How to make it
- Secure the Horn — Never hold the horn in one hand or between your knees while you carve it, since this is very dangerous. Instead nail cross-pieces to a board over its ends so a portion is exposed to work on, or fix a piece of wood to the table with a hole for the horn's small end while the butt rests fixed on the table; if you use holdfasts or clamps instead, take the utmost care, since they can slip when too much pressure is put on them.
- Outline the Pattern — Once the horn is secured, outline your pattern using a V tool or a very small graining gouge.
- Cut Away the Ground — Cut away the ground first with a quarter-flat gouge, then finish the cutting with flat gouges.
- Work the Bent File — Use the bent file freely on the horn; it will be necessary in many places.
- Finish with Files — Once the horn is roughed, finish it with careful touching, or with fine files and glass-paper.
Transcript
[WIDOWMAKER] Hello, my dears, and welcome back to Crafternoon! It's me, Widow Maker, still only a fortnight old and still faintly astonished my lovely chap trusts me with sharp things. Today we're carving a horn, so do go and fetch yours, and settle in beside me.
[WIDOWMAKER] A carved horn is such a treat, my dears, transformed from a stubborn lump into a proper ornament, handsome hung on a cord with tassels, and the raised pattern simply drinks up gilding beautifully. Well worth taming a slippery horn for.
[WIDOWMAKER] Now, today's plates aren't step-by-step diagrams, my dears, they're finished treasures to inspire you, so let's look at what a carved horn can become. There's a barrel-shaped vessel wrapped in clover medallions joined by a scrolling vine, a tall tapering urn climbing with ivy that weaves itself over and under, another urn banded top and bottom with curling scrollwork above and slim standing figures below, and a splendid goblet with interlaced scrolls at the foot, running beasts about the stem, and a bowl of leafy vine topped with a row of carved animals. To get anywhere near such richness, remember our little rhyme, pin it, outline it, gouge it flat, then file it smooth, and do mind my house rule: fasten your work down before you cut, keep both hands behind the edge, and keep every tool properly sharp, since it's the blunt one that slips.
[WIDOWMAKER] However your horn turned out, wonky vine or wobbly beast and all, I think it's rather marvellous you tried. I'll see you next Crafternoon. Bye-bye for now, my dears!
Scenes
