Rams horn Cigar

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
See more from Alan Morrison

Alan Morrison

Alan Morrison

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
3,297
Location
N Ireland
A nearby vet, whose hobby is making shepherds crooks, gave me his offcuts of the rams horns that he uses for the crook.
The pen was finished up to 600 grit, then buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. Polished up with Ren. wax.
I would be grateful for other peoples way to finish this material.
Many thanks. Alan.
IMG_1399.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1398.jpg
    IMG_1398.jpg
    280.2 KB · Views: 136
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
That looks good!

What are you looking for in a finish for Rams Horn? Shine? Sheen? More permanence in a shine or shine? Buffing smooth with matt finish? Or just how others finish horn?
 
Alan, I think your finished pen is brilliant! I have no experience with this material, but believe it would be best with minimal finishing. Just a clean turning (as you did), and some minimal sanding then burnish/polish the horn. No need for an artificial shine. And any slight subtle imperfections would add to the texture.

Just my thoughts... I do love materials left a bit natural. 🤔 ;)
 
leehljp said:
That looks good!

What are you looking for in a finish for Rams Horn? Shine? Sheen? More permanence in a shine or shine? Buffing smooth with matt finish? Or just how others finish horn?
Click to expand...
Kon-nichiwa Hank.
I am interested in other peoples experiences good or bad with finishing horn or similar materials.
Alan
 
alanemorrison said:
Kon-nichiwa Hank.
I am interested in other peoples experiences good or bad with finishing horn or similar materials.
Alan
Click to expand...
Mine, like others has been iffy. Some crack, some don't. I haven't had any deer horn to crack but I have on some black horn (forget what kind). Early on, years ago, I think everything was geared towards CA finish, so that is what I did. My daughter bought me a pink ivory wood carving about 10 years ago and it was buffed to a nice sheen (no wax). Because of that, It has been my thought that a fine and careful buffing after bringing to shape and extra fine sanding (or precise turning tool) can be done on many dense materials for a nice sheen with a good feel to it.
 
leehljp said:
Mine, like others has been iffy. Some crack, some don't. I haven't had any deer horn to crack but I have on some black horn (forget what kind). Early on, years ago, I think everything was geared towards CA finish, so that is what I did. My daughter bought me a pink ivory wood carving about 10 years ago and it was buffed to a nice sheen (no wax). Because of that, It has been my thought that a fine and careful buffing after bringing to shape and extra fine sanding (or precise turning tool) can be done on many dense materials for a nice sheen with a good feel to it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, Hank.
I have had these horns under my table for a couple of years. When I was first given them I boiled one for 15 minutes and put it in a vice to straighten it before cutting blanks from it. The pen looked good for a while and when I was about to gift it to the chap who gave me the horns I noticed that it was cracked. I don't know if that was due to the boiling, the straightening in the vice, or the fact that it was still fresh.
Any thoughts?
Alan
 
Alan - great pen! and the finish is great.
I have made different horn pens and have never had one crack - did have some ivory crack. I have always turned horn that was well aged. I am guessing that a lot of the problems we have is because we get anxious to turn and see what it looks like. Also we are often given horn hat we don't know how aged it is.
I always finish it with at least a couple of coats light CA. Not trying to get the shine so much but more of a seal and protectant for the material.
I will be turning some Dall Sheep in a couple of weeks that I am told is aged for at least two years. Wish me luck!
You did a great job on this pen!
 
alanemorrison said:
Thanks for the reply, Hank.
I have had these horns under my table for a couple of years. When I was first given them I boiled one for 15 minutes and put it in a vice to straighten it before cutting blanks from it. The pen looked good for a while and when I was about to gift it to the chap who gave me the horns I noticed that it was cracked. I don't know if that was due to the boiling, the straightening in the vice, or the fact that it was still fresh.
Any thoughts?
Alan
Click to expand...
Keith mentioned above: "we get anxious to turn and see what it looks like" - after boiling . . . let it set for a month or more to let nature take its course, then drill and finish. I would be careful to not to let it get hot. While I am not a physicist or chemist, I can imagine that the heat from drilling a previously straightened bone/horn (etc) could probably cause that same reaction that braces do on teeth - moves slowly over time. As we already know - boiled horn or bone can be straightened with boiling, but more heat later (from drilling) just might be triggering a stress induced movement that results in a crack. I don't know if that is true or not, but while we don't know, it sure helps to troubleshoot the possibilities until we DO find the definitive answer.
 
