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Scrimshaw horn maintenance

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Bushfire

45 Cal.
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
875
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1,805
Location
Australia
G'day all,

My hunting horn is by Rick Lorenzen and has some lovely scrimshaw. Only issue is that I'm noticing the scrimshaw artwork is rubbing off in the field and against my shooting bag. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

I thought about coating in a thin layer of wax but I don't know if that will just rub off onto my bag and clothes and feel odd.

Open to suggestions.
 
If you are going to use something, expect some wear. You could leave it on the hook and never take it out, but that is not what horns were made for (yes I am para-phrasing Mr. Shedd.) I like the wax idea, though there are other materials that will work as well or better. I would investigate the use of some spray lacquer, varnish or even clear epoxy. Art stores sell a product called "matte fixative" if memory serves. It is used to protect artwork like watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches, both of which are notoriously fragile.

That said, all my horns are quite plain. The only thing I put on them is a piece of tape to tell me what kind of powder is in it. You might be better off to wait for people with more expertise in this area than I have.
 
Rapid wear on the scrimshaw may indicate some delicate, shallow cuts when the design was made on the horn. As mentioned above, good quality wax will help. You might check your kit to see what the horn is rubbing against? Rough leather could accelerate the wear issue, particularly if the scrimshaw cuts are shallow. Over time you may also see the horn start to delaminate around the scrimshaw cuts, lifting the edges of the design. This happens when the horn dries out. Horns made in the east (humidity) and taken out west can also suffer from the change in humidity. I have used both wax and Linseed oil with some success.
 
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