Turning Warthog Ivory

[Yellow River Woodturning]

I've been considering turning warthog ivory to make some nice high-end bolt action or fly fishing pens. However, the older posts on the subject don't give any clear dimensions of the tusk itself (one post did say that only 30-40% of the tusk is useable). Does anyone have experience turning this, and what should I look out for?

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I've used elephant and Hippo Ivory. I've bought Warthog to play with but never got around to it. The first two were easy to work with. I just went slow so not to chip or crack it. I've worked with acrylic blanks that were tougher to use. The Warthog tusk that were available to me were short. I knew from the start I was going to have to use it for inlays. I know this isn't really answering your question but maybe it will give you some extra thought before you jump into it. Best of luck.

 

[carlmorrell]

I picked up a few tusks decades ago. They are basically hollow and with so much curve to them, I never could figure out a way to use them. Wait, I can't remember if this is boar or warthog. Anyhow, I found whatever they are.

 

[Yellow River Woodturning]

Thanks for the info! I might buy a cheap tusk or two to try it out, but if they do turn out to be too small to use for a full pen I'll just use them for inlays. Also, I'd love to use elephant ivory or hippo ivory, but the blanks are just too expensive (and I don't know anyone who'd be willing to pay the hefty price tag!)