• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

New horn project

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Feb 3, 2011
Messages
4,127
Reaction score
2,111
Location
Ohio, the land of the Shawnee
I started on this the other day, taking it slowly as I’ve been busy doing other things. I got this from my friends estate along with others. I’ll most likely sand/ file the main body to thin it out some towards the base plug, although I hate to do that due to the natural patina, but it has file marks and chatter from previous scraping from the buddy. Im going to scrim on this horn and the chatter/ file marks need to go! I put this horn on a serious diet as well..
 

Attachments

  • 96F95CFA-879E-4B03-8AEB-E55251941026.jpeg
    96F95CFA-879E-4B03-8AEB-E55251941026.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 5
  • F6AC4B19-73C7-4089-BE91-8B72F3DAB37C.jpeg
    F6AC4B19-73C7-4089-BE91-8B72F3DAB37C.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 0
I still have a few more hours of filing work to do and then comes the sanding! Then I’ll start on the thick base of the horn.. I find it much easier to boil the horn and fit the base plug on a thinner walled horn… and it’s also historically correct…so thin it shall be.
 
THAT is a nice horn, far better base to start with than anything I've been able to find anywhere. I'd like to see the progress on this horn if you have time and energy to post it.
 
THAT is a nice horn, far better base to start with than anything I've been able to find anywhere. I'd like to see the progress on this horn if you have time and energy to post it.
I will try and post progress as I go. I have been fortunate as to the quality of this batch of horns I got.
 
I’ve got the base thinned about as far as I dare go, now it’s time to continue to thin the throat… I’ve been using a Nicholson 8 inch rounded file to grind on it. I’ve never been a huge fan of scraping, although I’ve scraped more than a few...it just seems to take too long. Photos to come the next time I get a chance to go out to the shop.
 
Last edited:
Here’s my new stock in which I’m going to be building in the new future… I doubt I get to ALL of these, but I’m sure gonna try! I’ve already drilled the holes in these and they’re ready to start shaping.
I also got rather large pieces and chunks of horn, some smaller pieces and some that will make some really nice measures. Not sure what I’m going to do with all these.. lol
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    3.5 MB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    5.3 MB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    3.3 MB · Views: 0
Nearly complete… I decided on a lobed horn F&I style..next pictures will be the completed project..click on the pictures to see the full photo.
 

Attachments

  • DA90F333-CA29-4C9C-8533-359551B30C5A.jpeg
    DA90F333-CA29-4C9C-8533-359551B30C5A.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 0
  • 325B7144-76C2-4744-9908-AD69D89D1119.jpeg
    325B7144-76C2-4744-9908-AD69D89D1119.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 0
  • D1493F41-A432-4E85-BBE9-ADEC61ADF49A.jpeg
    D1493F41-A432-4E85-BBE9-ADEC61ADF49A.jpeg
    2.6 MB · Views: 0
  • F7466B4E-E40D-450C-9F45-95EBBC641C94.jpeg
    F7466B4E-E40D-450C-9F45-95EBBC641C94.jpeg
    3.8 MB · Views: 0
  • B42437EE-A117-47A2-BC21-AD3BBB9C1029.jpeg
    B42437EE-A117-47A2-BC21-AD3BBB9C1029.jpeg
    4.1 MB · Views: 0
Thanks for showing your horn in progress, @S.Kenton ! The raw horn looks like a really nice one, and the workmanship is first rate.

That is a nice double curve left handed horn.
Now, that is an interesting comment. I’m not disagreeing with brother @Absoroka , as there is no right or wrong here. Just personal preference. Anyway, that horn would have come from the right side of the animal’s head, and I would consider it perfect for right side carry. If you hold the horn in the position it would have been while still on the animal’s head and look down on it (as in the fifth picture in post #1), you’ll see the concave side of the horn is on the left… a good fit on one’s right side, and the way the horn would hang naturally, with the tip pointing up. Wearing this horn on the left would require rotating it clockwise to make the primary bend fit the left hip, which would also place the horn tip in a more horizontal plane. Some people prefer them this way, but I like the tip pointing up.

I’m curious… Would you, as the horn maker, consider this one best suited for right side or left side carry? From the position of the lobe on the horn’s base, it looks like it is being set up for left side carry. I know a lot of makers nowadays would consider this horn a lefty. For me, it would be a righty. Again, there is no right or wrong, just personal preference and opinion, but I would consider it an important issue to be clarified if I were looking to buy a horn.

Moving on, I would also like to commend you on the tastefully executed lobe on the base. I’ve seen a few otherwise nice horns recently that had their appearance spoiled by grossly oversized lobes. The small, tidy little lobe on yours is more like the originals I have seen pictured.

Nice work!

Notchy Bob
 
I’m curious… Would you, as the horn maker, consider this one best suited for right side or left side carry?
Like you has stated, it could have went either way, I prefer a left hand side carry and the horn was just easier to make as a lefty. Ive always seen certain pictures of the ways the horn is “ supposed” to look as it’s hanging on the side of the user and that’s what I go by.
This horn was screaming lefty to me..
 
Back
Top