Horn Sheath Removal How-To for raw skulls (no banging!) 

You bet Dennis!

Ok sounds good Mark. Yes, hopefully there is not glue involved!

That's great to hear!

Thanks Brad! Yeah working on getting a skull to use for the video :)

You bet Jona!

Yes, please. How do you remove the sheaths on a dry skull?

Haha next time :D

ever figure out how to remove the sheath on the old skull?

I'm wondering the same thing

@@rhettwoodc i ended up getting a trough and letting it sit in water for 5 days. I couldnt bang on it without fear of breaking the already brittle bone on the skull. I basically soaked it until it became loose and went around the base with an exacto blade and then thin screwdriver to pry around the base until it became very loose. Then held one horn down with my foot while pulling and twisting the horn until it came off. Was a slight workout but got it off. I then got my orbital sander with 30 grit and went to town and did the same with 80 grit. Then hand sanded at 120 150 180 240 600 800 1500 2200 and 3000. I ordered some diamond polish for the final touches which includes the 5000 8000 and 10000 grit. Epoxy the horns back on the bone stub I left attached after cutting down with saw and do the mop and glow trick he always talks about before mounting in my green house. What a fricken process this was. took me 2 months of spare time to get this far.

@@taneesescu did it mess with the color or hardness of the horn sheath?

@@rhettwoodc and I have one horn 60% done and the other not started (if you wanted to see them both for yourself)

Hey Sammy! Let me ask first, how will you be cleaning the skulls?

Lol thanks for watching :)

orbital sander with 30 grit and then same with 80 grit. stage 2 I hand sanded at 120 150 180 240 600 800 1500 2200 and 3000 grit in small sections at a time. stage 3 is on the way. I ordered some diamond paste for the final polish which includes a 5000 8000 and 10000 grit paste with a cloth.Aint perfect but considering how battered and weathered horns were, its pretty damn close

I would treat with baking soda first like I show here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AirHfju8tls.html and then maybe just keep inside for a few weeks to help with the drying process

Hey Angelque! I am working on getting a skull to use for the video but will post it as soon as it's available :)

​@U.S. Skull Hunter any chance you've got a video on how to do the dry skull now?

Ok, I will post the video as soon as I can.

Hey! So you are going in the right direction. You will just need to keep macerating them. Once he membrane inside the sheath and some of that tissue around the base starts to break down it will slide right off.

@@usskullhunter thanks! After I wrote that I actually did get them off! I just used a butter knife and wedged it under around the base of each and then stood on one and pulled on the other. Since I'm not really that strong lol it was actually the one I was standing on that slipped off. Then I did the same with the other side. It's looking quite nice so far. Hopefully the other bigger one I haven't started on comes off as easy. Thanks for getting back to me ✨

@@WhiteDove_82 Ah good! Glad to hear that :)

i did my steer by soaking in water. It was very bad. Like a year or more old in the shade or something because the jaw was still attached with tendons, it's eyes were mummified and i had to soak it for 2 weeks or so. I would change water every 2-3 days and add soap and detergent into it. The head was large and those troughs are all I could find to fit the head and horns in. Anyways, it worked but after a LONG battle of soaking and cutting the tendons and funky stuff dang near fused to the brittle underparts of the skull. Gross stuff but super satisfying when them horns finally come off.

Good to hear you got them off!

So like @taneesescu said you will need to soak in water to start the maceration of the horn core and the membrane that is holding the sheath. Works better in warm conditions so if you can maybe put the whole thing under black plastic would help. You may have to do one side at a time just sticking the horn down into a bucket of water depending on the size.

Hey! Take a look at this video and let me know if it helps ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AirHfju8tls.htmlsi=6BklXIkXKhjCYPip

Yup! :)

Here’s a pickle. I have a old cow, bone dry, good condition, no flesh whatsoever left on it. I have soaked it in water for days to remove the horns but they are not coming off. It’s also too big to boil. I live in a region that has cold rainy winters so the bag trick isnt going to work. Because of the dried out condition of the skull is it alright to leave them on or do they absolutly need to come off to be rid of bugs and crap? Im not sure what other options I have. Thanks.

Hey, sorry this is so late. Were you ever able to get the horn sheaths off?

Adding it to the list :)

Are they just the horns or are they full skulls?

@@usskullhunter skull caps attached

@@KuriositiesByKat How about this; I need some horns to use in order to make a video on how to remove them. If I paid for shipping could I use some of yours? Where are you located? I would then send them back nice a clean, so we both win :)

@@usskullhunter let me see if I can get my hands back on them. My friend and I decided to collaborate and work together. I might have some more hidden. I'm in the middle of a big move. So I set her up. I think you and I were also going back and forth on Instagram about walnut and tea dying as well. So I'll message you there. Once I find out.

Hey Jennifer, if the skull has already been cleaned at some point it is possible it has been glued on. If you know that is not the case the best method is to macerate the sheaths off. Are you familiar with this process?

@@usskullhunter no I'm not. I'm new to this whole situation but I will look up some information. Do you have any videos on the topic? Thank you so much

@@jennifercorbitt9868 Ok, take a look at this video, something to consider ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mWwIW5l296E.html

well i am cleaning painted horns from a sable antelope 225cm long and 6 kg it is very uncomfortable to make it when they tucked together. then they have mols (is that how you call the small moths that eat wool and so?) if you take the sheaths out you can spray them with insect poisson from inside so that you won't get them back and of corse you can sanitise them if you want out of this i suppose not so many benefits

Perfect for a shofar

Ah dang, yeah those are tough depending on the shape. Depending on how the skull was cleaned I would macerate the skull/horns first. Then soak in clean warm water for possibly an extended period of time in order to loosen up the sheaths.

I will make a video on it! The short answer though is soak in warm water for however long it takes for the cores to come off. My experience is no more than a week.

Ok sure thing

Thanks for watching Kalyn!

What method of cleaning are you using!?

Hahaha sorry :D

Thanks Grover!