Cow horns

[olgreenhead]

Were does everybody buy them i would like some for winter projects? I have a nice bear skull to trade for supplies also

 

[brushbuster]

tandys or the leather factory will have them or if there is a loacal rendering or processing plant you might inquire there

 

[jrdavis]

Ebay has them all the time look under muzzleloading or muzzle loading; blackpowder or black powder

 

[Old40Rod]

Try Moscow Hide and Fur, they always have a nice selection, lots of raw horns with plenty of white area for scrimshaw work. If you can't get there (they are in Moscow, Idaho, home of the University of Idaho Vandals :find the lot numbers on their website and call them to confirm the description... they have been nice folks to deal with. Look to pay about $10.00 for a 18" raw horn.

http://www.hideandfur.com/

:m2c:

 

CALL track of the wolf... Describe what you want and you will find them to be MOST helpful, never got a "bad" horn from 'em yet...Tandy TENDS to sell very BRITTLE horns gave up on them years ago...

 

[2172]

I've had the best luck with horns bought from October Country..they have 12"+ ones, unpolished, for about $5 each...I buy 5 or so at a time, and the price and shipping both drop. Their horns are from South Africa, and make really good powder horns...
As a kid, I walked the length of Newark NJ to get to a slaughter house to get a horn..they gave me a skull with two horns still attached...on the walk back, I got a lot of stares! I would be surprised if they'd do it today, but if you can find a local slaughter, that'd be a good source. Around here, people de-horn cattle before the horns are worth working with...Hank

 

[olgreenhead]

Ok how do you polish them to get them to look good what tools do i need?Got any pics of homemade pwoder horns

 

first I find the 'balnce'point, plan how I want it to look. Then I shape the tip and straighten the big end, Then I work em w/ a med file from the tip to the big end to get it smoothed down. then work w/60 or 80 grit paper on a 2in. dowel, finally I finish w/ 0000 steel wool. You dont want your horn quite as shiny as most commercial horns, they are too 'slick'. Any more I use turned plugs and fiddle pegs to fill the ends, Add a strap & there ya go !!

 

[Henry]

Most fun is to go in fairs , like Dixon or re-enactor events and pick your choice in a bundle on the ground
( less expensive too )

It will take a king's ramson in sandpaper to get
something decent looking , I scrape them with a
furniture maker scraper or a piece of brocken glass.

Henry