brazilian horn

[porkchop]

how can you tell if scales are Brazilian horn or something else?

[JulesVane]

I think there was a time when importing horn from Brazil to Italy was less expensive and the term just stuck no matter what the cow's address was

[jerryk25]

This topic had come up about a decade ago . . . not just about horn.
It's problematic in all collections, Familiar Terms don't match the reality of materials.
Most Mexican Souvenirs are from Japan. . .at least in the 1960's.
I recall a kid bringing back a Rizzuto from a trip to Spain. . .
I thought Milano was in Italy . . .
I thought Rizzuto's, if not made in Mexico, were made in at least Spain.
Then I thought all the little levers with bullfighter clear scales were Mexican.
I finally learned which knives were actually Mexican. . . None of the common Souvenirs.

Sambar Stag. . .Soapy Stag. . .hard White Stag. . . German stag. . . .red bark stag. . .
was Sambar Stag always from India ? . . nope.
was hard white antler always from Canada ? . . nope
was Red Bark Stag always European ? . . .probably not.

Brazilian Horn . . . French Point Horn . . . Green Horn. . . .
Argentina exports all that canned corned beef. . .
I'd think some horn comes from there at least.

My friend had 84 Meat Packing south of Pittsburgh. . . He sees a lot of cow horn.
The animal's diet, breed, age, all affect the color, hardness, thickness, curve . . . of the horn.
Most of the horn he sees is wrecked from Bulls and Cows scratching their heads on fence posts.

Go into a cowboy shop for boots and saddles.
There will usually be a Longhorn Steer mounted Horns up on the wall over the door. . . .
Some are spectacular colors, long straight six feet tip to tip.
Is it from Texas. . .or maybe Kansas . . . where and how far did the Steer walk.

I forget which Italian guy had that warehouse of horn material in the SharperDeal Vacation pictures.
Was it DiBon ? . . . . I'm sure he'd say. . whatever opportunity was knocking.

Louisiana Po' Boy Shrimp Sandwich. . .Kentucky Fried Chicken. . .Chicago Pizza. . . Texas Chili . . . .
I learned in school in Spanish Class. . .Chili Con Carne was Chili with meat.
Therefore. . .Regular Chili was beans and peppers. . no meat.
Tell that to a Texan who will shoot you if you add beans, or serve it over macaroni.
In Texas. . Chili is just Meat, not ground but cubed steak,
in England Not Minced but Chopped. . .in Pakistan, not rashered but Curried.
KFC chicken, grown in Iowa, Fried in Pittsburgh. . . Genuine Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Finally, more than a half century after those South american cow parts went to Italy.
Brazilian Horn is more of a visual description. . . .
French Point Horn. . .that multi-color Root Beer and Cream . . . ain't from Paris.
When Sam Polk imported cow horn from South America
(LATAMA = Latin American Textile and Mercantile Association. . .or something akin to that.)
He did it because of cost and quality, each within some limits.
Think of all the different colors Latama Knives came in, From White to Skunk Striped to Green.
That was most likely real Brazilian Horn.
Even the stuff that looked like the late 60's plastic swirl scales.

I love the look of an old scale with white that has yellowed with age, and grown stress cracks in just the right places.
There's probably some guy out there saying "That's REAL Brazilian Horn."
As if there are no Brazilian Cows with dull chocolate brown horns.

Everybody steals the cool name. . .
Stiletto. . .shoes, parachutes, boat propellers, Arrows, women's skirts,
Milano . . .
Leverletto . . . .
Brazilian . . .

Look up Hy-Brasil . . .it's a mythological Island off the coast of Ireland.
I knew that from Monty Python's cartoonist who did the avante garde movie by that name.

It ain't even in South America . . . . Them South American Explorers stole the name.

written at 1:15am Palm Sunday Night on Oxycodone . . . . How the mind wanders. . . .

[Bill DeShivs]

Maybe they just imported a brazillion of them!

[jim d,]

Jerry - never mind the hour or the drugs consumed - that was an excellent post.

Bill - and they probably did. I imagine the scrap rate while working horn into scales is rather high?

Jim

[Tom19176]

Jerry and Bill great posts!

[fastr19]

Maybe they just imported a brazillion of them!

[rock-n-roll$$$$$$]

I vote for Jerrys Post.

[jerryk25]

My thought about a brazillion of them . . is the smell. . .

I'll bet that smell of sanding horn won't EVER come out of the cutlers clothes.

[Bill DeShivs]

Actually, it washes right out of clothes.

[jim d,]

Back in 2007 - 2008 we did an unofficial TalkBlade forum knife that was a ProTech Godfather with real horn handles; the "Godfather for stiletto collectors". A year or two later at Atlanta BLADE I met and introduced myself to Dave W., the owner of ProTech. Dave told me that the ProTech crew had not worked with real horn before, and did not know about the odor. He said they were furious about how bad it was, and made him promise to never make them work with real horn again. I have no idea if that promise was kept.

Jim