Scrimshaw on Black?

[Songwriter]

Has anyone ever done scrimshaw (or 'scratchin') on a black horn, and then put something (white paint?) in the grooves (or 'scratches') to have it show?
I have a plain black horn that I am lookin' to scratch.

Thanks.

 

[andy52]

Normally the fill on scrimshaw is ink which doesn't show well on black, I've never tried paint give it a try and let us know what you think.

 

[64Springer]

I think any type of paint would be absorbed by the porosity in the horn.

I'd polish that sucker and let the black shine be the focal point of the piece.

Dark wood accents and strap too.

 

[oldwood]

A place to start lookin' for some fancy light color paint would be the makeup section at Walmart. Nowadays , you wouldn't look out of place lookin' there. Wear a hat , so you don't stand out among all the purple/pink hair people. Just do it , no offence meant , that's where I'de go. Do it for the sake of the art.

 

[Grimord]

I have done a couple of black horns with some rudimentary scrimshaw. I fill the scratched lines with old fashioned "White-Out" that was used as a correction fluid for type writer errors. I'm sure this ages me some that I still have a typewriter and correction fluid.

 

[oldwood]

Better than I could do.

 

[Compressorguy]

I’ve done this on a pet store chew toy black water buffaloe? small horn for a pistol. No filler used. Lines show up pretty well. The beak comes off to pour out the powder.

 

[Songwriter]

Well, I like the heck out of that! Thanks.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

On a scrap, try brushing on a clear sealer over the area. You can get the latex base folk art type paint and sealer at the hobby store. Sealer first, then paint. Gently rub with 0000 steel wool to remove the paint from the high spots. You could put sealer back over the filled areas. Polish the horn.

 

[arby]

I’ve Done a few black ones. Like above, I’ve used white out, also used a white paint marker pen. Both went well. Also tried one with white paint pen and then went over some areas with the kids coloured felt marker pens from their school supplies to add colour to flowers, leaves etc. worked well.

 

[Songwriter]

Started life as a plain cheapo horn from Crazy Crow (I think?). So far, so good.
Next time I’ll try to follow the curve of the horn a little better. My first time scratchin.
Gotta finish up the business end now.

 

[Songwriter]

Update… still a work in progress.
Added two lines near the transition, and some more shaping on the tip. Polished it with 1000 grit wet/dry. Really smooth & black.
Then put some white acrylic hobby paint in the scratches and rubbed the overflow off.
Then added the line near the plug and drilled and installed brads (short bits of finish nails hammered square).

 

[Songwriter]

So, as I mentioned, this was a cheap horn I bought to try all this out. The crooked hole they drilled for the stopper does not follow the horn contour at all. My thought is to fill the hole with JB or epoxy, and re-drill. Any better ideas?