Chapter XXIX: Hints on Polishing Horn, Bone, Shells, Stones, Etc

BY GORDON STABLES, C.M., M.D., R.N.

He was a mean-looking man, to say the least of it. Even the coat he wore was a mile too big for him, albeit some time in the far-distant past it might have graced the shoulders of a country squire. Yes, he was decidedly mean-looking, nor did his character, as it came out, belie his appearance.

He shuffled when he walked and he snuffled when he talked, and was altogether unwholesome and undesirable. He and I were the only two--ahem!--gentlemen that stood on the little railway platform of B---- on a cold November morning, waiting for a late train that only stopped by signal.

Having been three or four times round the Cape and twice in the Polar regions, I dare say I look simple. Anyhow, it wasn’t long ere this mean-looking man addressed me.

‘Begging yer parding, sir,’ he said, ‘but could ye spare a trifle to a pore man wot’s got a starving wife and five babs dependin’ on ’im for a lively’ood. Maybe, sir, you’d buy these ’ere ’orns. I seed yer was a lookin’ at ’em, and I seed ye were a gent, sir, soon’s ever I clapped eyes on yer.’

He carried three nicely polished sets of ox-horns in his arms--a large, a medium, and a small.

‘They are very nice indeed,’ I said. ‘Are they attached to the skull?’

‘Oh dear, yes, sir,’ he said; ‘a piece of the skull were a-sawed out for the sake o’ the lovely ’orns, sir.’

‘And where might they come from?’ I asked; ‘and what might be their value?’

‘They belongs to the wild buffalo of the plains of Arfriker, sir. My nevey brought ’em ’ome. Been refused fifteen pound for ’em. You shall ’ave ’em for five, sir, ’cause I can see yer a gent. If I can’t sell ’em, sir, they’ll ’ave to be broke for combs, and that would be a peety, sir, them bootiful harticles, quite a hornament for any gentleman’s ’all like yourn.’

‘Sorry I can’t trade to-day,’ I replied, as I jumped into the train.

I saw no more of the man, for though he alighted at the same town as I did, he sidled his way through the crowd, making determined attempts, one would have thought, to gouge eyes out in all directions with his ‘bootiful ’orns.’ I saw no more of the _man_, but strange to say I did of the ‘_’orns_’ that same evening. They had been sold to a friend of mine for just five times their value. They had never come from Africa, of course; the larger pair had at one time probably adorned the head of some Highland bull. The others were probably English.

I do not believe this mean-looking man had polished those horns himself. He looked far too lazy for that; but in justice to the ’orns, if not to the man, I must say they were very well done indeed, and would have made, as he said, ‘quite a _horn_ament for any gentleman’s ’all.’

There is no end to the beautiful articles that can be manufactured from hoof or horn. Stuffed heads with the horns polished look very nice on the walls of rooms or in halls. I was in the drawing-room of a Highland cattle-breeder of fame the other day, and was both surprised and delighted to find on the walls, in recesses and places where there was room, not only the horns but heads, with necks and a portion of the brisket attached, of old favourites looking at me.

A ram’s head, with the crooked horns attached, makes a beautiful snuff-box. The box itself lies between the horns--or rather in the forehead--and is of silver, the lid usually adorned with a gigantic cairn-gorm. My Scotch readers know the sort of thing I mean.

But here we are again with another snuff-horn, more cheaply manufactured too. You simply get a shortish cow-horn and beautifully polish it; then another round flat piece of polished horn to form the lid. To this is attached, by means of silver nails, a piece of cork big enough to fit nicely into the mouth of the horn, and not more than an eighth of an inch thick. Then the lid is complete, and any watchmaker will hinge it on for you. Get also a little heart-shaped bit of silver, let into either the lid or the back of the horn, with the initials of the giver and the _givee_, thus: ‘From A. H. to W. H.’

Still another--a horse’s hoof. And there are many, many more which I do not at present remember, and need not enumerate if I did. But if you wish to see the many lovely articles that can be manufactured from polished horn, I prithee station thyself for a few brief moments anent a good jeweller’s window in any large city or town in the kingdom, and keep your weather-eye lifting.

Have you ever heard the Latin proverb, _Aut Cæsar aut nullus_? The English translate it, or paraphrase it, ‘Neck or nothing.’ I have heard a Scotchman speak of a boy in the following terms, which embody the same sentiment: ‘That boy will either make a spoon or spoil a horn.’

Now, then, if you are going to try your hand at horn-polishing, you must please bear that motto in mind, ‘_Aut Cæsar aut nullus_.’ You must either make a spoon or spoil a horn. But as horns are very cheap in the rough, it does not matter much if you do spoil one or two. Only this sort of work requires patience--and not only patience, but a deal of hard rubbing and much expenditure of elbow-grease.

Well, get your horns first. Where? you ask. You may go to your butcher and explain what you want, and he will tell you that the horns are sawn off with the hide and sent to the tanner’s thus. But if he be a civil man, as most butchers are, he will keep a pair for you, and he will probably knock them off, not saw them, so that you will be at once free from the awkward piece of bone that runs up the first portion of the centre; otherwise you would have to get this taken out.

