Buffalo Horns

[vthompson]

I was wondering if anyone had photo's of a black buffalo horn scrimshawed with red ink?
My wife bought me a set of buffalo horn's and I have been sanding them and getting them ready for scrimshawing. I was going to use white ink but someone else told me that I should use red ink instead.
If you have a horn with red ink, I sure would appreciate a peek. Thank's.

 

[JOHN ZUREKI]

I have a horn I did several years ago using red ink. I don't have a picture, but you can hardly see the scrim unless you are two feet away. I have a horn that I will not get to for at least a year. On that horn, I will try white, it's got to show up better than red. My wife suggested at the time a brighter red. Try red; you can always sand it off.

 

[vthompson]

Thanks for responding to my post. I feel like it would be to hard to see the red also on a black horn. Therefore, I think that I am going to use white ink whenever I begin scrimshawing my horn.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have seen scrimshaw on dark backgrounds on horns, either naturally color, or stained horns, that have employed different colors to highlight the scrimshaw. You don't have to use ONE color on the entire work of art. Red is the Strongest color, and a little goes a long way. Its easier to see against a white horn background, than against Black, however. Blue also is strong. Yellow(gold), Green, and White for the background works well, on Black horns. What you use depends on what you carve, and how you want the art displayed. A bald eagle displayed like the seal of the United States of America can have white, red, blue, and yellow or gold colors to highlight the flag and bird's beak.

Traditional scrimshaw used NO colors at all, just soot, or black ink made from mixing oil and candle soot together.

But some of the amazing artwork done today deserves to be distinguished from the more traditional art, and using one or more colored inks is the way to do it.

Personally, I would try to not use more than 3 different colors on one scene. Leave something to the imaginations of the people who view your work.

 

[blacksmithman64]

Paul, I have to disagree on different ink colors on a horn, this is what is referred to as "polychrome". Most original horns that were polychromed used red ink. Other colors are a purplish blue-found on scrimmed whale teeth from squid ink. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Yep. But I was not talking about original horns. I was discussing artistic choices on modern horns. I don't think an art form needs to become rigid to be valid. I also would not put modern horns in the same category for judging if I were running an art/craft show, and setting rules for a jury to follow.

There are some very breathtaking examples of modern artistry out there using scrimshaw, on horns, and highlighting the scrimshaw with different colors. These are " look-at horns", for display, not for toting through the woods. There is a growing audience/market for artistic horns out there, and people interested in exploring this skill and art should know about it.

I don't consider large Buffalo horns practical to be carried, either, for that matter, whether they are scrimshawed or not. The large horns do give the artist a wide "canvas" for his art, and the black color of the horn leaves all kinds of possibilities for "art". :thumbsup:

 

[T.C.Albert]

I, perhaps mistakenly, thought that most original polychrome highlites on engraved powder horns was done with various acids or mildly caustic solutions that could predictably stain the horn material specific shades of color.

Note: true scrimshawed and polychromed whales teeth and baleen type artifacts do look to have been colored with inks etc...

I think this may be evidenced by the "bleed" of the "poly-chroming" I have often seen on colored "horns"...like the bleed observed on the stars and shields of several Tansel carved and color enhanced horns?

It doesnt seem to be an ink or paint at all, but rather something that was daubed on that permenantly bit into and colored the horn.
TCA

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have an original horn, circa 1800. Its got the kind of scrimshaw someone would do with a pocket knife waiting for water to boil around an open fire. Nothing fancy, for sure. The horn is well yellowed, although we can't tell if its from the age, or from some stain applied( like onion skins boiled in water. ) Bruce Horn, a member of the Society of Horners, repaired the horn for me, and examined it closely to estimate its age. We both agreed that a repair had been attempted at least once before- sometime between the 1880s and 1940s, when the mouth of the horn was glued and supported with a chrome plated ferrule- possibly from an old screwdriver! The bottom of the horn- where the base plug fits, had been cut off, cutting through some letters and a stick figure. The base plug was made of pine, or some other similar soft wood. Bruce replaced the plug, and made a new mouth end which he epoxied to the original horn, and shaped to the originals form. The Chrome ferrule is GONE. When I bought a copy of the Sibley's book on Recreating the 18th Century Powder Horn, I examined their color plates carefully, comparing some of the horns to my own. The yellow color is the same as several examples. leading me to believe its either an applied stain, or as the result of aging. Its too even in color to be the natural color of the horn.

I have seen scrimshaw work done in antlers, bone, tusks, baleen, and all manner of products from Asia, including Ivory from China. The modern stuff( sold in Hawaii to tourists) involves some very nice art work, and some of it uses colored dyes or paint to highlight the scrimshaw. I used Charcoal based ink when studying Sumi-e painting in College and I understand about " Bleeding" inks. Ugh! That is why I believe that most of the colored scrimshawed work that uses color involves the use of more stable paints, than inks, or dyes. You can rub paint over a scrimshaw surface, and fill the lines. Then you just wipe off any excess on the surface, and let the paint in the lines dry. The art is then covered with lacquer or an acrylic varnish, so that you can clean the horn with various cleaning agents without removing or softening the paint in the lines.

Again, these are " Look-at " horns, not something to be carrying in the woods. :hatsoff: