Ibex horn preparations (final topic)
Hi guys! I decided to put all my topics (about Ibex horn) to one & I hope that will be helpful for somebody who will deal with that type of horns.
When I bought them I had no idea how to make the strips out of them, so I asked from our Atarnities & their advices were very helpful for me. Many thanks to Adam Karpowich & Jack Farell.
Ok. Firstly when you buy an Ibex horns you must check the surface for cracks & "depths" between the growth rings. (If find, it's a good idea to bargain with a seller)
When I bought them I had no idea how to make the strips out of them, so I asked from our Atarnities & their advices were very helpful for me. Many thanks to Adam Karpowich & Jack Farell.
Ok. Firstly when you buy an Ibex horns you must check the surface for cracks & "depths" between the growth rings. (If find, it's a good idea to bargain with a seller)
Here the tools that you may need - El.jigsaw, 2 angular grinders (with cut-off disc & grinding disc, el. belt sander & sand paper (40,60,120greet) (especially if you don't have a bandsaw like me ) Of course you can use a hand tools if you're skilled & have enough time for working. But you can go alternative way (pretty quick)
Now we need to mark the cut lengthwise at the middle & do the cut with jigsaw (I found out that 85mm blade is enough) I clamp the horn on a table with a pair of G clamps.
So after cut we should have something like this
Now we must work with horns of outside curve.
Take the smaller angular grinder (with cut-off disc) & carefully cut the excess of horn, especially edges on the inside (where the bone was) . After that carefully cut the bumps on the outside surface not too deep!
After that we can use the bigger angular grinder (with grinding disc) to grind the places where the bumps were. When the surfaces become somewhat smoother now we can use the belt sander with 40grit to remove the excess of thickness on the both sides. It should look something like this
After that we can use the bigger angular grinder (with grinding disc) to grind the places where the bumps were. When the surfaces become somewhat smoother now we can use the belt sander with 40grit to remove the excess of thickness on the both sides. It should look something like this
You can detect the cracks on the outer surface. I had one strip with such crack & it looked deep & dangerous. But I risked to sand it more. And Oh lucky! It disappeared . Fortunately it disappeared till the strip become 4-5 mm thick.
Rafael; I think you have summed up the operation well. The difference between working Ibex and water buffalo is that slats must be carved out of an Ibex and not just sliced off.
Don't forget the dust mask and fan! Horn dust is dangerous to breath.
Don't forget the dust mask and fan! Horn dust is dangerous to breath.
So now this strips are 48-51 cm long. Max. width 3,9cm. Min. width - 2,8cm(tapering ends). Thickness - 5-6mm. They are ready to steaming or boiling.
Thank you Jack. Maybe Stephen Selby will put it as an article, to help the beginners like me. Of course I use the mask & other acessories.jack farrell wrote:
Rafael; I think you have summed up the operation well. The difference between working Ibex and water buffalo is that slats must be carved out of an Ibex and not just sliced off.
Don't forget the dust mask and fan! Horn dust is dangerous to breath.
It seems like Ibex horn are a bit more elastic than buffalo, is it true or not?
Ibex is greatly more flexible than w. buffalo. But maybe the question is really will it compress easier than w. buffalo? And is this important? I am not sure.
Do not steam or boil. In fact do not do anything until it is required.
Do not steam or boil. In fact do not do anything until it is required.
:D great stuff, work on !
Ok I will not touch them until they will be needed.
Thank you Uli! All best for atarnities!
Thank you Uli! All best for atarnities!
Raf,
It is great. Nice experience!!!! Thank you for sharing.
Best regards,
It is great. Nice experience!!!! Thank you for sharing.
Best regards,
thanks for sharing, but if not hot it how use a twist horn make a straight horn strip?
Thank you too guys!jiao wrote:
thanks for sharing, but if not hot it how use a twist horn make a straight horn strip?
Jiao; In a case if I would make an Ottoman bow I will cut to 45 cm and it will look straight enough(without side twist). And as Adam says in his book boil it to 10 min to make it straight to fit the core