Now the tools you want are not numerous. A very handy, and in some cases indispensable, one is what is called a spokeshave. It is for paring down the rough surfaces. It is a handy tool for woodwork as well, and as it costs only about eighteen pence, it is as well to have one among your tools. Just let me pause here for one instant to repeat a warning I have given more than once before. Never buy bad cheap tools. What are called boys’ boxes of tools are, as a rule, mere toys--an insult to any growing lad who really means to do proper work. Make your own tool-box; buy your tools separately, and see that they are good. Indeed, it would be as well to get them second-hand at a broker’s shop. No matter if they be a little old so long as the steel is good, and the woodwork neither worn nor cracked.

Well, you must have a good knife with several blades--not a mere pot-metal cheese-cutter. This knife will come in handy for paring and for scraping. And what I myself have found very handy is a piece or two of plain window-glass. Glass makes a capital scraper, and when the edge goes off you have only to break it again and you find another. I shouldn’t wonder if you found a piece of sticking-plaster handy too. Do you know how to bind up a cut? Well, get any dirt there may be in it out first. Then, when the bleeding has stopped, bring the edges together with _two or three narrow_ bits of plaster, leaving a tiny outlet for oozing, put a rag over all, and there you are.

The spokeshave is only to be used in paring down all the rough portions of your horn, and you must work with, and not against, the rough _laminæ_, that is, from and _not_ towards the points of the horn. You will have a difficulty in holding your work, because the spokeshave is best used with both hands. You may fasten the horn in a vice or on the end of a stick, or any other way that occurs to you.

After the spokeshave the knife will come in handy, but you _must_ have an even surface, and all stains must be removed. You will find the horn get harder and whiter beneath, and semi-transparent. It is down to this you want to go, but no farther.

Then after the knife comes your bit of glass, and while working with this, wherever you see any part out of symmetry, work carefully on that till you get all even and nice. When this is done half the work is finished.

When you have pared and scraped and cut down all unevenness, and have at last got a fairly plain surface by dint of hard labour with spokeshave, knife, and glass--perhaps a fine file may have aided you through some intricacies; this tool comes in handy enough when you want to polish bent horns--then you must have recourse to emery-paper. This is very cheap, and is sold in sheets of different fineness at colour shops or oil-merchants’.

Begin by using the roughest, then finer and finer.

Be tidy with your work. The dust that comes off horn is one of the best things in the world for soiling the waistcoat or nether garments. So place your horn over a piece of brown paper. You thus save your dress and save your dust as well. Put the latter in a saucer, and a drop or two of olive or colza oil over it. Mix and use it with a bit of chamois leather to polish with, after you have finished with the emery-paper or emery-paper and water.

If you feel discouraged and disappointed at want of gloss and beauty, depend upon it you have not worked hard enough. So you must go on again. Use next tripoli, or rouge, or both, first mixed with a little olive oil, and finally dry. Tripoli is the name given to a kind of infusorial earth, which was first found in Tripoli. It is now obtained in certain districts of the United States, and in many parts of Europe.

The name rouge may be somewhat misleading, there being so many different kinds of it. Ladies use a rouge composed of chalk and carmine. This will not do so well for polishing horn. I believe, however, if you take equal parts of carbonate of iron and prepared chalk and rub them up together in a mortar, you will form a very nice rouge for the purpose of polishing either horn or plate. Polishers’ putty-powder is another article used for finishing off horns.

Well, you must put your final touches to the horn or hoof with simple chamois or prepared wash-leather, and after this it ought to shine as if waxed.

You will know by this time that in a horn there is a densely solid tip, and also at the other end a hollow part. The thinner end is used for making combs, etc. It is softened in boiling water, then exposed to a flame till partially fluid, then cut into the shapes desired. In this state the horn can be pulled flat if wished. After it has been pressed and prepared, the piece of horn, comb, or whatever it happens to be, is scraped and polished in the way we have described.

A great many useful articles are made from the solid or tip portion of horns, a great many useful and very beautiful articles, some of which are turned by the lathe, while others are cut. Whip-handles, stick and umbrella handles, and handles for knives and small tools, may be made from horn and afterwards scraped and polished. Goats’ and sheep’s horns are clearer and more transparent than those of the ox. They are not more easy to work on that account, however, but being clear they take staining better. They should be polished before being stained.

I am not sure whether those useful liquid dyes that are sold in the shops would do for staining horn, bone, or ivory, because I have never tried them, but I think if used boiling hot and the articles to be stained thereby were immersed in them for some time, the stain would be permanent. You see I have classed bone, horn, and ivory together, because in this case what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Here are receipts for a few stains:--

_Black._--You may stain these substances black, and wood also, by
frequent immersion in hot ink, or by leaving them for a few days in
the ink, or in a solution of nitrate of silver, twenty grains to the
ounce.

