 |  | Small-Scale Horn Processing (ILO - WEP, 1988, 104 p.) | ||
 |  | CHAPTER VI. RATIONAL USE OF HORNS | ||
|  | 1. General considerations | ||
| | 2. Buttons | ||
| | 3. Salad servers and spoons | ||
| | 4. Bracelets and combs | ||
| | 5. Knobs and handles | ||
| | 6. Heron | ||
| | 7. Crustacean | ||
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A rational use of boards or corrugated iron sheets presents no problems as they are uniform in size and dimensions. The same cannot be said of horns, which differ in size, shape and colour. It is therefore not possible to formulate a general rule for the rational use of horns. We will limit ourselves to giving a few examples of manufacture of simple everyday objects. For each new model created, it will be up to the artisans to find the most economical way of producing the object that is compatible with the shapes required and the manufacturing and assembly conditions. A systematic approach will enable the artisan to economise both in raw materials and in the amount of time required to work and shape horns.
Any section of horn can be used to produce buttons, as shown in figures IX.1 and IX.2. Buttons may be cut from a flattened hollow horn section, as illustrated in figure VI.1. Smaller buttons are cut from areas close to the base of the horn where the walls are thinnest. Larger and thicker buttons should be cut progressively towards the solid section of the horn. Very large buttons may be made by cross-cutting the solid section of the horn, as shown in figure VI.2. This method enable buttons of standard thickness to be obtained.
Figure VI.1: Cutting buttons
Figure VI.2: Longitudinal cutting of
buttons
In the salad set illustrated in figure IX.4, the fork differs from the spoon only in that prongs have been cut out of it. This operation is effected only after the flat end of the rough model has been given a concave shape. An identical spoon and fork can thus be obtained (figure VI.3).
Figure VI.3: Cutting forks and spoons
If the horn to be used is not long enough, the handles must be cut along the whole length of the hollow section of the horn. Tea spoons, salt spoons and syrup spoons (figures IX.5 and IX.6) may be made from off-cuts, as shown in figure VI. 3.
The bracelet referred to in Chapter X, section 1, and the hair comb described in Chapter IX, section 3, are made from rings cut in the hollow section of the horn, according to the method indicated in Chapter II, section 3.
Depending on the diameter and thickness required, rings are cut either from the base of the horn, which is larger in diameter with a thinner wall, or from the area close to the solid section, which is smaller in diameter but with thicker walls.
Rings cut in the hollow section of horn are used for the manufacture of bracelets because of their similarity of shape. Surprisingly, however, such rings are also suitable for the manufacture of flat combs since, in order to ensure that the teeth are strong, they must be cut parallel to the horn fibres, i.e. along the length of the horn.
To manufacture a horn comb, it is first necessary to cut a ring in the hollow section of the horn. The width of the ring should be slightly greater than the desired width of the comb to allow for trimming and polishing. The perimeter of the ring must be longer than the desired length of the comb. The ring is then split along a line to allow flattening into a rectangular shape, from which the comb is made, as indicated in Chapter IX, section 3.
Solid horn sections may be used to produce buttons or knobs and handles, as shown in sections 1 and 5 of Chapter IX.
To produce knobs and handles, advantage can be taken of the conical form of the horn to cut knobs and handles of different sizes from one and the same horn, the smallest being manufactured from the tip (see figure VI.4).
This figure provides an example of a combination of knobs and handles made from the same horn. A number of other combinations are possible, depending on the design and size of the desired articles.
Figure VI.4: Cutting knobs and
handles
The stylised heron shown in figure X.2 is a decorative item for whose production a whole horn is needed. It is cut out in a single piece (see figure VI.5).
Figure VI.5: Outline of a heron
The curve of the horn gives the heron its slender and graceful form. The heron is the best example of the rational use of a horn. Not only are there very few off-cuts, but the slightly curved shape is well adapted to the stylised lines of the heron.
As in the case of the heron, an entire horn is necessary to make a stylised crustacean, as shown in Chapter X, section 3.
The crustacean is made of various elements; body, claws, antennae, legs and tail fan, which are cut out separately (see figure VI.6).
The body is taken as a single piece from the solid horn section. The eight legs, four antennae, two claws and the tail fan are cut from the hollow section.
Figure VI.6: Outline of a
crustacean
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