- Joined
- Jan 3, 2004
- Messages
- 14,767
- Reaction score
- 313
I admit to having a broad practical streak down my back. Living in a unique climate and a place with essentially no US involvement before the 1860's, I've made my choices in gear and materials based on the premise of someone from US arriving here in Alaska before the Seward Purchase from Russia, more or less living on the lam and staying out of the Russian's way while applying technology and methods from the US sensibly to the local conditions and available materials.
Long winded way of saying that while I'm interested in what was going on around the US prior to the 1860's, I'm not really religious about imitating any one style. If something makes practical sense here, I try it.
Engrailment has always looked cool to me on a horn, but also seemed like so much fooferra in practical terms. I've always made my horns plain, and never looked back.
I finally got around to trying it myself, just cuzz. And HOLY COW!!!!!! Did I ever get a lesson about "practical."
Fact of life about a cold wet climate is cold wet hands at best, and often gloves. And a plain horn is slick, a real PITA to handle and control.
Well I took that horn out on a trial run, and learned there's a really practical side to engrailment: It vastly improves your grip and control on an otherwise slick horn.
I don't know of any engrailed horns in museum collections up here, but I'm going looking. I'm more than a little curious how the "locals" dealt with slick horns back when. Surely I'm not the only one that has cussed a slick horn sliding through your hand and spraying powder all over tarnation.
Long winded way of saying that while I'm interested in what was going on around the US prior to the 1860's, I'm not really religious about imitating any one style. If something makes practical sense here, I try it.
Engrailment has always looked cool to me on a horn, but also seemed like so much fooferra in practical terms. I've always made my horns plain, and never looked back.
I finally got around to trying it myself, just cuzz. And HOLY COW!!!!!! Did I ever get a lesson about "practical."
Fact of life about a cold wet climate is cold wet hands at best, and often gloves. And a plain horn is slick, a real PITA to handle and control.
Well I took that horn out on a trial run, and learned there's a really practical side to engrailment: It vastly improves your grip and control on an otherwise slick horn.
I don't know of any engrailed horns in museum collections up here, but I'm going looking. I'm more than a little curious how the "locals" dealt with slick horns back when. Surely I'm not the only one that has cussed a slick horn sliding through your hand and spraying powder all over tarnation.
