Middle Earth Ranger Forum

As mentiond the other day on the Facebook site, and this morning on Eledhwen's St Hubert's Day post, I have chosen to reveal my Hunting signaling horn today!

Actually I just finnished it today and it was a happy coincidence that it fell upon St Hubert's Day.....or was it?

A while back I was in Tandy and I saw some nice cow horns. I love making drinking horns out of these so I grabbed it along with a load of other stuff and kind of stashed it away for a rainy day project.

Well it was surely was raining the other day, but when I looked at the horn and all the stuff I have to drink out of, I was uninspired.

Then it dawned on me, I have always loved the use of a horn as a signaling horn and watching the battle of Amon Hen and the fall of Mighty Boromir, I decided I would make a horn in the period style to be used in my many groups, signaling, hunting and Art/Sci.

I started with the raw horn, trimmed it and sanded it. Then I went to the tip and cut off about 2.5 to 3 inches.

I bored a hole through the cone of the tip from the inside out, following the natural curve of the hollow. I then carved the tip into a strait pipe about an inch up and down from the tip making a strong ridge or shoulder where the insert would seat.

I then shaped the inside of the mouth peice's bowl and the inside and outside of the lip.

I had made mouthpeices in this fashion before and find it not only traditional, but very satisfying to make the whole horn from itself.

Dressed and inserted I cleaned up and carved the joint of the peice. One could use Hyde glue at this point but this one burried and seated well enough that I refrained from doing so.

I cut and carved a leather rim band and secured it wet with a bit of hyde glue and some stitching, then I did the ferrule end the same way.

finally I cut two one inch wide bands to size, tooled them with the horn's name in runes (Gjallarhorn is the horn Hiemdal uses whilst guarding the Bifrost, So Gjallarhornson is its Dwarven Offspring!) and stitched for fit aound the horn and then to hold two tidy brass rings it was again stitched at the ends.

I stained the first two bands on the horn but the two strap hangers were stained alone then added and sewn.

I enjoyed this project emensly and it produced a nice outcome, I wish I knew how to add a sound byte because it sounds great even at the size I have it.
It has a very mellow tenor tembre, that is very appropriate for one of the Naugrim!












I am adding these and their liquid holding Brethren to my marketing mix...Christmas is coming!

BTW I will be adding the strap to it shortly so I will post that next!

Great looking horn and Amazing work as always.

That really is a nice piece of work! I'm going to have to add that to my very long list of things to do.

Thanks guys! Yes Eric, it is a fun and not to costly or difficult a project depending on the amount of detail you want but I enjoyed it and the results.

Beautiful work! I especially love the clever way you made the horn tip into the mouthpiece. I'll have to remember that!

Looks nice, as usual.

I wish you had posted pics of the making of the mouthpiece. I have a horn sitting here that could be turned into something like this but I hadn't sorted out the mouthpiece. Your description gives me some idea of the process, but it looks like a little experimenting might be in order.

Oh wow totally missed this last night.. That is NICE!!!

I am planning on picking up a couple more to make for Christmas, I would be happy to do a little tutorial if you would like with the next one I do.

It will not be exhaustive, but it will document the process as far as I have it here and then anyone can add to it.

I am substituting for a fellow Ranger today and running his Practice, it is down toward Orlando, but it is also very close to our Tandy so it might be a good opportunity to score a few more horns.

I would love a tutorial!

As I said in the other thread, very nice.

I will get some of my hunting horn here soon. Sorting out some for my lass and my younger son who have both successfully completed courses in hunting and can now obtain the necessary documents to hunt legally in their own right.

The Forandiri are growing.

Horns are quite simple to work with, and as you pointed out, inexpensive. I always sound mine at the beginning of a hunt...the calls are in my books on medieval hunting. Should I score game, I sound it as well.

Excellent work!


Eledhwen

I would love to see the traditional horn calls are they something you can reproduce or perhaps let us know where to find them? And would also enjoy seeing what horns you have too! I have some ideas for some of the new ones I would like to do but seeing other's work is always inspirational to the creative mind.

Oh a Tutorial would be fantastic.. umm with pics as well.. I know I can follow better with pics hehe.. I'm a very visual person.

Outstanding! I love your leatherwork! Tutorial please!



Ken

Wow when it rains it pours!
Not only did I throw the shorts in the wash that had the directions to my Archery practice, I reached down into the deep pocket to look for the paper and see if I could salvage it, and found my saturated missing Bluetooth!
Then I got down to Tandy and it was closed, so no horns!
To top it off I got to the practice on time to set up and I guess no one got the memo, so I sat there from 2:30 to 4:30 with horses and cows for company! (and don't think I didn't give those cows the once over, having come up short for horns!) I refrained myself, no worries, but that means it will take a bit longer for the tutorial, sorry folks but I will set it up asap.