Real ivory

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PMisiaszek

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A friend just mailed me a piece of real ivory. It looks as though there is enough for two pens and some extra trim pieces. I've checked the archives, and I can't find any discussion of turning real ivory. Are there any tricks to making a pen with real ivory?
 
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Originally posted by PMisiaszek
<br />A friend just mailed me a piece of real ivory. It looks as though there is enough for two pens and some extra trim pieces. I've checked the archives, and I can't find any discussion of turning real ivory. Are there any tricks to making a pen with real ivory?
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First: go to church and pray, a lot.
 
Check the background on the Ivory. If it is not certified as non-embargoed, it is illegal to own, give, or sell. The sale of Ivory has been embargoed for many years. Ivory dating from before the embargo is OK if you can get certification of age. Ivory after the embargo is only legal if sold by national game organizations within the country of origin, but not within the US. Be careful who you tell about it.

"The international trade in wildlife is regulated by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (C.I.T.E.S.). Formed in 1973, this multinational (more than 100 countries) division of the UN, housed in Switzerland, meets every two years to determine guidelines for governing the protection of endangered species. In 1990, C.I.T.E.S. officially changed the status of the African elephant from ‘Appendix 2’ (protected/threatened) to ‘Appendix 1’ (endangered). This change banned all international trade in elephant ivory, though the United States had been under a self-imposed ban since 1989."

JimQ
 
I have never used elephant ivory because it costs too much, and also the hassle of determining if it is legal or not.

I have used wart hog tusk on knives. It looks just like ivory, and I have heard that it is genuine ivory. When you are grinding it, it the aroma is like that you get when a dentist drills your teeth.

It is very tough and I have never had a piece crack, and I have ground it with a 60 grit belt, sanded it, drilled it, and polished it with white rouge.

It is available from knife making material suppliers.

Robert
 
Originally posted by bonefish
<br />I have never used elephant ivory because it costs too much, and also the hassle of determining if it is legal or not.

I have used wart hog tusk on knives. It looks just like ivory, and I have heard that it is genuine ivory. When you are grinding it, it the aroma is like that you get when a dentist drills your teeth.

It is very tough and I have never had a piece crack, and I have ground it with a 60 grit belt, sanded it, drilled it, and polished it with white rouge.

It is available from knife making material suppliers.

Robert
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Wart hog tusk is tooth enamel, much harder than ivory. Make that much-much harder. A friend turned some wart hog pens and describes the effort as something he doesn't want to do again. But he will, they are paying him big bucks for these.
 
I may be mistaken, but I believe it is ok to use walrus ivory. Also there is a trade of wooly mamoth ivory. I think the Russians are digging up the later from peat bogs and selling it. I would be very careful to make sure it is leagal and documented.
 
Yeah, but Mammoth ivory dosent need to be legal as far as I know. Most likely because it's an extinct species.
 
Originally posted by Skye
<br />Yeah, but Mammoth ivory dosent need to be legal as far as I know. Most likely because it's an extinct species.
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Paul and Skye, mammoth ivory is legal because there is so much of it. It is dug up in massive quantities in Alaska. Special permits are needed to dig and sell but an internet search for vendors from Alaska will show it is available. Walrus ivory is another thing. Native alaskans can harvest and sell but when they sell it must already be made into something artistic. This is pretty much a sham though. Any hunk put on a string with a couple colored ribbons can pass as a piece of art or jewelry and be legal to sell. If you know someone who lives in Alaska they can get you walrus ivory. Not fully legal but possible.
 
I have purchased from both Boone Trading and Miles of Alaska. I purchased some hippo tooth material as well as fosselized mammoth ivory but so far have only used some moose antler that I received from Miles.

Extremely hard. Normally I can turn one or two pens between sharpenings. The moose antler (and this was only 1/4" rings) pen required about 40 - 50 sharpenings.

Boone shipped me some vegetable ivory also, I'll probably attempt that in a few weeks. Interestingly I was making a Baron with the moose antler/spalted beech, screwed up the assembly and ended up trashing the pen. Ouch.
 
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