I figured he might have boiled it or something. I have a drinking horn and the warning on the label was "do not use for hot liquids or put in a dishwasher" (or words to that effect) I figured so it wouldn't deform it
Yeah when he said at the start that it can be "MOLDED and shaped" I laughed coz i thought he misspoke. _Peh, horn can't be mo... wait what is he doing with that fire, and that press, w...WHAT!_ Put in my place in the best way: Educationally 🤯
I saw a video of a bowyer making a bow from bighorn sheep horn. That horn can be reshaped using hot water, not quite boiling. Apparently horn from different animals works differently. Who knew?
@@markfergerson2145 now I have a mental image of the animal "growing" the horn by hot-extruding it from specialised skull attachments, like making industrial plastic pipes.
I love how you steadily grow more and more secure. The first video, you seemed very nervous being "the host" all on your own, now it appears as if you were doing it for years. Keep your growth up and Jon will have to watch out :D
He still look a bit nervous to me and the way he rub that horn shows he a bit fidgetty but he certainly is gaining confidence and more comfortable in front of camera.
Yeah, I love how Townsends continues to "branch out" with it's little list of *specialty* personalities. Brandon does a lot of the forge and woodworking things it seems and Ryan now doing more and more cooking videos. Soon it seems Townsends will have their own "village" with butcher, baker, and candlestick maker all doing their own niche things in the areas they are building on the 'stead there. When it becomes a living history site, I'm coming to visit!!
I have some items made of horn, that my husband made. He wasn't very proud of them and wanted to throw them, but I find them stunning. He explained to me the process he used to made them while discussing the results, and it was marvelous to understand the procedure, and to imaging how it developed since antiquity. 🤩
@@dstock9855 i disagree a "true" artist knows when to leave their work alone, if we didnt enjoy it wed quit. what we as people want from our art is a true reflection of whats in our mind to take whats virtual and make it reality that is the role of the artist and that is what we strive for. not half made low skill objects we had little intention to make, like a drawing that didnt come out quite right,or a painting or even some code it doesnt have to be visual art. we strive for perfection toward the communication of our intention if what comes out is not as intended, it could be sensed by another to be undesirable. the artist the craftsman the poet we need a vision a tool and a song to bind us we need to see love to feel change and to know unity over all things sorry to make this a a philosophy lesson but thats literally my job 🌺 Your comment is sweet though and i appreciate you leaving it
@@samwalker8200 I am an artist and I only agree with part of what you are saying. Maybe say "as an artist I" instead of "we" since each and every person on this planet is unique and may not think the same as you do.
I wouldn't call myself an artist but I am a woodworker. I have been doing it for many years. I don't do it intentionally but Im never fully happy with my work. I really don't know why. I think I should be at a different level but I have yet to get there. Maybe one day.
I Hope everyone over there is doing fine. My grandparents had a comb made of horn and I saved it. It still works, it makes me feel thankful and I’ll never forget how they used it. And most of all…. it survived a war and all the way from East Prussia. The animals were treated with respect and not taken for granted. So were people. I think this Video makes me feel a bit melancholic and yet feel a warmth inside that’s priceless. Thank you very much and greetings from Northern Germany. 🙏🏻
@Daily Still works in regard to the figurative sense, meaning that with all advancements it still gets the job done. Not a literal job which may confuse you.
I feel like the millions of people killed by the two great wars in the first half 20th century are evidence that people were definitely taken for granted and not treated with respect in the past.
advice for anyone using modern tools to work horn, bone, or antler, use a dust mask. you really don't want the dust in your nose or lungs. these are some wonderful mediums to craft useful, beautiful items from. also be aware, it does smell like burnt hair.
When we think about eco friendly living for the future we don’t need to come up with so many new ideas. Maybe it’s time to start looking back at history, the way our ancestors lived.
We will live like our ancestors and the rest will perish. No large scale factory will ever do good for the environment, regardless of the source of the material. There are too many people, period.
honestly, yeah. its rebranded as "zero waste" but im just using methods from before plastic was such a huge invasion into our lives. prior to the 1960s plastic was a rarity and people had ways around it. there's still some plastic thats "good" like medical waste that i wont fight against cause it is a cleaner and safer method but man. just bring a reusable bag to the supermarket and drink from a metal bottle.
