Care & Maintenance of a Cow Horn

Cow horn is smooth, flexible and easy to carve, making it an ideal medium for jewelry, tableware and other accessories. However, because of this flexibility, cow horn can easily become scratched or damaged. The best way to protect your horn pieces is to store them in places of moderate temperature and humidity and to clean them periodically with natural oils.

  1. Cleaning

    • Never soak a cow's horn or submerge it completely underwater. Cow horn is very pliable, and saturating it in water can cause them to lose its shape or begin to smell. If your horn piece has become dusty or dirty, gently clean it with cotton wool soaked in warm water. Use a minimal amount of soap if necessary. This is usually enough to lift any dirt or dust.

    Polishing

    • There are a variety of ways to polish cow horn. Some people prefer to purchase a horn and antler polishing kit, including two polishing wheels. The first wheel is fitted with a coarse polishing compound to eliminate scratches on the horn, while the second wheel is fitted with a finer compound to produce a gleaming finish. Others prefer to polish manually, scraping a sharp knife across the horn in a single direction, then producing the finish with sandpaper or steel wool. To increase a horn piece's shine, try rubbing it with a small amount of baby oil or metal polish.

    Repairing

    • Minor cuts and scratches can be removed from cow horn using abrasive tape and steel wool to even out the horn's surface. For more serious abrasions, create a paste from French chalk and a small amount of water, and apply this to the scratch. Multiple applications may be necessary. After repairs, polish the piece with silicone wax, almond oil or olive oil to ensure that the horn is properly nourished.

    Caring for Horns Still on the Cow

    • Caring for cow horns is a little bit different when the horns have not been separated from the cow. A living cow's horns can be polished with linseed oil on flannel or chamois skin. To ensure that the cow's horns do not gauge others or curl back to wound the cow, horns can be "tipped," or clipped at the edges. This is the cow's equivalent of getting its fingernails cut.