caryc
Hawkeye
I thought these turned out real pretty. They are going out to the customer tomorrow. He asked me for pictures of them, so I thought I'd show them to him here. :mrgreen:
Some New Rams Horn
- Thread starter caryc
- Start date
Interesting, and quite pretty.
Are you going to offer that material on a more-or-less regular basis?
Does it seem to be as durable as the better woods?
Are you going to offer that material on a more-or-less regular basis?
Does it seem to be as durable as the better woods?
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Ale-8(1) said:
Not really on a regular basis, the material is too hard to get, especially wide enough for the plow handle grips. The Bisley size blanks are also hard to get but at least a smidge easier than the plow handle size.
This is the frame off one of Andy Horvath's Lil' Rugers.
squawberryman
Single-Sixer
Some things are just prettier than others.
Hole Shooter
Single-Sixer
Mighty pretty!!! What a talent you have been blessed with!!
hs
hs
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Hole Shooter said:
Thank you but I wouldn't say blessed. After you've made a couple hundred pairs you get quite proficient at it. :mrgreen:
Beautiful! Cary, your grips are 2nd to none.
That is great work!
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Thank you guys. Trouble is that rams horn never shows it's real beauty in a photograph. You can't see the depth to it.
Joe S.
Hunter
man i want some blanks like that!! i can never tell what i am looking at when i shop for them...
those are BEAUTIFUL!!
those are BEAUTIFUL!!
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Joe S. said:
Neither can I. This is the set of blanks those grips came from.
squawberryman
Single-Sixer
If you don't think you're blessed, you ought. Your skill comes from God, no one else.
contender
Ruger Guru
STUNNING!!!!!!!!
Joe S.
Hunter
WOW!!
Ok. Id have never guessed those grips were under all that scale!
Ok. Id have never guessed those grips were under all that scale!
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Joe S. said:
Believe it or not that scale is only around a sixteenth of an inch deep. Of course you have to take it off all the way down past the deep grooves so you are taking off more than a sixteenth. And, the stuff polishes beautifully.
It kind of amazed too when I made my first pair of rams horn grips. :mrgreen:
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Ale-8(1) said:
As far as I know it's probably more durable than wood. Rams horn is very dense and heavy. It needs no external finish to protect it. With the high polish on it, it's going to repel water.
Joe S.
Hunter
So theres not even a finish on those??
Are there different kind of rams? Or is ram's horn, ram's horn?
Are there different kind of rams? Or is ram's horn, ram's horn?
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
Joe S. said:
There is no finish on them. They are just highly polished with three different grits on a bench buffer. This is Moreno sheep horn. I guess there's different breeds of sheep like there are different breeds of horses but they are all sheep. Any male sheep is called a ram.
Here is a pic of a Moreno Rams skull. It's been sawed in half to use in photos. There is also a pic of the hollow horn.
Awesome grips and photos.
Have you ever used brasso on horn? I used to polish Ivory with it.
Have you ever used brasso on horn? I used to polish Ivory with it.
contender
Ruger Guru
Very interesting. Knowing that we need roughly 3/8"-1/2" of thickness on material to make grips from, and knowing that ram horn is hollow, I've often wondered how a grip maker gets enough raw horn to be able to sand off the rough scale & have enough to make a set of grips. Seeing these pics,, it adds a bit to my confusion! Is ram horn thick enough to cut out the blanks like that? Or, is there any filler behind the horn to fit to the grip frame?
Betcha the slabs have to be cut from a LARGE horn to acquire the necessary thickness.
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
contender said:
There is no filler added to the horn. The further away from the skull the horn gets, the thicker it gets. Of course, the larger the horn the better off you are. What you are not taking into account is that after the blanks are cut from the horn they have to be straightened. They are boiled until they become soft and pliable. Then they are pressed out flat.
The blanks only need to be around a half inch in thickness toward the middle since a gun grip starts getting thinner the further it is away from the center. As you can see in the picture below, the straightened out horn does just that.
CraigC
Hawkeye
Those are gorgeous! I wondered if they were flattened out or straightened like they do to make powder horns.
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
CraigC said:
Hi,
Craig, we should send you on a quest: methinks a set of those would look wonderful in some of your leather! A matched set of grips and knife scales would be even better...
Rick C
contender
Ruger Guru
Thanks Cary! I didn't know about boiling them to straighten them out. You have explained a lot in short order! MANY thanks!
SATCOM
Blackhawk
Are not the horns made malleable by boiling then flattened, cut to size, and allowed to dry? This is after each horn is sliced in half longitudinally giving blanks from both sides of the horn with the ribbed side being thickest. Horns are made of keratin like our fingernails (Fingernails are horns as are dog and cats claws!) and are hard, waterproof, and polish well.
SATCOM
SATCOM
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
SATCOM said:
I said they were cut then boiled to soften and pressed flat above.
CraigC
Hawkeye
If Cary is willing and able, I'd be tickled to send him a grip frame for some grips made out of the stuff.Rick Courtright said:
OP
caryc
Hawkeye
I have a very limited supply of this stuff. What I do have will only make Bisley grips, not wide enough for plow handles. Depending on replies from customers I may or may not have anything available right now.
