Scrimshaw'in a horn

[bwhoffman]

Just finished doing a horn I was making (My first!) the horn came out good and I kept the natural shape (coriante roping steer) made base plug to fit ect.
I traced a few drawings onto it with carbon paper (try finding that nowadays!) and scribed them out with a carbide scribe for engraving tools etc.
BIG QUESTION.....
Why couldn't you use an electric engraver for etching you lines and such????
the first one will definetly be my "using" horn but know I want to make a few more just because.

Brett

 

[Brasilikilt]

Why couldn't you use an electric engraver for etching you lines and such????


When doing scrimshaw, you don't need your lines to be so deep......a deep scratch is enough.

Besides.....doesn't an electric engraver make a rough dotted line as opposed to a nice clean one?

 

[soggy]

BIG QUESTION.....
Why couldn't you use an electric engraver for etching you lines and such????

Brett; It depends on what effect you want to achieve. I have never used an engraver on a horn, although I have used one on metal.I am of the opinion that it would create lines that were too course for most scrimshaw designs. It might be just the tool for etching large areas such as shadows etc. When I first started to scrimshaw horns I asked a few questions on this forum just as you have done and most established horn makers tend to use x-acto knives or other similar tools. I think it's a learning process and if you experiment with different tools you will find some that you are more comfortable with than others.
One that I have found to be helpful in making course lines is one that I made myself. It consists of an 1/8" drill bit inserted into the end of a 3/8" dowel, and then filed to a three cornered point.
Whatever you choose, don't be afraid to experiment a little, that's half the fun IMO
Soggy

 

[BLAHMAN]

BIG QUESTION.....
Why couldn't you use an electric engraver for etching you lines and such????
the first one will definetly be my "using" horn but know I want to make a few more just because.
Brett

Well Bret, it doesn't take that much effort to scrimshaw or engrave a horn....it's very easy to cut or scratch a line into a horn.

For example:

All engraving work was done with a pocket knife. I buy old pocket knives at flee markets and snap the blades in a vice. The snapped blade has a square edge....I use the point of the toe on that square edge to cut my lines.

 

[bwhoffman]

Nice horn!
what method do you use to put the ink on?
I was told to first spray with clear polyurathane, scribe, apply india ink, wipe off and then 4-0 steel wool to remove poly.
Is there a better way?
I like the broke blade concept, I will try that next.

Brett

 

[BLAHMAN]

Just use a plain old pencil.....if you don't like what you see, wipe it of with your thumb, some steel wool, whatever is at hand.

I didn't ink it, I just immersed the horn in a Rit dye bath. The dye was yellow with a tinge of brown and a bit or orange. Then I burnished the horn with steel wool to knock down the brightness of the color, then I wiped it down with some alchohol based stains and wiped some gun stock oil on it.

The dirt (from my hands), dye, and stain actually bleeds into the cut lines and it looks like ink.

 

[Claude Mathis]

I didn't ink it, I just immersed the horn in a Rit dye bath. The dye was yellow with a tinge of brown and a bit or orange. Then I burnished the horn with steel wool to knock down the brightness of the color, then I wiped it down with some alchohol based stains and wiped some gun stock oil on it.

The dirt (from my hands), dye, and stain actually bleeds into the cut lines and it looks like ink.

I would think that your method was what was originally used by those with time on their hands. I doubt that everyone carried a bottle of ink, so I'm guessing that it was dirt and or soot that was used.

No documentation, just guessing. :winking:

 

[Black Hand]

Black Powder mixed with saliva will do the job of ink.

 

[paulvallandigham]

In the histories I know about, scrimshawing was often done around a campfire with a small knife edge. Since charred wood was readily available, it is not unreasonable to expect that soot from burned ends of firewood was used to fill the cuts, and show the figure. You can use ink, but why bother? Unless you are trying to make a museum grade horn, or a fancy that will be looked at and photographed, but never used, use soot and pencil lead, or the dyes mentioned above. The horn will look more real, and you won't hesitate to use it.

I have a horn bought at an Antique store, that had a broken pouring spout. I turned it over to my favor Horner, Bruce Horne, who repaired the damage. He believes the horn dates to the early 19th century, and had been repaired at least once before, probably more than 70 years ago. It has some of the orginal scrimshaw visible, but the open end of the horn was obviously cut off after the scrimshaw work was done, as some of the work is cut off where the plug is fitted. I can only wonder at how long the horn was originally, and who owned it. But I use it, and it always draws comments from other shooters, particularly when they realize how old it is.

 

[DrTimboone]

Last horn I did, I inscribed lines with my exacto and then stained/antiqued the horn with aqua fortis about 3 times. I then finished off with a hand rubbed coat of beeswax I had darkened with inletting black (just a tiny bit!!) then polished it with denim. Nice antique finish. Have one did with Potassium Permanganate too, but I like the golden red color of the aqua fortis better. The Rit dye works well too. I sure didn't need to put any ink in the lines even with just aqua fortis before the beeswax. I'll post a picture when I get home later this week.