When you soak it ,or boil it to straighten ,flatten it , most types of cow horn delaminate into paper thin layers .The horn grows in a spiral ,corksrewing up the length .Each year the horn gets bigger and the slope of the spiral changes .And it tears apart between these layers.
I have had success once ,by cutting the horn into two inch lengths .This was short enough so that layers didn't deviate in slope but just a little .
I then glued the flattened two inch pieces of horn on the belly of the core ,so that if the first piece sloped right ,the second piece of horn sloped left etc. . It was a huge pain in the ----- . But it does look good.
There are a few types of cow that are used regularly for bows. They are the older breeds with straighter horns I think. I heard of a Hungarian cow , for one. I want to try the Scottish Highland cow or maybe a Brahma . You can see the spiralled growth in the horn so you don't have to cut to have an idea if it will work or not. Just compare the 'grain' on the outside and inside of the horn ,and look for delamination of the base.
I'm not really an expert ,but I have tried to use cow horn and failed many many times .Before I figured this much out.Sorry for being so long winded.
Ralph
