Easy to make a powder horn?

[fishleclair]

I have 3 buffalo horns. Kinda old and beat up but wondering if it’s worth the effort to try and clean em up into powder horns of not?

 

[Ames]

Buffalo takes more work than a cow horn. You have to remove a lot of materiel. Only then can you polish it with the results you are thinking of getting.

It can really test your patience. Of course, if its a bit more work than you want to take on you can post the pics and P.M. me a price.....

 

[fishleclair]

Buffalo takes more work than a cow horn. You have to remove a lot of materiel. Only then can you polish it with the results you are thinking of getting.View attachment 22496 View attachment 22497 View attachment 22498
It can really test your patience. Of course, if its a bit more work than you want to take on you can post the pics and P.M. me a price.....

Nice work!

 

[bubba.50]

I made one buffalo horn and can tell ya, it’s a bunch of work. Never did get it quite as smooth as Mr. Ames here but got it where it looked pretty nice rubbed with beeswax & buffed right good.

 

[fleener]

Do it. My first horns were buffalo. Worth the effort. Even if it does not turn out, you are only out your time. I used a scraper to remove material. A good sharp knife works good for scrapping.

FLeener

 

[fishleclair]

I took the bark of a buff horn with a 2 handed log stripper, made short work of it. Then used a knife to get it cleaned up then some sand paper and then a carpet knife to refine.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I would like to see more suggestions on how to polish raw horns. A power wheel would be nice, but what kind?

 

[Kansas Jake]

I did the initial cleaning up of a real rough horn with a floppy sanding wheel on a drill. I think it is a buff horn as it is dark. I picked it up for a couple of bucks at a garage sale.

 

[MSW]

I made a buffalo horn to go with my Thompson Center Renegade … didn't look that bad when I got mine, so I didn't have tp remove as much material, although it was much more work than a cow horn. The finish on mine is simply scraped down smooth with a sharp knife, then a few coats of pastewax (Butcher's wax, if I remember correctly) … nice sheen, but not the high-gloss-plastic effect. Your horn looks nice, by the way.

 

[Kansas Jake]

The horn is a long way from done but the flexible wheel and coarse disc worked well to get ride of the rough stuff. I learned a lesson on this one. If you are using power tools and even sand paper it is wise to use a dust mask when grinding or sanding on these nasty old horns.

 

[Tumbledown]

Use a small-particulate dust filter. The cheap, disposable masks aren't good enough. Horn dust gets in the lungs and stays there. Chronic exposure can lead to emphysema.

I would only polish by scraping, then wet sanding with 400, 600, and 800 grits. Maybe a soft wheel with the appropriate compound after that.

 

[Ames]

X2 on the soft wheel and compound. You get done with a bison horn it should show a reflection.

 

[Brian Huffman]

Another opinion here, I think buffalo/bison horns look better with a satin finish (I like fine scraping). Too much polishing makes the black look plastic to me.

 

[S.Kenton]

I agree with Brian, polished buffalo horns, to me , look too “ store baught” or like the cheap ones they sell from fleabay. I really like the scraped look on almost all my horns, especially buffalo horns. I made a couple of them from the raw... it was quite a challenge as I don’t use any power tools.. except a drill for the spout and pins. I hand file and rasp everything... takes a lot of elbow work for sure!