keithbyrd said:
Alan - great pen! and the finish is great.
I have made different horn pens and have never had one crack - did have some ivory crack. I have always turned horn that was well aged. I am guessing that a lot of the problems we have is because we get anxious to turn and see what it looks like. Also we are often given horn hat we don't know how aged it is.
I always finish it with at least a couple of coats light CA. Not trying to get the shine so much but more of a seal and protectant for the material.
I will be turning some Dall Sheep in a couple of weeks that I am told is aged for at least two years. Wish me luck!
You did a great job on this pen!
Click to expand...
Thanks Keith. The horn that I have is at least 2 years old, at least that's how long that I have it.
The next time that I turn one I will follow your advice and give it a couple of coats of CA.
I'll have to look up 'Dall sheep ' to see what the horn looks like. Good luck with it and I hope that you will post it.
Alan
 
leehljp said:
Keith mentioned above: "we get anxious to turn and see what it looks like" - after boiling . . . let it set for a month or more to let nature take its course, then drill and finish. I would be careful to not to let it get hot. While I am not a physicist or chemist, I can imagine that the heat from drilling a previously straightened bone/horn (etc) could probably cause that same reaction that braces do on teeth - moves slowly over time. As we already know - boiled horn or bone can be straightened with boiling, but more heat later (from drilling) just might be triggering a stress induced movement that results in a crack. I don't know if that is true or not, but while we don't know, it sure helps to troubleshoot the possibilities until we DO find the definitive answer.
Click to expand...
Hank that makes sense to me.
I won't be boiling any more as there is enough 'meat ' to cut off to make a blank or two.
Alan
 
I turned the musk ox horn and used heat not boiling to soften it to straighten. A little microwave and then a heat gun and a vise. The Inuit Indians from Nunavut, Ca hold it above an open fire to soften and straighten (not in the fire above and in the heat). I am told that it will not re-curve. It is also a solid horn rather than hollow. I also used 3-4 coats of thin CA and one medium- wanted to seal and protect.
 
keithbyrd said:
I turned the musk ox horn and used heat not boiling to soften it to straighten. A little microwave and then a heat gun and a vise. The Inuit Indians from Nunavut, Ca hold it above an open fire to soften and straighten (not in the fire above and in the heat). I am told that it will not re-curve. It is also a solid horn rather than hollow. I also used 3-4 coats of thin CA and one medium- wanted to seal and protect.
Click to expand...
Hello Keith. I nearly missed your post here.
I never thought about the microwave ( though I've dried timber that way before using 10 to 15 second blasts )
I havent tried your CA finish on horn yet, though I rarely use CA on pens anyway.
I am happy with the white diamond buffing, though always interested in alternatives.
What about car polish? What do you think?
Alan
 
alanemorrison said:
Hello Keith. I nearly missed your post here.
I never thought about the microwave ( though I've dried timber that way before using 10 to 15 second blasts )
I havent tried your CA finish on horn yet, though I rarely use CA on pens anyway.
I am happy with the white diamond buffing, though always interested in alternatives.
What about car polish? What do you think?
Alan
Click to expand...
I like to seal and polish and I'm concerned if just the polish would provide the seal.
 
Hi Alan, I have used up to 1000 grit before applying an auto polish compound that is used to take out light scratches in the clear coat finish on todays trucks and cars. I figured if it works on clear coat then should work well with horns. This will give you a high gloss shine but on the black bison horns it looks quite impressive.
Regards Darrell
 
Adding to the horn subject: horn was used to back up bows as a part of laminate in various cultures.
It's amazing what we can come up with to make things as pens, etc.
 
Woodchipper said:
Adding to the horn subject: horn was used to back up bows as a part of laminate in various cultures.
It's amazing what we can come up with to make things as pens, etc.
Click to expand...
Some cultures use Rhino Horn to treat hangovers as well as for other 'things'
I don't fancy grinding up rams horn to take as a medicine.
 
woodturner1952 said:
Hi Alan, I have used up to 1000 grit before applying an auto polish compound that is used to take out light scratches in the clear coat finish on todays trucks and cars. I figured if it works on clear coat then should work well with horns. This will give you a high gloss shine but on the black bison horns it looks quite impressive.
Regards Darrell
Click to expand...
Darrell, I think that I'll try some auto polishing compound when next I turn a bit of horn and compare the finishes.
 
alanemorrison said:
Some cultures use Rhino Horn to treat hangovers as well as for other 'things'
I don't fancy grinding up rams horn to take as a medicine.
Click to expand...
It won't work in any case. There is a problem of poaching of black bear for their gall bladders as a medicinal aid. If that is true, why doesn't it work for the bears?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom