So after a fit of desire seeing a rams horn snuff mull on the WoS website and then seeing the all but $300 price tag and realizing I could never purchase one without being condemned to sleeping on the couch for the next year; I decided to make my own. So far it is going rather swimmingly although it is nowhere even close to the beauty on the site and such. My question is this, on the video posted by Stoogsy he found on British Pathe, they showed a snuff mull with a spoon and some type of brush attached that the gentleman used to brush the lapels of his suit coat. Does anyone know what that brush is made from? Is that a snuff accessory that is still made and sold anywhere (I haven’t been able to find one myself yet), and finally if not any ideas about what would make a good alternative? I know it’s a minor, if not somewhat superfluous, detail and that my mull isn’t going to be anywhere near the pricey work of art of old. I would just like to have it equipped with the traditional “bells-and-whistles” that the mulls of yore had

Sounds like a cool project!

You can get rabbit foots at Cracker Barrel.

A rabbits foot! Simple enough to acquire! Thanks a great deal Snuffgrinder! One less bug to work out!

Actually that thread was quite useful! I have the horn mull and base assembled and a silver chain attached and ready for accessories but as for the container and lid to go inside or on top of the horn and hold the snuff I was still trying to design something functional and aesthetically pleasing so that gave me some good ideas. Since the horn I had was I bulls horn I had acquired that was not much bigger than a powder horn I needed to construct a bas for it to stand upright on a table, that I accomplished with a polished white-tail deer antler. Once I get this container worked out it will be a quantum leap toward completion. If this completes well and I am satisfied with it I am going to purchase a ram’s horn shofar (the only way I have seen ram horn for sale) and do another more fancy version

That is insanely beautiful. The silver work is amazing. I love the silver antlers that it rests on. Absolutely beautiful piece.

Don’t forget to trim the nails on your rabbit’s feet! Ouch!

You may be surprised that it is extemely hard to find a real rabbits foot. Nearly all the ones available are plaster material formed under the “fur” to feel like claws and paw bones. They say the left rear hind leg is the only lucky leg of a rabbit. I’m guessing the other three paws are used for snuff wipers?

It wouldn’t be hard to find a real rabbits foot at all. I live in rural Pennsylvania (plenty of rabbits) and possess a healthy selection of firearms. No finding a real rabbits foot is not an issue at all. I haven’t had rabbit stew in a long time anyway.

Well, I was talking if a person was in the market to PURCHASE one…that’s where the tom-foolery is taking place.

I gotcha. I don’t know if I would want to go with a purchased one even if they were real. All the ones I have ever seen anywhere were like blue, pink, red…I want the natural fur color

The mull in that 60s snuff party video a while back was freakin awesome! Can’t wait to see your project results.

I will post some pictures when I am finished. I hope no one is expecting anything of the caliber of what was in that video. If I could make something that beautiful I’d be doing this for a living. So far what I have is coming together nicely. It’s a black and silver hued cow/bull horn mounted on a polished white tail antler, I took copper bracelet apart and used the thin twisted pieces to make a spoon and larger scoop (box filling) and then used the thickest part to make a collar around the horn where it attaches to the antler. I just bought the materials today to make the actual container/lid section that will be down inside the hollow of the horn. So far so good…which kind of worries me because it’s been going so smoothly so far that hair ripping roadblock could be just around the corner with this container assembly

