Large Half Polished Half Natural Kudu Horn Shofar

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  I ordered this because we are living in end times and I wanted to sound the shofar as scriptures in Joel 2 instructed. When it arrived, I was so excited, it came over here very quickly, considering it came from Israel. It is beautiful, I was happy! The smell isn't so bad, I can only smell distinctive smell if I put my nose inside the horns, at least I know it's genuinely real! My German Shepherd was eyeing it, so I put it in safe place; I recommend other dog owners do so too 😇 I am planning to add more pictures. But video will do for now. As you can see, I need more practice 😄 but bear with me. I remember wishing other reviewers would post video to help me determine whether or not to buy it. So I hope this video will be helpful. If I get better at it, I will post new video, lol!

I am leaving a lengthy review of not only my purchase experience but also I will give tips on learning the shofar as well as a history of it down below. while it may not sound good at first my review is actually a positive experience from the spiritual aspect not necessarily the physical way my shofar came. So first the negatives, sorry but here goes:My Shofar arrived in bad shape. The package was torn open from the top and I am surprised the whole thing just didn't slide right out. That right there must have been some God miracle that it got here! There was no padding except for just the ends of the horn and the box was cheap and just slapped together with minimal tape. Customs to the US stamped on the package,"arrived in damaged condition" because it was damaged in transportation.I expected an odor as many people described but I think mine was worse because when I took the thin padding off the large end, two dead rotting lizard carcasses fell out! I was appalled by this detestable sight as the stench was bad enough but to have rotting reptiles, mixed with horn shavings, dead bug shells, and other filth made the "unveiling" experience pretty dreadful.Deodorizing: I tried everything suggested on line but the smell of death was still there! One suggestion was to rinse the shofar out with baking soda and water. After letting it dry this did not help. I even bought a shofar deodorizer spray in that did not help but made it smell even more bizarre. Like sweet flowers on a rotting corpse. (How I accomplished deodorizing is listed under the positive part below)I tried to contact the seller, Proshofar, about it and sent multiple photos but either the messages were lost along with the photos, or they just have not wanted to respond.(Also, they have a pamphlet inside that read:"all horns we use at Pro shofar are cruelty free and no animals were harmed in the process of making the shofar".(For people who don't know the difference between horns and antlers, horns come from sheep, cattle, antelope, buffalo, and goats.They are never shed off. Typical shofars are made from ram horns and antelope horns of which the kudu belongs to. These are real horns not antlers. Antlers are naturally shed off of deer, elk, moose, and caribou and other antler bearing animals. Antlers are not hollow and shofars are not made from these.The only way to get horns off of the shofar animals is to cut them off at the base. Cartilage and Bone off and go with it so I imagine these animals are killed first. Of course when making a shofar after the horn has been extracted, it's pure factory mechanics from there. I do know for a fact some types of deer are farmed in certain countries in order to get the properties of the antlers which are collected. I don't think that's what happens with the making of shofars. But getting the horns, I imagined requires the animal is killed first.). So as to the accuracy of that statement I cannot say.All that being said, the shofar itself only measures 25" straight across. If measured along the highest and widest part of the curl length, it comes to about the size advertised but it has to be measured at the highest back of the shofar to get that length. so be aware when you read how long the shofar is you have to measure it along its curl which makes it shorter than expected.Okay now the positive stuff: The polish is rough with a satin sheen, some nice ribbing of the original growth rings on it, but a little more polished in the flatter underside part of the horn. I like the "half polish" look of the horn as it retains the natural look of the Kudu horn characteristics without looking over processed. What I got was a handsome specimen and without the appearance of any external cracks or damage. That must have been a miracle by itself!Sound:. I'm no expert. However with a few good tries, within a day or two, I got some really nice trumpet sounds, very commanding. I had to get past the "baby elephant" squacks sounds I made at first. I have some tips below on how to play the shofar. No I'm not a pro like I said but the tips are helpful.Regarding deodorizing the shofar. when the water and baking soda rinse did not help, nor the shofar spray, I went a step further. I rinsed it out and while it was empty, but still wet, I poured about 6 or 7 tablespoons of dry baking soda down the horn. I shook it up well and all of the dry baking soda coated the sides of the horn interior. I let it dry overnight at least 12 hours. The next day I unplugged the mouth end with a chopstick because some of the baking soda had closed up the hole. Then I ran clear water through and rinsed everything out. Once the shofar dried for a couple of days the odor had diminished by 75%! Yay! I repeated wetting the inside of the shofar again and then dumping dry baking soda in it for a second time, shaking it up so it would coat the interior again. The next day I rinsed everything out and the smell is tolerable, about 85% gone.Note:. You need to let the thing completely dry before testing its odor again. While it's wet it smells worse.Overall the horn itself I give it a rating of 4.5 stars.Seller communication:. Zero, no response.Shipping:. 