age appropriateness if the horn.  Or most any accoutrement.

[RAT]

From your post above...

"I would age it and grunge it accordingly"

Some may look at that as an attempt at "fakery". It makes future owners (and sellers) believe the restoration is, in fact, original to the artifact. I'm not against restoration by adding a plug, but it should be readily identified as new work and not original to the horn.

[rich pierce]

It’s a hundred dollar horn, restored, on a very good day at a gun show. I think it’s good to keep these things in perspective.

I’ll restore the heck out of $200 percussion Birmingham doubles all day and not mark them or worry about it. Everybody knows the best they will ever be is a bunch of “shooters”.  Same for beater, no-name late percussion rifles.

A thousand dollar gun or horn is a different deal.

That being said, it’ll remain as it was given to me.

[Top Jaw]

Rich. 
Didn’t mean to hijack your thread. And you made one of the points I was trying to make. I’ve only done this restoration on plain horns in the $100-$200 range to preserve them. A dated/scrimmed horn of significant more value is a different matter, and should probably have initials and date of a new endcap installation put on it by the artisan.  At a minimum inside - that can be clearly seen with a bore scope camera.  Similar to some restored rifles that are marked in barrel channels, etc.
 
So anyway, I’ll shut up now.  And in the words of Nathaniel from the LOM movie….
this horn “stays as it lays”.   👍😀

[rich pierce]

No worries, Top Jaw! I think such discussions are good. I think “rules” or guidelines on restoration apply mostly to items with value and/or provenance.

When I was about 22 I bought a trade tomahawk head that was plowed up. It was $10 at a garage sale. Not cheap for me, then.  It’s from the 1650-1750 period. At some point it had been used as a wedge and the eye got mangled. The 3 local museums have examples. I could let it sit in the house somewhere, or restore and use it. Again, common trade tomahawk head, mangled eye, common style, but old and cool. What did my 22 year old self do? I forged that eye open, hafted it, and use it a lot. It throws well, looks great, and can administer the coup de grace to deer in a pinch.

I similarly found a full sized felling ax head from the 1700s, with a very nice steel bit. Its head had been mushroomed from getting bashed with a sledge. It’s my go-to splitting ax now, with the mushroom overlap hot-cut off in the forge and filed to de-bur it.

My standards may differ from many. But our personal collections will soon flood a market a little short of buyers.