Thursday, February 6, 2020

I wanted to talk about what people use for sealing their horn flasks, rum horns and even powder horns.  I used to use beeswax but its limits are well known. Then I went to brewer's pitch along with all the fun involved in heating and melting the stuff. I found that when the flask had its contents remain for period of time, say a weekend event or trek, by the end, the pine flavors imparted to the contents could be rather objectionable.

In addition to the flavor contamination, I found my flasks, sitting in storage ofer the hot summer or on display in the sun had a tendency to melt the pitch, leaking all over everything and sometimes allowing the shrink and swell accompanying heat and cold to open leaks in the bottom of the flask. Embarrassing to sell a flask and have it returned because it leaks or more likely not being able to pu tit out for display because it suddenly leaks.

So I have gone to food grade epoxy, not HC I know but definitely has its benefits.  No smell, flavor contamination and really holds the seal well. You need to follow the directions carefully and make sure you mix the components adequately. I seal all my horn art with epoxy now.

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