Powder Horn

[NORD]

Hello,

Here is the powder horn I have been working on lately...I have been having lots of fun with it. I made it from scratch along with some parts from TOTW. I plan on scrimshawing something on it once I figure out what I want on it...not sure yet. :hmm: The plug is made from North Carolina hickory...beautiful stuff. I used India ink to color the nose and will use it to scrim with too.

Anyway what do you all think?

Thanks for lookin'

 

[bob1961]

i like the wood nice :hatsoff: ...........bob

 

[soggy]

:thumbsup: Great looking horn Nord. Is that typical of North Carolina Hickory ? or are those dark lines a result of water stains or something else?
Soggy

 

[NORD]

Hi Soggy,

I am quite sure it isn't water stains. That darker grain is throughout the entire grain pattern of the tree. The dark grain isn't softer or fungus like. It might be some sort of a disease...maybe. I had to cut the wood at a cross pattern to make it do that.
This horn has some meaning to me...because my Dad gave me the money to get the ebony fiddle peg, and the brass filler plug, and the rough steer horn. He then later sent me some hickory cut from his yard in North Carolina.

 

[tom hargrove]

if you check i bet you`ll find that paticular log came out of a bottom ( swampy area) somewhere as oposed to one that would have been cut in the hills.

 

It looks like slightly spalted wood--that is wood that has had some "rot" and fungus in it. I recently made a knife handle with spalted sycamore that had a nice dark streaky pattern in it. Nice job by the way. What are you going to scrim on it?

 

[NORD]

My Dad told me he just cut the hickory tree down this summer for firewood. That is why I think it might be some sort of disease...maybe...or fungus growing in the tree...it is much more humid in North Carolina then Wyoming...

 

[anvil1231]

Awesome horn Nord,awesome. Great work. :bow: Anvil

 

[NORD]

Hi Anvil,

Thank you for the nice complement! It means a lot coming from such a talented craftsman as yourself. :hatsoff:

 

[NORD]

Thank you very much for the complement sir!

I am not sure what I am going srim on it yet.

Any ideas???

 

[freeonthree]

Thats one sweet lookin horn.
If it was me I would leave it the way it is.
Simple & sweet! But thats Just my view.
Once again great job.

Keepem smokin
Freeonthree

 

[snagg]

Nord:
Great looking horn. This can't be the first horn you've done. Outstanding job. I also agree with freeonthree, it looks great the way it is. Very clean.
snagg

 

[bwhoffman]

NORD,
Nice looking horn! its got a certain "purdy" to it. What really catches my is the spout end! Outstanding :hatsoff:

I like a little scrim, but something is telling me, " no, nothing big." I couls invision it with some scratchings around the cap pins and maybe a border in the same area.
....if it were mine! which it isn't.
You did real good!

Brett

 

[shmrck1]

Nord,
Great work!!!!
snake-eyes :applause: :hatsoff:

 

Thank you very much for the complement sir!

I am not sure what I am going srim on it yet.

Any ideas???

I agree with others that say it looks fine as is, but I typically put some scrim on mine. Alot of original horns had no scrim and many that did had folk art rather than professional stuff like you see in the bigtime collections. If you are into a particular "period" or persona, that would dictate your design, but if you are a hunter/shooter only, then it is up to your desires...my first horn I did with a grizzly bear rearing up and a hint of woods and mountains behind it--a sort of art horn. My second had two elk grazing in a meadow. Then I went to period designs--a map horn ca. 1750s with a name panel, and etc...a little squirrel rifle horn I did recently just has a little design around the base of the big end cap and a name on the side. I have seen some neat horns with folk art deer, hunters or Indians, geom designs, etc...I have done several map horns for folks of areas they live in--generally adding some design or figure such as a running deer for a deer hunter pal or a bear for a buckskinner called "bunny bear" (long story).

 

[Brasilikilt]

Hey there

Tis a very fine horn indeed!
If you want scrimshaw suggestions, just start with a name panel, and perhaps a saying or quote.
Usually once you start scratching a horn the ideas come a lot easier
I'm just barely getting started with scrimshaw, but that's what I found out myself so far.

What kind of tool did you use for the engrailing?
It looks pretty good and even!

 

[NORD]

Wow! Thank you for all you complements! Indeed it is my first powder horn...

I might leave it alone for awhile, but I might start to scrim something on it someday...thanks for all the suggestions...good ideas.

I have some white micarta scales for a knife I might finish up this weekend with a blade of some sort...I might try my scrim abilities on it first.

I just used files to shape the nose of the horn...bastard files seemed to work quite well and left the surface rough enough to apply india ink.