Powder Horn

[rancher]

I've been looking at some powder horns on this site made by people and notice that most have a yellowish apperance. What do they put on them to make them look this way? Is it a protective coatig or just personal prefference? Thanks!

 

[blacksmithman64]

A good many original horns that came from professional horn shops were artificially stained,most yellow/gold, but i've seen some that were greenish colored and even black.I have not seen many "backwoods" horns that were stained.Harddog can probably tell you why but my personal opinion is "marketability!"

 

[soggy]

I've been looking at some powder horns on this site made by people and notice that most have a yellowish apperance. What do they put on them to make them look this way? Is it a protective coatig or just personal prefference? Thanks!

It is my understanding that the colour is applied to simulate an antique effect (artifical patina?)
I'm guilty of doing this to the horns that I make. And to achive the couour this is what I do:
I boil a bunch of dried onion skins in a solution of apple cider vinegar and water. Bring it to a boil and submerge the horn until it reaches the colour that I want (usually 5-10 minutes)
Some folks use Rite dye, and on one occasion I used a solution of black tea that worked well.

Here's a link to a previous post showing some examples. Hope this helps

[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/200978/post/346538/hl//#346538[/url]

Soggy