2 starsBelow are just some tips.Playing the horn:. I understand that the longer and more polished the horns are the more they sound like a real trumpet. Mine is rough polished but has some nice powerful sound to it. I read online someone who reviewed it on Amazon said they thought it was defective because they did not know how to work the trumpet. The complaint was that when they blow through it and nothing happens, just air. It's important to note that these natural horn trumpets are sort of like old fashioned bugles where it is up to the player to position their mouth and lips in such a way as to create a sound or a note. You have to pierce your lips and blow the air through tightened lips and cheeks in order to produce a note or a sound.The sound you make with your lips is sort of like what is called making "raspberry" sounds. You must center the mouthpiece directly over both the upper and the lower lip. Rotate the horn in such a way that you will find the sweet spot for your lips to press against the mouthpiece of the horn. Traditionally the open larger end is pointed upward. When you blow you must have very tight cheeks pressed against your teeth. You do not inflate your cheeks at all. Also you must blow only through the tiny opening in the front of your mouth, (or if you want to do it the rabbinical Jewish way through the corner of your mouth) you must have no air coming out the portions of your lips that are not covered by the horn opening.Raise the horn to a level that allows air to come from your lungs up through to your mouth. There should be a clear path. Inhale deeply and learn to regulate the exhale. At first you will want to learn how to do it strongly just to condition yourself to the demands in blowing. it places a lot of demand on your lungs and to control the exhale.Once you get a feeling for this, you can begin to modulate the pitch by slightly alternating your lips and jaw as well as the air pressure. Done improperly, you will get what sounds like a baby elephant! Eventually you will learn to get it right on where as soon as you blow you get a perfect powerful tone without all the squeaks.Practice with good posture. For me, keeping my spiritual objective in mind, the trumpet sound comes out beautifully!Tradition of the Shofar:.The shofar is one of the most ancient sound instruments of mankind. From the first of human culture the shofar was made. It can be a sound of warning, a sound of war, a sound of celebration, a sound of victory, a sound of joy. Usually it calls one to the attention of whatever particular event lies right ahead.Here are the names of the traditional blows. I got the info from various sources on the internet.The Tekiah: The Tekiah is played with one long deep continuous sound. The Tekiah called the people to attention to gather for a special message. It is given when Moses called people to hear the word of the Lord. It is a pure unbroken sound that calls man to search his heart, forsake his wrong ways, and seek forgiveness through repentance.The Teeuah: One of the hardest calls to do is the Teruah. The Teruah typifies sorrow that comes to a man when he realizes his misconduct and desires to change his ways. Because the staccato is broken and trembling, it shows the breakdown of the ego and the humility towards God. The Teruah is a broken staccato series of short blasts. Playing this is difficult because you have to sort of make your tongue say "tuh" while your lips are pierced so tightly against the small opening of the horn. And you have to use short strong breath blasts to do it without losing the pitch. (It's better to learn this strongly and then mellow it out as you get skilled).There are at least eight short staccato tones or notes in the Teruah. Most shofar experts blow at least nine staccato notes in order to be sure they complete eight. In other words not to make a mistake and blow under eight staccato sounds.Next comes the Shevarim.The Shvarim literally means breaks or fractures. I was able to get various pitches which come into play especially when trumpeting the Shevarim. The shivering blast is 3 medium length notes (bending into two pitches each) that have been compared to the sound of weeping. It is a wave-like sound and sometimes is played in two pitches, one slightly low and the other higher in the same trumpet blow. This is repeated 3 times. It is three medium length blasts that stands for the banner of God. It can also be associated with moaning, groaning, the sound of a repentant heart, or also represent the breaking up of a camp and speedy activity. Because the calls are broken, that is two tones played 3 times, it can be a call of urgency as well. The key here is the word "breaking" and may have to do with a broken heart or the breaking of camp, or alarm.The last of the four traditional shofar trumpet blows is called the Tekiah Gedolah. This like the first Tekiah of unbroken sound typifying a final appeal to sincere repentance and atonement. After a repentant heart, the Tekiah Gedolah signifies a new standpoint, a new beginning, a new faith, or a renewal in following God's way of life. For a Christian, it can signify being born again in Christ.For Rosh Hashanah, also known as the feast of trumpets (163 days after the first Passover) the shofar is sounded every morning for the entire month of Elul which is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. In the ancient order of sounding it goes like this: 1) Tekiah, 2) Teruah, 3) Shevarim, and 4) Tekiah Gedolah. All equals 14 sounds in total. 1+3+(8+1)+1= 14My comments:For the Christian, the Shofar can represent the different phases of the Christian's call to Christ. First the call is the Tekiah to harken to the message of Christ, just as the ancient people hearkened to the trumpet to hear Moses. Next comes the staccato of the Teruah, the realization to change ones ways, awareness of the old ways of the ego and heart and mind rearinf away from the old pattern. Next comes the Shevarim, the weeping as one repents and breaks away from the old ways and seeks atonement through Christ Jesus, and finally the Tekiah Gedolah, the process of being reborn in the Holy Spirit.Hope this info helps.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  Great quality product! I highly recommend it. I would love to acquire a much longer one but I cannot afford it.

