[Regia-NA] Re: [Regia] Horns in Period & Horn-Working

[rmhowe]

Annette Deissler wrote:
> 
> Dear Magnus,
> 
> thank you for the resources on horns. I am (and many others) the one 
> who made one recently. I will  follow it up as soon as I get a chance,
> at the moment everybody is crying out for shoes and I do not get
> much reading or writing done. Thank you very much, and I hope I may
> ask you some questions when I get round to writing it up properly.
> 
> Ana

Some days I use almost any excuse to write something useful for folks
on a variety of subjects. Most of which I have some experience with.
That didn't go only to Regia, which is why I left you off of it.
I did, or dabble in, just about everything except spining, weaving,
dyeing and lacework. My more literary and poetic side died years
ago after being an English major for a few years before switching
to Industrial Arts Education for the next five years. I'd worked
for several newspapers earlier on.

The real experts are the Crafty Celts [and Sir Bohemond].
Craftycelts@mindspring.com  They carve the horns very deeply
and they do it for a living. They must really search for those
horns - I rarely ever see some with walls that thick. One cay
I'll maybe get around to turning a round tapered plug for
reforming them round after heating. 

My muscles are very affected with chronic pain these days. 
I spend about 85% of the time I am awake in this chair waiting
for the muscles to deharden so I can go do something again. 
Not too good for a practicing multi-traded craftsman, eh? 
It's hereditary, and I am used to having it, as is my wife, 
but it really limits me these days.  Chronic cabin fever.
I go until I crash. Usually a few hours a week.
I really miss making the many large things I used to do.
I try to be content with the occaisional smaller ones now. 

I was a cabinetmaker and furniture shop foreman - so guess who's in
serious need of bookcases? We have occaisional bookslides.
Very few pictures as almost every upstairs wall will be covered
with more bookcases. We have whole wallfuls now - floor to ceiling.

I have about $600 worth of bone, antler, ivory, mastodon ivory,
and horn - cattle and goat lying about waiting for various projects.
[I have a variety of jewelry and lapidary and leather equipment and
projects I hope to do too. The problem is much wiring, venting and 
rearranging. Will need help from my friends. Trying to relocate our
former armory somewhere.]  
If I can get the projects done - only by electrical assistance now, 
I will publish a small booklet - likely a Compleat Anachronist within
the SCA, but perhaps separately. 

I forgot to mention a good-sized book called:
Discovering Horn by Paula Hardwick, Lutterworth Press, Guildford -
Surrey,
1981. ISBN 0718825209, Hardback, first (and only?) edition. 192 pages.
This covers a pretty good range of historical and practical work in
the material up to the present day. 

I just checked the English speaking webs and it doesn't seem to be
on-line, so I'd ILL it if I were you. It could answer lots of questions.

and: 
Borglund, Erland, and Jacob Flauensgaard: Working in Plastic, Bone,
Amber 
and Horn; Rheinhold Book Corp., New York, Amsterdam, London; 1968. 
Library of Congress #67-24691, octavo, hardback, 96 pages.  
This is a bit more simplistic than the former. 

A later article entitled The Horn of Ulph (Kendrick T) - Antiquity 43
1937.  
5pp 5b/w pls I am waiting on delivery of. The purchase was confirmed.
I'll get it in a few weeks I suppose. 

So even if I can't do everything I'd like I still research and write.
The more resources people have they know about the better reenactment
will become. Curiosity and the wife keep me going.

Magnus