@@SmashhoofTheOriginal We already have industrial processes that use these byproducts, most become glue for your Amazon packages. We are the root of the problem, we cannot continue to live the way we do while increasing our population. There is no way to offset that when it comes down to it.
I've seen bow limbs made from bighorn sheep horns, they boiled the entire horn and then sliced it length wise to flatten and dry. They also mentioned natives taking horns to hot springs for processing them this way.
@@andrewburns3823 Was just about to say this. Steppe peoples throughout history have done it. The Scythian bow was made this same way. Horn has a long, long tradition of being used in this way.
My wife is in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I mentioned what I'd learned in this video, and now with her blessing I'm off to a local leather shop to get a horn and make a her a comb.
I remember Brandon being the silent handyman in blue. I thought it was so strong of a performance to just be there and silent. But since he's started talking, in his simple humble and soothing manner, it's just a gift that keeps on giving. The passion of the crew at what they do is contagious. Not only for the crafts, stories and items but also for the care in crafting the sounds and images of these videos. Subscribing to your paid contents is high on my list to do when I can afford extras (kids in a big city ain't cheap), it also sound like wonderful father & son projects once he's older.
Right up until bakelite, when they started making "tortoise shell" patterned frames and "horn rim" became a shape rather than a material. The shape was actually a result of needing to keep the frames from delaminating, using the natural "grain" to provide torsional support to the frame.
@@takeohtyme oh that's smart, I hadn't thought of that. I was wondering why you wouldn't just cut a horn lengthwise to make combs instead of making a slice.. but the tines are perpendicular, so they'd be crossing the grain and coming apart into pieces if you did that.
I've been using horn combs for years, it's much softer on hair than plastic ones (keratin on keratin, same for boar bristle brushes), but you need to take care and nourish them like leather boots, otherwise they cracks on the surface.
@@saynotop2w Yep, simple massage with vegetable oil time to time, especially after a wash with soap. Horn is made of keratin, like your nails and hair, so the care is the same.
I have seen some bone combs that Archaeologist have found made from deer antlers. In Scotland they have a regular comb on one side and a nit comb on the other. So they didn't have messy hair all the time like it is shown in movies. The comb came out very nice Bradon. I didn't know that it could be heated in the fire. Thanks for another interesting video guys. Have a good week.
Today, even though they are made of metal or plastic, we still call them "shoe horns." Horn was used for buttons, stems on tobacco pipes. small boxes for snuff and cosmetics, handles on pocket knives and the list goes. Thank you for this very interesting video, I am looking forward to more.
Thank you for this video. Old novels often have a damsel in distress over losing teeth from her comb. This shows just why it was such a big deal. Beautiful work and great job! :)
1:19 - This to me it's the most interesting part of the video. Horn manufacturers started investing into the plastics industry. They knew their product would be phased out by plastics, but instead of creating lobbies to stop the technological advance, they instead embraced it and invested in it. Nowadays... Btw, great video as usual!
I will never understand why the cattle lobby doesn't just... start raising sheep and goats. They're just little cows, same products (plus wool), more efficient feed conversion.. just diversify, instead of committing shenanigans to keep the other bovids out of the market. I shouldn't have to pay 24 bucks a pound for new zealand lamb for passover dangit.
@@KairuHakubi It's a bit stubbornness, a bit farmers genuinely not having the liquidity to make the adaptations they'll need to support diversified herds, and a lot of apprehension of how ham-handed the government is with this kind of thing. Since farming is a heavily subsidized and therefore heavily government-dependent industry, trying to keep as much control on your production as you can is a necessity. Look at sugar cane. It was white gold until corn lobbyists demanded the industry to diversify, they did and in turn high fructose corn syrup ruined two generations of Americans' diets. It took twenty years of fighting against the HFCS hegemony for sugar cane production to return to proportionally similar levels as it had before the 70's and even then now it's got an expensive posh product for hipsters stigma. I'm sure most cattle ranchers don't refuse to give up their role as the fulcrum of the dairy economy because they love contaminating the world with cow farts. They just fear what poison the government will push in their stead if they let up, and they're right to feel that way.