EDIT: i bought a second one and they shipped it with obvious damage, knowing that I would Have to pay for the shipping back to Israel. I went ahead and paid for that shipping and I’m going to be calling Amazon to refund me my money for the shipping because they shouldn’t have sellers on here who knowingly sell and send damageD products. The damage was very obvious: about an inch of the glaze and the shofar Itself Was scraped off near the mouthpiece and this was not something that could’ve happened in shipping Because the shofar is lodged between two ends so it can’t scrape against anything in shipment. They knew they were sending a damaged shofar and it irks me that they sent it anyways thinking that I wouldn’t spend the extra money to send it back.Very large, ordered 40-42 inch and was not disappointed. Beautiful sound! Can do high and low pitches. I am not great at blowing, but can still easily get a good sound out. Smell is typical and really not that bad. I have to stick my nose in it to even tell it is there. Had no issues that are reported in some of the less favorable reviews. Came early too. VERY GREAT DEAL. Well crafted and just beautiful. Thank you.

I have been praying for GOD to make a way for Me to have a Shofar.I have seen these Shofar's priced at $450. and more. I took a chance and ordered this Shofar. This is the most beautiful Shofar I have ever seen.Everytime I look at it I am filled with joy & smile.I am truly Blessed to own such a beautiful instrument at an affordable price.With GOD "All things are possible!"

This is a beautiful shofar - it was half polished smooth with a mirror reflection - and the other half of the side was rough and still retained the bumps and ridges of the raw horn. This shofar has a nice low note it can hit compared to the other shofars I have played - but it has a very nice Oboe/Clarinet tone in the higher range - Tradition!

I love this kudu horn it arrived on time, packed with great care, and cannot wait to learn how to play it. I would buy this again from this dealer. So yes they have a odor, and the way I got rid of it was easy. I plugged the mouthpiece and filled it halfway with hydrogen peroxide. Then capping the other end with my hand I shook it for 30 seconds, and repeated twice. Now to let it dry and then wake up the neighbors. FYI: A kudu horn is a musical instrument made from the horn of the kudu. A form of it is sometimes used as a shofar in Jewish ceremonies.[...]

Paid $105 and was worth it! It arrived in simple packaging and was intact. Measurements were as described, absolutely no smell, contained instructions on caring and blowing shofar. I will be buying a smaller one soon for a gift.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  I wanted to thank u very much for this ( 40" half polish shofar ), I have did some work on it to be suitable for myself. Wow 100%.

bought it for my daughter. She is so in love with it.

Mysterious tracking details in the shipping, but came safely and as promised!

Got to get by the smell!