system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does an animal horn grow so that it tapers to a point?
gpt
It's basically the same process as claws. They grow from the root, just like hair (and indeed are very similar in various other ways)

The growth rate at each point isn't exactly the same, so they will curve as they grow. For example, claws will grow faster in the middle than at the sides and so will curve into that distinctive shape. Humans don't have "claws" but rather "fingernails" because the growth rate is more even.

With horns, this curvature is more subtle because the growth is from a patch, rather than a line, allowing more scope for shaping.

Also, wear affects the shape such that it tends to sharpen as it wears - animals with claws / talons / horns will usually sharpen them with instinctive movements that sharpen rather than blunt them.