French horn hand rest

thingiverse

This piece is to help take the strain off your pinky when playing French horn. I made it for my Conn 28D (same as Conn 8D but in brass), but this may well work on many types of French horn. Print the piece in PLA and heat up in near boiling water then carefully wrap around the handrest section of your horn with the existing pinky ring through one of the holes. You may want to put foil or something similar over your horn to protect the lacquer. When it cools the plastic retains the shape well. I recommend a leather handguard (Amazon has them) that you cut out the space for the plastic nub that you rest between your thumb and forefinger on the knuckle. See pictures. Taking the strain off your pinky lets your ring finger move more easily (they share a tendon anatomically) and is overall more comfortable. I still have my pinky in the ring by habit but it is no longer supporting the horn. Happy playing!