From root canals to pens

[lazyguy]

So I am in the dentist chair this Saturday getting my root canal which was a thrill. A discussion about latex gloves turned into talking pens and I had my dentist's ear. I have for some time wanted to do something with mammoth ivory, perhaps gun grips until I started pen turning and the thought occurred to me that the perfect pen for a dentist would be ivory. My problem is that stuff is expensive and I am relative newbie. I was wondering what material should I seek to cut my teeth on, no pun intended. What would be close to ivory in workability and since I wouldn't want to go cheap on the kit what would get me the practice dimensionally to a higher end . I was thinking maybe a Emperor or Jr. Emperor and making my "practice" pen in whatever is equivalent. Any suggestions as to the route I should take.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

Ed/Dawn here @ exoticblanks.com offer alternative ivory at reasonable prices. Contact them. OR if you want the look of 'ivory' at a reasonable price, you can use TAGUA NUT if you can find them large enough to do a pen. Another material is oosick, not a 'tooth', but a private part from walrus.:redface:

 

[bgibb42]

+1 on the alternate ivory.

 

[PenMan1]

Alt. Ivory is an excellent product as is the banded Ivory. Both look like natural ivory and are easy to turn and fit.

 

[TXPhi67]

Some of the antlers also make good options for working on your skills prior to working on ivory. They do not turn exactly like ivory, but you can get a feel for working with material that can be finicky when drilling and turning. Also, they make some excellent pens and usually can be found for pretty good prices. The only down side is the odor (especially with white tail).

I turn a lot of Axis Antler and have had my pens mistaken for ivory more than once.

 

[fernhills]

I was going to suggest antler also. If you get the right blank where you don`t get into morrow, it should look real good. Carl
(spell)

 

[wdcav1952]

I third the antler idea and would suggest axis deer antler which looks most like ivory to my eye. If not, the alternate ivory from exoticblanks.com is an excellent idea.

 

[ldb2000]

The Alternative Ivory turns easier and smells much better while turning it :biggrin:

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

+the axis antler, has little to no marrow and gives an great Ivory like appearance.

 

[jskeen]

If you want to work with real ivory, but not have to pay the premium price for preban elephant ivory, you can look into either hippo teeth or warthog teeth. Both are easily available in sizes to make any pen kit, and aren't unreasonably expensive. You used to be able to get them on feebay, but now I'm not sure where to go looking. If you would like my suppliers info, drop me a pm. As for the kit, order one of whatever you really want to make, but also order at least a half dozen sets of spare tubes.

I also would suggest that you try your hand at drilling and turning some antler first, it's a similar challenge, if not identical.

 

[lazyguy]

Well I guess I will look at antler. I was thinking that might provide a similar experience. Thank you for all replies now to start formulating my plan. The dentist said he liked the challenge my ground down tooth presented him so I am sure I can take the challenge and produce a really nice pen.