This year being unemployed, I was looking for a way to give Christmas presents without spending lots of money. I have been working on improving my scrimshaw skills over the last few years and hit on an idea to give hand made gifts to my grown kids. The first is a Wedding Fractur pattered after German Fracturs of Pennsylvania Dutch fame. This one however is unique in that it is scrimshawed and inked on ivory micarta.
The second is a bit more traditional and is a powder horn depicting the location of his house and his dog. I used a Celtic theme including Celtic font.
Your comments and criticisms are welcome.
Merry Christmas!
Stonecove

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	Jenna & Tim's Fractur 001.jpg (51.6 KB, 153 views)
	Jenna & Tim's Fractur moon.jpg (52.1 KB, 112 views)
	Shannon's horn name side.jpg (77.9 KB, 144 views)
	Shannon's horn Bay side.jpg (80.9 KB, 142 views)
	Shannon's horn 001.jpg (63.2 KB, 116 views)

Wow!!

They are truly unique and will be treasured heirlooms.

Great gifts!!!
My wife has been making quilts for family and friends for the past couple of months.


Jim

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Big bullets leave big holes

I would love stuff like that. I wish there was more people doing things like this and less buying of the next fancy gadget. Good job. JMO.

Can I be in your family.

Those are great.

I made mom a squirrel feeder with some leftover deck lumber. Not near as awesome as the scrimshawing, though. Good work, sir.

Holy cow!!! Those are absolutely awesome!!! Nothing you could have bought would even come close to those!!! What great gifts!!!

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Dom

The best gifts I've seen this year.
They'll love them to be sure.

Merry Christmas,D.G.

Beautiful! I love scrimshaw!

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Misty

Very nice!!!!!!!

The horn would look good hanging on the Christmas tree. An heirloom decoration. Wonderful job.

Stoncove, your work is beautiful. I wish you a fresh start and a prosperous new year.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I really enjoy doing it.
Merry Christmas!
Stonecove

Beautiful! Including Marion Island in Bower's Harbor in Grand Traverse Bay is an exquisite detail! I've had a shore lunch there!

Be carefull doing all that scrimshaw. You just might find your next career.

Class III

Those are the kind of presents that become family heirlooms and are passed from generation to generation.

Wow, Those are one of a kind gifts. Anyone would be proud to receive those. Maybe grips are next?

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He who angers you,controls you

Great looking work! What do I have to do to get on your Christmas list?

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Cheers -Jeff

The only thing wrong with them is they ain't under my tree!
Great work on them,

Excellent.. I'm partial to the horn ( must be my Irish )

Incredible. I would be honored to be given such a gift

Cobroller, What a great idea to make Christmas ornaments! I'm going to start on next years presents. I need to find some small horns and get an early start.
Thanks again for the complements, you are all too kind!
Stonecove

Do I detect Grand Traverse Bay on the horn? It does an old Interlochen boy a world of good.

Dwight

[QUOTE=K38;1229284]Do I detect Grand Traverse Bay on the horn? It does an old Interlochen boy a world of good.

Dwight, I have never seen another horn with a map of Grand Traverse Bay. My son lives on Old Mission Peninsula so it was a natural to do that map on his horn. Great deer hunting out Interlochen way!
Stonecove

[
Dwight, I have never seen another horn with a map of Grand Traverse Bay. My son lives on Old Mission Peninsula so it was a natural to do that map on his horn. Great deer hunting out Interlochen way!
Stonecove[/QUOTE]


This is not where I was born, but when someone says home, Interlochen is it. I am almost 50 and some of my teachers are still there. It is to me the most beautiful place on earth. There are many much more dramatic, but it is where my ashes will rest when I'm gone. I told my wife to scatter them in the woods near Green Lake. I also told her not to ask permission as it is probably not legal :-) Thanks for reminding me of my place in the world, it has been a rough Christmas for me and I am having a hard time getting stuff off my mind. It's a funny old world, and you brought me some peace.

