Working with horn

Jewelry Discussion
1

Does any one have a suggestion on how I can take the curve out of
horn? I need a fairly large (1" x 3" ) perfectly flat piece of horn
and all that I have is curved. If I soften it to flatten it using hot
-boiling water, it delaminates when I try to flatten it. Any help
greatfully accepted.

Hank Paynter

2

steam and press do this process slowly or you may get
separation between the layers of horn

3

I say soak it in water for a couple of weeks then place in boiling
water to shape then run under cold water and it will freeze the horn
into shape. That is how the Northwest Coast Indians make potlatch
spoons out of mountain sheep horn. Oh what a smelly messy process.

4 
 it delaminates when I try to flatten it. Any help greatfully
accepted.

Your horn grows like a fingernail in layers .The hotwater only serves
to soak these layers apart. You have to remember that this was once
living tissue that fed itself thru the layers. …you could allow it
to delaminate and relaminate flat or choose a fairly flat area to use
rather than the curve.

LISA
http://www.linkny.com/~gnmhllw/

5 
    Does any one have a suggestion on how I can take the curve out
of horn? I need a fairly large (1" x 3" ) perfectly flat piece of
horn and all that I have is curved. If I soften it to flatten it
using hot -boiling water, it delaminates when I try to flatten it.
Any help greatfully accepted.

It may be the piece of horn that you have. If you have a piece of
cowhorn that’s too old and dried out, the delamination process has
already started and the hot water simply finishes the job. The ideal
horn for that type of flattening is one that’s not too recently
removed from the animal.

The old-timey process involved boil times as long as 1-1/2 to 2 hours
followed by an application of dry heat to evaporate the excess water
(held over a fire with tongs) before the horn was cut and flattened.

Ron Charlotte – Gainesville, FL
@Ron_Charlotte1 OR afn03234@afn.org

6

The soaking is to separate the bony horn core from the horn shell,
which is the part that one works with. If you are starting with an
already cored horn, you go straight to the application of heat.

Ron Charlotte – Gainesville, FL
@Ron_Charlotte1 OR afn03234@afn.org