horn-utn-care-msg - 3/26/05 Care of utensils made of horn. NOTE: See also the files: horn-msg, Horn-Spoons-art, utensils-msg, bone-msg, iron-pot-care-msg, ivory-msg, spoons-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 14:49:48 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: SC - Care of Horn? I was wondering if any of you had any tips on the care and handling of horn utensils; my Lady Ceandra escaped from my watchful gaze yesterday with the contents of my wallet and returned with a lot of STUFF, including several beautiful horn spoons. This morning I caught her about to put them in the dishwasher, and, having a vague recollection that this could be disastrous, but no idea why, thought I'd ask for tips on the care and feeding of (not with, of!) horn spoons and such. Adamantius Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 15:23:35 EST From: Seton1355 at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Care of Horn? I recall reading to only use a very mild soap or detergent and only sparingly. Rinse imediately and dry imediately. I'm glad the spoons weren't put in the dishwasher, I only use my dishwasher for my Corelle dishes anymore as the soap and knocking about is really bad for anything else. Take care, & Congrats on Ostgards 20th... Phillipa Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 16:12:55 -0500 From: "Alderton, Philippa" Subject: Re: SC - Care of Horn? Adamantius, putting horn in a dishwasher is NOT a good idea- hot water is one of the methods used to soften it for shaping ;-) I've always been told that the proper way to care for it is to wash it in warm, not hot, soapy water, rinse it, and immediately dry it and put it away. Don't delay in washing it, either- it's porous and will stain easily. For regular maintenance, wipe it with warm vegetable oil every few usages, or once a year- that helps prevent it from drying out. Phlip Philippa Farrour Caer Frig Southeastern Ohio Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 18:17:16 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Care of Horn? "Alderton, Philippa" wrote: > Adamantius, putting horn in a dishwasher is NOT a good idea- I thought not; you'll note I headed my well-meaning spouse, whose normal medium of expression is silver, off at the pass. > hot water is one of the methods used to soften it for shaping ;-) Uh huh. I also have discovered another good way to soften or delaminate it is bases, which is why most detergents are a bad idea. > I've always been told > that the proper way to care for it is to wash it in warm, not hot, soapy > water, rince it, and immediately dry it and put it away. Don't delay in > washing it, either- it's porous and will stain easily. For regular > maintenance, wipe it with warm vegetable oil every few usages, or once a > year- that helps prevent it from drying out. Sounds about right. Thanks! So far, after one day, it's still going strong! ; ) Adamantius Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 11:56:02 +1100 From: "Glenda Robinson" Subject: Re: SC - Care of Horn? Another thing I've found by trial with horn spoons... Try not to use them with rough ceramics. My spoon was 'rough sanded' by a bowl recently. It's been fixed with a light emery, but it's not quite the same shape as it used to be. Glenda. Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 14:42:47 +1100 From: Robyn.Hodgkin at affa.gov.au Subject: RE: SC - Care of Horn? The thing to remember about horn is that it is basically hair that is melded together. Soaking inhot water and detergent for a long time does just what this would do to your hair, separate the fibres. My advice is as much as possible do not soak horn. Wipe clean soon after use with a damp cloth, and remember not to let your spoon sit in your soup! Kiriel Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 12:40:04 -0600 From: dailleurs at liripipe.com Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] hor utensils To: "Cooks within the SCA" , "SCA-Cooks maillist (E-mail)" hey all from Anne-Marie > Eirene commented: >>>>> Reproduction period pewter spoons are pretty easy to get for under $10 each. My horn spoons lasted less than a season - they split along the grain pretty quickly in spite of cleaning and drying right after eating. <<<< on horn spoons... yours last less than a seaon? where do you live? Horn doesnt like to be too dry, or too wet or too hot. Mine is about three years old and starting to delaminate a bit, but still very usable. running it through the dishwasher is a big no no, and enthuasiastic helpful types who let it sit in the washtub too long is not good either. Dont let it sit in hot soup too long (or cold soup either), or in super acidic stuff too long. I assume super basic stuff (like bleach, or strong lye soap) would be equally bad. the stuff is HORN, so its a biological material, and will delaminate pretty easily (it does when its on the cow still too :)) but for some reason I haven't had a problem. I figure the stuff wont last forever but it lasts longer than my pewter spoons (which walk away after one or two events. grr!), at a fraction of the cost!' YMMV, and does, apparently. most odd! --Anne-Marie, who lives in a place that is always cool and slightly moist. But then I run my woodenware through the dishwasher to sterilize it and it lasts for years that way too. Maybe I just have good dish karma? Edited by Mark S. Harris horn-utn-care-msg Page 4 of 4