Dwight

Wonderful work, but I have to ask,,where do you get the horn and what kind of tool do you use to do it with...seems like an interesting hobbie, not that I have any artistic talent

This is not where I was born, but when someone says home, Interlochen is it. I am almost 50 and some of my teachers are still there. It is to me the most beautiful place on earth. There are many much more dramatic, but it is where my ashes will rest when I'm gone. I told my wife to scatter them in the woods near Green Lake. I also told her not to ask permission as it is probably not legal :-) Thanks for reminding me of my place in the world, it has been a rough Christmas for me and I am having a hard time getting stuff off my mind. It's a funny old world, and you brought me some peace.

Dwight, I am glad that I can help to brighten your day. The area from Interlochen to Glenn Lake is my favorite place on earth. I would like to buy a farm on 50 to 100 acres up there for retirement. Close enough to civilization in Traverse City without any of the headaches. There is nothing like an October in full glory or deer season when it is snowing so hard you can only see 100 feet! I hope you have a better New Year! Keep your chin up!
Stonecove

Gunsmith,
Believe me I have not an artistic bone in my body, just a desire to try to make something that will last. I hit upon making powderhorns when I visited the Kalamazoo Living History Show about 5 years ago. I was already into modern black powder guns, so I thoutht this show would expose me to the primitive side of muzzleloading. That it did! Here's a link:
Kalamazoo Living History Show - Official Web Site - We Bring History Alive
I am sure they have such shows in Texas. While visiting this show I met over a dozen professional horn makers (as well as gunsmiths) who are all more than happy to get you started.
If you are interested, the best way to start is to buy the book by Sibley.
Recreating the 18th Century Powder Horn, the secrets of making, decorating, and aging fine powder horns, by Scott & Cathy Sibley
This book carries you through all of the basic steps to preparing, forming carving and finishing your horn and has advanced techniques too! It shows all the tools and how to use them. Twenty bucks well spent!
I buy some of my supplies from Track of the Wolf.Track of the Wolf - Muzzle Loading & Black Powder Guns Kits, Parts, Accoutrements, Rendezvous Gear & Primitive Americana
Call them and ask them to pick a scrimshaw quality horn for you. You will spend a few dollars more but they have good horns. Once you get into it you can pick out your own horns at the shows. Note, horns are either right left or neutral depending how you want to carry them.
If you are interested in getting making horns I'd be glad to discuss this on the phone with you, just send me an email and we can exchange numbers.
I also joined a The Honourable Company of Horners. This is an Guild of contemporary horn makers and collectors. The first year dues are only $15.00 and so far the quarterly magizines are full of interesting horn details. I will warn you that this hobby is very addicting and you will see that anyone can make a nice a heirloom with a little practice dedication and a minimum of tools. Remember, the original powder horns were made in the 1700 & 1800's with a whittling knife. I encourage anyone interested to send me an email and I will try to answer your questions. The following is the first horn I made commemorating my GGGG Grandfather. There are plenty of mistakes, but you learn from each. My sons horn is my 3rd horn that I built. I have various others started in different stages of completion. I plan to make horns commemorating all my ancestors that were from New England or New York in the period from 1750 to 1850.
Thanks for your complements.
Stonecove

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I tried that when I was a young teenager and it turned out okay. The only thing is, I stunk up ma`s house bad for a long time! Do you boil the solid cut off horns outside to get the horn shell off, or put something in the water to keep from sinking up the house?

Feral,
I have always purchased cleaned horns so have not had to go through removing the core. There are many sources for cleaned horns, but Track of the Wolf is very consistant in quality from what I have seen so far. You can buy cleaned horns on ebay but a lot of those horns are from Texas Longhorns and it is difficult to get nice white horns of scrimshaw quality. I understand that if you buy raw horns you definately want to do this outdoors!
Stonecove

Stonecove, thanks for starting this thread! It is a topic I knew very little about, and it was nice to see photos of your work. That is one of the reasons this is such a great forum - we have interesting members who have a variety of experiences and talents. Thanks again.