Cow horn problems

[Xtramad]

I'm sitting here with two cow horns. One of them I chopped off some corny cowboy wall ornament. It's thin walled and yellowish white all the way to the tip.
The other one I found in a secondhand shop, it has a black tip and is rather small. I intend to use this for priming powder but I have a problem. The last three inches near the tip of the horn is solid. Do I have to drill through this or gouge it out with some kind of tool? Will the core soften up during boiling so I can get it out?
Why the difference between these horns. I understand that these are two different breeds of cow but why has one got flimsy hollow horns while the other one has solid rip-yer-guts-out horns?

 

[2172]

If I were you, I'd cut about an inch and a half of of that solid tip off, and then drill through the rest.
As to the thickness, I suspect someone did a lot of scrapping/sanding of that thin-walled one. I've taken to putting a drum sander into the wide end of my horns, and getting the final 2 or 3 inches down to where I can see powder level if held to the sunlight...Hank

 

[TwoShadows]

I'm no expert on horns by a long shot Xtramad, but here's my take on it. The thinner horns come from more southern climates and breeds like the Longhorn. The shorter ones come from more northern climates and are much thicker. The thicker ones always make much nicer horns in my opinion. You say it is sorta two colored....I betcha it will turn into two distinctive colors as you cut/scrape down into it. This makes for a nice delineation when you begin to clean it up. The thick part leaves plenty of room for relief carving on the pouring end of the horn. Look at pictures of the fancier horns and you will see what I mean. Careful drilling will go right through the thick area unless there is a very pronounced curve. Should it be curved a lot, I bend a coathanger and by heating it I can follow the curve and burn a hole through....takes a bit of time, and surely stinks a bunch, but the finished product is worth the effort. The earlier horns in this country seem to be from the thicker horns. Late period horns (well into the percussion era) tend to be of a thinner variety and were often scraped thin over the entire horn. This thinner horn lends itself well to being able to see the amount of powder inside when held up to the light, but are not nearly as strong as the thicker ones. I personally feel that the people on the edge of the frontiers would prefer a thicker horn. A thin horn would not have the strength to stand up to the falls and rough treatment of rough terrain and general life of a frontiersman. Perhaps some of of the folks here on the forum could send you some pictures of both types of horns and give you some ideas of the possibilities for the horns you have and how you can make them into what you desire.

 

[Darkhorse]

Your going to have to boil the horn that still has the core. The horn softens and swells and will then easily seperate from the core.
At least thats the way I remember it. It has been several years since I have made any powder horns. The one I use now I made 29 years ago. I broke a coke bottle and used a piece of glass to scrape it down smooth. It was one of the very thick ones.

 

[Xtramad]

Your going to have to boil the horn that still has the core. The horn softens and swells and will then easily seperate from the core.

Is it really that easy? I'm already halfway through drilling and sanding out the horn with an asortment of tools. I think I'm gonna keep this one thick, but I'll remember that tip 'til next time.

 

[Darkhorse]

Yeah, its really that easy. I went down to the local slaughterhouse and told them I wanted a couple of cowhorns. They pointed to a barrel full of heads that was headed to the dump and said "get what you want".
I picked a couple of good horned heads and they even cut the horns off on a bandsaw. Of the course the core was still attached. After boiling it comes out and all you have left is the hollow horn. That is what you work with for a powder horn. The inside is sorta boney while the outside is horn.
I wouldn't hollow out the core to make a horn. I would be afraid that later on, after it dryed out, the horn would separate and possibly you could loose the end plug, or the horn would not be water tight.
After the core is out, you can run a stiff wire inside all the way to the end, then lay this along the outside. This will show you how much solid tip is left. You can then judge how much to cut off. The idea is to cut it off and leave a flat solid surface, then drill from that surface into the hollow part. Buy or turn a tapered wooden plug to fit in this hole. This will seal the hole and come out easy when you need powder.
Do basically the same for the big end, but it will be sealed with "Period Correct" sealer of some sort (hidden of course) and then secured with 4 or more small headed nails. Brass nails if you can find them.
Thats the basic part. Your imagination can be your guide as far as decoration and even how you attach the strap.
Originally, these things were made all the way from barely functional basic to very elaborate.

 

[Xtramad]

Oh, so that's what you mean by core.
The core is gone, what I'm working on is just horn. The horn was hollow until the last three inches but also quite thick in the hollow section.

 

[jrdavis]

if you have a small lathe you can take the one with a solid tip and cut it off and turn it to make a screw tip horn. use a 5/8 tap and die to thread it to the other horn ...black tip on a white horn would look real good!

 

[frenchfusil]

A usefull thing to do with cores. Let them bry out good then cut the but end square so you can clamp it in your vise. Simply slip your horn over the core twist it a little till its stays firm and work away!