After seeing what mineral oil's done to my stag handles (it darkened them and added an almost translucent-like quality), I would only ever hydrate my stag and ivory. I use mineral oil on blades and wood, but for my stag, I just rub a few drops of water in and leave it to rehydrate the bone. Works a treat.
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Best MINERAL OIL for dunking ivory??
- Thread starter Jon Brand
- Start date
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- Nov 11, 2003
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- 6,787
I too would be inclined to wax it rather than soak it in oil. The movement of the oil through the pores of the substance could destabilize it some. From a chemistry standpoint, I'm trying to wrap my mind around "I believe that the dry climate sucked the moisture out by evaporating the oil." If we agree that moisture is H2O, I'm not sure the oil has any of that. Also don't think a cold climate can evaporate oil, which typically has a high evap rate. The dry air could have pulled moisture from the ivory, but that would have been unrelated to the oil. Waxing it in such a way that seals off some of the pores of the material could prevent some moisture from escaping. In addition, re-hydration would need to be done with water, not oil.
Absolutely. We don't drink mineral oil when we're thirsty. At least I know I don't. 
I'd avoid the wax too--I prefer to go natural. I have used Ren Wax on wood, but my fine ivory and stag stays natural. I have two handcarved tusks from the Republic of the Congo (from well before CITES) that are only ever lightly wiped with a damp cloth.
I'd avoid the wax too--I prefer to go natural. I have used Ren Wax on wood, but my fine ivory and stag stays natural. I have two handcarved tusks from the Republic of the Congo (from well before CITES) that are only ever lightly wiped with a damp cloth.