Horn help urgently asked.

[Boer]

Hi I got a few horns from a friend at the abattoir. They are fresh, with pieces of skin bloody stuff still on the ends. I do not have any knowledge about how the horns have to be treated but was told the first step is to boil the horn to loosen the inside part. Being worried that everything was going to become very smelly soon, I started boiling the horns with a few hands of salt thrown into the water. Did I start right? How long to keep up this boiling? Any help much appreciated

 

[fho]

Boar:
I get some pliers big enougn to hold the horns and after a while of boiling I take the pliers to see if the center is loose. If not I boil them some more. When the center is loose I take the pliers and pull the center out.I never put salt in the water but I don't think that it will hurt, not sure. This is a good job to do outside.

After boiling and the horns are apart I wash them in clean water inside and out and let dry.

Hope that this helps
Olie

 

[soggy]

Hi I got a few horns from a friend at the abattoir. They are fresh, with pieces of skin bloody stuff still on the ends. I do not have any knowledge about how the horns have to be treated but was told the first step is to boil the horn to loosen the inside part. Being worried that everything was going to become very smelly soon, I started boiling the horns with a few hands of salt thrown into the water. Did I start right? How long to keep up this boiling? Any help much appreciated

Yes you done good.It shouldn't take over 10-15 minutes to loosen the core in those horns. (I'm assuming that they are cow horns,other species might take longer) If the horns are twisted a lot you may have to pull the cores out. I once had to drill a 3/16" hole through part of the core, then thread a piece of strong cord through the hole and use this to pull the core loose.
You will no doubt find the odour of these horns to be a bit unpleasant. This is a job best done out of doors, and not in one of the wifes good cooking pots :rotf:
Hope this helps , can't wait to see the finished project.
Soggy

 

[boar]

Boer I screw a C hook in bone center,you could use alarge lag screw to pull out. Heres a tip if you are to make p-horns .Cut big end flush take foam dinner plate press end on plate ,cut out the circle,this will give you a pattern for your end plug. Allso you can cut baseball bat and while horn is soft use section of bat to forn the horn nice and round.easier to fit wood plug after horn is dry. Hope this helps,make lots of P-horns Dilly

 

[Walks Alone]

Sounds like you have the boiling and cleaning handled, but do hope you did it outdoors. I used an old heavy pasta pot on a gas burner as far away from the civilized areas of the home as possible myself.

Also turned several sizes of wood "forms" on the lathe to round for the plugs, but then decided I liked slightly less than perfectly round for my plugs and modified the forms accordingly.

When you get to the buffing, filing etc you may also want to do that outdoors if possible. Burned horn/antler is anything but sweet somethings to most folks nose gear.

Have fun and do consider adding traditional scrimshaw if you like the look. It's really not hard on horn (antler is another story).

Walks Alone

 

[Boer]

Thank you. I made a fire under a 25 liter tin can outdoors. I will try to pull the insides out now and remove the skin and so on. Do the insides remain loose after the boiling or will they only come out as long as the horn is hot? Time now to try and pull those horns. (8 of them)

 

[Birdman]

Boer, one other thing ya might think of is after ya get the cores out. If ya can place the horns on an ant hill where they won't disappear(critters both four n two legged kind)let the ants clean out whatever is left(might take a week or two). They will do a great job and the inside will look almost polished. Worked for me here in Pennsylvania n ya got to have ants n S Africa for sure. After the horn is cleaned out I usually stick the horn upright in some sand or dirt n pour a weak solution of bleach water into it n leave it for about 1/2 an hour, this sterilizes the inside of the horn so if anything is left ya have less of a chance of getting an infection if ya cut yerself while working it. just some thoughts YMHS Birdman

 

[sulinai]

If your horns were sawed off you might need to slip a knife in the openeing of the horn to loosen the attached flesh around the base of the horn

 

[whiskey]

If you let the horns alone for a couple of weeks, you should be able to just pull them off with a little to moderate force.
Once the animal is dead, the membrane that holds the horn on the bone core,will dry out and shrink and the horn will loosen. I have done this to bison horns many times. Shouldn' take to long.