emtmike
Member
Anybody turn Wooly Mammoth Ivory and if so how was it to turn? I am looking to make a "high end" pen and I like the look of this stuff.
Wooly Mammoth Ivory
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GaryMadore
Member
A friend of mine has, and I know he haunts the halls of this forum... Hey Brian: Speak up! 
Cheers!
Gary
Cheers!
Gary
DocStram
Member
How interesting. I looked into doing the exact same thing several months ago. I ended up dropping the idea. If I remember correctly, I had an email exchange going back and forth with a guy up in Alaska who collects and sells WMI (Not to be confused with WMD). He discouraged me from trying. Dang, my memory is slipping. I'm trying to remember what he said that changed my mind. Cost? Disintegrates when turning? I just can't remember. I wonder if I still have the emails somewhere.
I'm interested in hearing what you find out.
I'm interested in hearing what you find out.
jjenk02
Member
Al, your memory is as bad as mine but I'm older than you, whats your excuse[]
]DocRon
Member
As I remember that particular discussion, mammoth ivory is said to be brittle, tends to delaminate, is VERY expensive.
Rifleman1776
Member
I suspect Doc has it right. The stuff I have seen is so full of cracks and inclusions, I'll bet it would blow right off the lathe in little pieces.
bobkeyes
Member
You might want to look here. If I can help, just let me know. I make a lot of pens from ivory.
http://www.ciwriting.com/Ivory%20Pens.htm
http://www.ciwriting.com/Ivory%20Pens.htm
Originally posted by GaryMadore
<br />A friend of mine has, and I know he haunts the halls of this forum... Hey Brian: Speak up!
Cheers!
Gary
Rifleman1776
Member
Originally posted by bobkeyes
<br />You might want to look here. If I can help, just let me know. I make a lot of pens from ivory.
http://www.ciwriting.com/Ivory%20Pens.htm
Originally posted by GaryMadore
<br />A friend of mine has, and I know he haunts the halls of this forum... Hey Brian: Speak up!
Cheers!
Gary
Bob, you are, obviously, a man who knows whereof he speaks. Those are simply stunning originals.
A question then a comment.
[?] Care to say how many failures you had before perfecting your turning technique with ivory?
Comment: I believe your prices for those are very reasonable.
bobkeyes
Member
Frank,
There have been many failures and there are still some here and there. Ivory is a difficult material to do anything with. I can remember the first one I turned. I might as well have flushed $100.00 down the toilet. But, then again, I guess I learned a lot.
Now, about 1 in every 12 to 15 elephant ivory pens crack at some point. With mammoth it is probably 1 out of 20 to 25.
The price of the ivory is going up as soon as I use the stock I have on hand. Elephant and mammoth just went from $44.00 an inch, in 3/4" stock, to $85.00 an inch. I must pass this on to my customers.
Just do everything about 1/2 the agressiveness you would normally. Drill 1/16 to 1/8 deep and let it cool. Don't even think about using any water around it. That is a guaranteed crack. That's why I stopped using PU glue. I pulls the moisture out of the ivory and it cracks.
If I can help more, just let me know.
There have been many failures and there are still some here and there. Ivory is a difficult material to do anything with. I can remember the first one I turned. I might as well have flushed $100.00 down the toilet. But, then again, I guess I learned a lot.
Now, about 1 in every 12 to 15 elephant ivory pens crack at some point. With mammoth it is probably 1 out of 20 to 25.
The price of the ivory is going up as soon as I use the stock I have on hand. Elephant and mammoth just went from $44.00 an inch, in 3/4" stock, to $85.00 an inch. I must pass this on to my customers.
Just do everything about 1/2 the agressiveness you would normally. Drill 1/16 to 1/8 deep and let it cool. Don't even think about using any water around it. That is a guaranteed crack. That's why I stopped using PU glue. I pulls the moisture out of the ivory and it cracks.
If I can help more, just let me know.
oldsmokey
Member
I have used WMI on a few projects. I just completed a custom gear shift knob for a custom car. I did a glue up with ivory and walnut. Sharp tools-light cuts. I had no problems. If I can ever get some regular time in the shop I want to turn some ivory pens like Bob. Buy the way Bob, great looking pens.
Ellis
Ellis
Mikey
Member
Wow, $85 an inch. So, for a normal pen blank, one would be looking at $400 just for Ivory??[B)][B)]
Looks like I won't ever be trying that.
Looks like I won't ever be trying that.
beathard
Member
Ivory works great for inlays and segmented pens. It keeps the cost down, but the special material still holds people's interest.
tnilmerl
Member
As I recall, the problem is the moisture content. The ivory has been buried in frozen tundra for untold thousands of years. Drying it out AND bringing it to a reasonable temperature without cracking is not easy task. Drying could take 'years' to do properly. Micro-fractures are quite prevalent, especially after turning.
Tuba707
Member
Can it be stabilized?
Dario
Member
Will soaking the stock in pentacryl/polycryl help? I know museums and archeologist use these to preserve sunken ships that would normally deteriorate super fast when exposed to air.
bobkeyes
Member
I had 3 pieces of elephant stabilized and 2 of them have not cracked that I know of. The problem is that is discolors the ivory and one of the pieces I sent cracked when being processed.
The mammoth I get is solid and much more stable than the elephant. It seems to handle changes in humidity better than elephant. The ivory can tolerate extremes in both temperature and humidity. It just cannot handle the changes quickly. It must be changed slowly. Sometimes a crack becomes visible quickly and other times it may take months. You just never know.
Right now, high quality mammoth is in short supply. Not sure why.
The mammoth I get is solid and much more stable than the elephant. It seems to handle changes in humidity better than elephant. The ivory can tolerate extremes in both temperature and humidity. It just cannot handle the changes quickly. It must be changed slowly. Sometimes a crack becomes visible quickly and other times it may take months. You just never know.
Right now, high quality mammoth is in short supply. Not sure why.
DocRon
Member
Bob
Beautiful work. I first saw Mammoth Ivory last summer in Alaska, the tour bus driver we had in Skagway buys, sells, and carves it. Gorgeous stuff, very costly.
Beautiful work. I first saw Mammoth Ivory last summer in Alaska, the tour bus driver we had in Skagway buys, sells, and carves it. Gorgeous stuff, very costly.
bobkeyes
Member
Yes, some of it is gorgeous. Some has brown/tan streaks, some with pink grain. I have even had a few pieces with green and yellow in it. It has to do with the minerals present where it was buried. It's pretty nice stuff to work with, but be prepared for the loss because it WILL come.
I'm not sure, but I think I am the only one left offering elephant ivory pens for sale now. I know Jim Lambert only does mammoth now, unless I'm mistaken.
I'm not sure, but I think I am the only one left offering elephant ivory pens for sale now. I know Jim Lambert only does mammoth now, unless I'm mistaken.
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