The latter preparation is poison, remember, and it will burn and stain
the clothes or anything it may come in contact with.

Black may also be got by boiling in a strong decoction of logwood, and
afterwards placing in a bath of acetate of iron.

_Purple._--This colour is obtained by boiling in a strong decoction of
logwood and alum until the proper tint is acquired. It must be done in
an enamelled saucepan, else the colour will be a failure.

_Red._--You may steep the article in hot red ink, letting it lie for a
day or two. See that you get the best and brightest ink procurable.
But you may also get a nice colour by first steeping for ten minutes
in dilute nitric acid, then immersing in a decoction of cochineal or
cochineal dissolved in liquid ammonia.

_Scarlet._--This colour is acquired if you steep the articles or boil
them in a decoction of brazil-wood or in madder, and then in a
solution of muriate of tin.

_Blue._--Steeping in a strong solution of sulphate of copper will
impart a light blue. If dark blue is wanted, the article must be
boiled in a solution of sulphate of indigo in which a little salt of
tartar has been dissolved.

_Green._--This is got either by boiling for a time in a solution of
verdigris in vinegar, or an article already stained blue by the
process above mentioned may be steeped in nitro-muriate of tin.

_Yellow._--Immerse for a day or two in a solution of chromate of
potash, then for a few minutes in boiling-hot solution of
sugar-of-lead. Or you may reverse this order and steep first in the
sugar-of-lead solution, then in that of chromate of potash.

Now to return for a moment to our horns. After you have nicely polished them you will naturally want to set them up. To do this you must get a piece of thick softish wood, and shape therefrom something in the semblance of a piece of the animal’s skull and forehead that the horns originally belonged to, leaving at each upper side a piece of wood, rounded, some inches long. To these elongated corners you fix the horns. The next thing will be to cover the wooden skull with something resembling the skin of the animal. Real skin, well preserved, will of course suit best, and it is to be brought round and tacked on the nether side. But black or brown astrakan cloth will generally do very well.

Your work is now finished, and you may hang the horns in your hall if you have one; if not, they will look well above the mantelpiece.

Very nice powder-horns may be made in the same way. Lads who wear the kilt, or Highland dress, sling these in a chain over the chest and shoulders, and handsome ornaments they make.

_Bones_ of any kind are polished by paring, scraping, and rubbing in precisely the same way that horns are; and so is ivory, though it is much more difficult to work owing to its hardness. It is also very expensive.

_Tortoiseshell_ requires great care in polishing, because it is thinner than horn, and you are apt to cut through it. Scrape it carefully first with a knife, then with glass, then with very fine glasspaper and water, or bath-brick and oil; next with rottenstone and oil. But the rottenstone must be specially prepared for the purpose. It should be pounded in a mortar--what a handy thing a mortar is for purposes innumerable! and it is not at all an expensive article--pounded well, and afterwards run through fine muslin. It is used mixed with oil.

The final polish for tortoiseshell is obtained by rubbing hard and well with jewellers’ rouge (a preparation of calcined oxide of iron). This is used upon a piece of prepared washleather.

Imitations of tortoiseshell are made from horn. The horn is a clear sort, and generally brought from the South of Europe. The pieces of horn are softened by steam, pressed flat, polished, and afterwards stained. They are then smeared here and there with a composition made for the purpose, and which may be got in the shops. Before this is put on, the horn is steeped in a weak solution of nitric acid. The paint is left on for a time and afterwards rubbed off, when it will take a polish, the stain remaining as if burned in. I think the paint is composed of litharge and quicklime, equal parts, mixed in whiting-and-water.

_Seashells_ are pretty when polished. There is a deal of stuff to be worked off the outside of them, however, before you get down to the coloured or beautiful portion. Do this by scraping after you have steeped the work for some time in dilute aquafortis.

Practise on a mussel-shell first. Get a good large one. Polish with emery-paper and oil, finishing off with polishers’ putty and oil and rouge. When you have polished your mussel-shell, mount it by means of cement on a small polished slab of marble. It makes a most beautiful paper-weight, and you will find, too, that in this simple shell you have an excellent model of the hull of a yacht.

_Stones._--These require, first and foremost, to be sawn into the shape you want them. Then the work must be held firm in a vice while you do the polishing. Soft stone and water are used to begin the smoothing-down. The stone used is called ‘grit-rock,’ and is of different kinds, the finest being used last. Next a stone is used, the popular name of which is ‘snake-stone,’ then polishers’ putty-powder, etc.

Beautiful ornaments can be made from various kinds of stone, and from marble itself.

The art of stone-polishing on a small scale is a very pretty one, and not at all difficult to get up to. I mentioned a vice to hold the work, but a wooden contrivance like what you may see on a carpenter’s bench will do even better. If you have an iron vice, and determine to use it, you must roll your work partially up in old canvas or leather, else the iron will scratch it.

In the art of polishing either stone, shell, or horn, any boy may soon become an adept. It is not half so difficult as it at first appears, only hard work, energy, and perseverance are most certainly required.