@@Stroggoii well first of all corn syrup is glucose. glucose with fructose added is just sucrose again, don't start adding pseudoscience to this, we're talking about the corruption of lobbying. also, what? corn syrup is still used universally in place of cane, because the subsidies are still there. also all animals fart? so it's not like changing to goats would change anything, sounds like you've been huffing too much of al gore's hot air. gotta remember 100% of that eco nonsense comes from the government.
I've read of it being used for the panes in lanterns in lieu of glass, and even as windows in poor homes that couldn't afford glass. Very cool technology.
@@markfergerson2145 hi we have several small horn cups from the 18 c it’s very durable in the right conditions, also I got a buzz from replying to a namesake, happy new year
The first thing I remembered with the title is "How to Stain Horn to Imitate Tortoise Shell" on page 198 of The Domestic Manufacturer's Assistant by J. and R. Bronson. Thanks for the demo.
I agree. That's because the powers to be want us dependant on them for everything.... the ultimate consumers! We must regain some of that lost knowledge!
@xHideousFoxx a more optimistic outlook is that people still know how to do it, and are using the internet to spread it! I didn’t know about this before, and now me and thousands of others do!
@@bytecarter I was well aware horn was used to make combs and other items. If push came to shove, I'd have to figure out how to do it. I think I could, as could most ordinarily intelligent people. Glad we have plastic.
When the parents are comfortable in their craft and ready to teach you seldom find a child willing to listen. Children tend to resemble their own your own more than that of their parents and anything that is old and Antiquated or Not Cool is often disregarded and the skills are lost. I think that's why my grandfather was so grateful that I wanted to learn carpentry from him
I watched this video with my dad and he told me stories about working with horn when he built cabins and worked with horns as a job. I might work for his boss when I am older. Great video I might try this
I did a bunch of horn work about 15 years ago as a hobby. You can make a finer toothed comb or rounder edges using a sanding rag. It's exactly what it sounds like, a rag dipped in oil and covered with fine sand. You basically just floss the teeth with it Though, making super fine teeth is a real pain and you gotta uncurl and clean the horn to find a good piece to work with. The sand cloth method was dropped when sandpaper was invented, but it's the same idea
@@randycurtis1176 yep, last sentence mentioned that. I was more commenting on historical recreation rather than modern methods. I've seen modern makers use everything from dremmels to hydraulic presses to churn out horn items much faster than the old hand tool methods. Most of them use sandpaper (or wet/dry, same same) or sand tumblers to finish edges off.
I've accidentally made glue quite a few times trying to steam a thick horn. Hot oil always worked best for me, the next bests were ovening or direct flame. Boiling is much more of an art as the horn can go gluey or delam as it dries out
@@roidroid horn is actually more resilient in most senses when it comes to open flame heat and wood does better with steam or water. The collagen in bone and other bits can turn to gelatin if over steamed or boiled and it doesn't catch fire as quickly as wood.
I love info on working with horn! In a previous live stream, you pointed out in an illustration a lantern that had panels made from horn. I would love to see you guys make one of those!
This is such a pleasure to watch. I'm a maker and I love watching other people at work, especially with traditional artisanship. Working with horn seems like it would be similar to fiberglass composite. E: I have a very thin, shiny horn bowl that I got at a Renaissance festival, and seeing how much work it is just to flatten it, I can't imagine making a nice round bowl shape!
This was really fascinating Brandon. I have a couple of Shofars so this was interesting to watch. I love the relaxing music and Townsend's videographers are expert!
Wow, this brought back a long forgotten memory. Many years ago, my grandmother owned a translucent, wavy comb. As a little kid I always wondered why it looked so different from the straight, black plastic ones I used. After watching this video I think her comb was a plastic replica of a horn comb.
Interesting that this was kept in one piece. The most well-known premodern combs, the scandianvian/pre-norman english ones are made of several pieces, sometimes down to having individual pairs of teeth.