Here is the great lady of Kendal with another monstrous mull (hope the picture appears). The simplest mull is a silver box set in horn. The examples here are called ‘Regimental Mulls’ since it was the custom to use complete skull mulls in the Officers’ Mess. http://snuffhouse.org/discussion/comment/120001/#Comment\\_120001 The story behind the word mull is interesting. Apparently derived from the Scots’ pronunciation of mill, the ‘Critical Essay on Snuff’ of 1835 tells that - “The particular intonation of the French is undoubtedly to be ascribed to their excessive indulgence in snuff, which, by clogging up their nose causes them to speak as if they were troubled by a perpetual cold in the head. Though it has been frequently remarked that Scotsmen acquire the pronunciation of the French language much sooner than Englishmen, yet the true reason has not been satisfactorily explained. This facility on the part of the Scotch is not owing to any peculiar delicacy of the ear, but to the circumstances of their nasal organs being better tuned than the English in consequence of their being greater snuff-takers.” The snuff is placed in silver boxes mounted in the skull. Attached are by chains are various implements such as a small rake, a spoon, a spade for larger portions, a hare’s foot for dusting the lip and a mallet and pricker. More on Regimental Mulls http://www.scotsdgmuseum.com/pages/silver/rams-head.php http://www.cameronians.org/museum/starobjects.html http://writeantiques.com/antique-snuff-boxes-collection-not-to-be-sniffed-at/ http://willhutchison.com/blog/2010/02/27/a-most-unusual-rams-head-snuff-mull/ http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=5394 All these rams began their careers as regimental mascots. Faithful service continued after the mascot’s death by contriving the regimental snuff-mull for the Officers’ Mess. Waste not want not, so presumably the rest of the animal went on mutton stew as you suggest.

As an update…since I am not a silversmith or metalsmith at all I had to improvise on the container and lid, however it would appear I met with at least a degree of success. I used an inch and a 1/4 PVC cap as the actual snuff compartment and mounted it inside the hollow of the horn and made a lid out of paper mache. Once it dries I will resin it, paint it, add the accessories and for all intents and purposes it will be complete!

You could have also gilded it.

picks when you’re done.

I want to see pics of the entire process from plain horn to functional mull

I’ll second that ^

http://www.tdcmfgstore.com/agora.cgi?product=Boxes You could always use a Ted Cash box. edm

Those actually look pretty decent.

@mustangii Wow these Ted Cash boxes seem like a good deal… does anyone have any expierence with them? The tinder box seems like the winner It appears to have a latch on it.

Its too late for piece by piece pics but I will post one or two tonight of it in it’s current state, still unfinished. Those Ted Cash boxes are primo. I think I will invest in one or two of those. Anyway, I will get pics up soon

I have one in German silver that I use to carry tender in for my fire building demos for Boy Scouts. Going to get a couple of the smaller pill boxes for my snuff use. The tops are fricton fit on the snuff boxes and pill boxes, The tender I use is Chaga fungus and it has never absorbed any moisture while in the snuffbox. edm

Here are some pictures of it thus far. It’s not the magnificent work of art like some of the Rams horn ones but this is my first attempt and I’m not much of a craftsman to begin with but I do like how it’s turning out. More pics when I complete it. Open to any suggestions

I really like how you put it on an antler stand, very nice and original.

That horn looks awesome! And yeah, I dig the stand too. This is a great project; now you’re making me want one…

Thanks a lot for the kind comments fellas! It still has a few stages and refinements to go such as sealing and painting the currently grey lid and filler around the container. Also I am adding a few accessories like a spoon, scoop,brush and maybe rake and embellishments at the end just to pretty it up and such. I am happy with it so far for being my first attempt at something like this. As it always is with we guys and our projects I have plans for the next one to go bigger and better. I’ll post more pics when it’s completed

Looks awesome!!!

Thanks a lot! Tomorrow I will be sealing the paper mache components and hopefully painting them sunday. I would like to try and have it finished by the middle of the week if I get enough free time (i.e. stay awake long enough after my daughter goes to sleep) which isn’t always as easy as it seems

Sealed the mache…painting it tonight

sure it’s easy just use meth. Sure it will kill you and make you crazy but that is a small price to pay for a home made snuffbox. Sorry I have to give really really bad advice or my head explodes.

@bob…it’s o.k., so long as your head is kept from exploding. But you are right it was bad adivce…cocaine would we be a much better way to stay up, doesn’t seem to cause the same kind of wreckage AS QUICKLY as meth does! J/K (The Nose Knows does not advocate or support the use of any narcotic stimulant for the purpose of snuffbox construction)

cocaine it’s for people who like everything about coffee except for the price being too love and the fact that coffee won’t kill them. That’s my opinion at least.

Cocaine was great when a. It’s free b. You’re young, and c. You’re dumb. … but Snuff is great even when you pay for it!