I'm very interested in combs, vintage and antique, and I have some wooden ones. But seeing one made out of horn and seeing all the work that went into it has given me a new found respect for the humble comb! I'd love to see a video on jewelry making with silver or gold!
I love the way you’ve done this largely without music and just had the sounds of the fire and clamps, vices and equipment - creates a real sense of the purpose and serenity of the work
It's interesting to consider, that as plastics became available and easy to produce, producers of items that were once made by horn, used plastic in colors that imitated natural horn. Think of combs, eyeglass frames, compacts, utensil handles.
Love the insights I get with this channel. I would never have thought of horn as the cheaper alternative to things like wood and metal and ceramic, but that makes perfect sense in context! You guys make my research for my historical fantasy fun and delivered in little tidbits, rather than all at once and overwhelming. Thanks so much for sharing!
Horn = Nature’s Bakelite! I absolutely love the Townsend & friends videos on early science and technology (gall ink, soaps, leather & tanning, tools, etc.). My specialty is later technology (late 1800’s to mid 190’s: telegraph, phonograph, radio, vacuum tubes, x-rays, etc), so these videos featuring earlier crafts and skills are a special treat! There’s great joy, personal pride and a respect for the source or your natural materials that comes with a hand-crafted object that gets lost in the disconnect of modern hands-off mechanized manufacturing. Please keep these types of videos coming! PS- Anything else that involves early chemistry, processing metal from ores, etc, and other day-to-day skills would be very interesting and most welcomed by a lot of us.
I experimented working with deer antler once, to make a decorative handle for a knife I made for my Dad. One thing I learned quickly... don't try to work antler/bone with power tools. The friction from power saws and Dremel tools will get the material super hot and it smells worse than burning hair! Lesson learned lol.
Je trouve ces vidéos d'artisanat vraiment incroyable. On apprend beaucoup d'astuces et de procédés artisanales. En plus avec cette ambiance très "chalet". Je revoie le savoir faire de nos aïeux. Cette chaîne est un pur plaisir à regarder.
Wow! That’s amazing! Never knew horn was able to be worked like this. Thought you would be limited by the size of the horn. No clue you could cut it, heat it, and flatten it out!
Neat video, I used to do a program I titled “ Plastic of the 18th century” for several historic sites, covering similar topics, with examples of turned and molded horn items… great job as always…
This channel keeps on getting better and better. This is a really good looking project. As someone who is originally from a very large farm in Alberta, I did not know that horns could be used in this way. Cheers!
This was a project only a man with a death wish would try in the home's fireplace. Momma would not like the smell of scorched horn in the house. "It smells like branding time in here!" (Yes, that's an anachronism.). Could you make a lamp horn?
Native Americans used horn as well. They made practical items such as combs, sewing tools and bowls from horn. They were called horn bowls. It was heated and shaped into form.
I would love more hornwork videos to be done. Maybe other techniques like de laminating and old window making. Really awesome video. (I’m a professional jeweler, so any content on these special materials working is always enjoyed and may be referenced for later work) thank you!!
Fascinating video! I have Townsend's horn spoon...so I will be watching carefully for your upcoming video! This comb is such a lovely and simple an item for a farmer to make to give to his wife at Christmas!
I have a drinking horn, I found it while hiking and made it into a drinking vessel. I didn't know that a little bit of heat and some work could transform it into something else. Great video.
Now that is AWESOME! I have lots of horn and all kinds of leftover materials from my skull mount projects. And now I have a new craft to master. I can't wait for the spoon video!!!
Thanks for this reminder of yet another almost-forgotten material. I've made containers (powder horns, rum horns, etc.) and now I look forward to trying a comb!
Thank you for showing the process. I have several comb makers in my family in the early to mid 19th century before the Civil War and always wondered how this would have been done.
This is awesome!! I discovered horn combs a few years ago and I love them!! I look forward to more videos on this. I’d love to try my hand at working with horn. It really is so beautiful!
Great idea! I've been making drinking vessels from horn for a few years now, only just recently thought about making jewelry, but combs sound like a great idea too!
