Can you help me identify this handle material? Thanks

[Hkwinger]

How do I tell the difference between elephant, walrus, bone, ivory, or fossil bone or ivory?

Any help and advice to identify this type of material in the future would be appreciated.

 

[J. Doyle]

It appears to be ivory of some sort....either mammoth or elephant.

Google 'Schreger lines' and read up. Study the end grain carefully. A good clear close up of the end grain will help.

 

[Hkwinger]

Hi guys. The maker got back to me very quickly and ID'd this as interior mammoth. Still, I would appreciate some pointers from you guys as to ID similar materials.

 

[Horsewright]

John gave ya good info on the google search, that's how ya tell mammoth from elephant. Here's a little trick on telling imitation from real. Lick your finger and try to slide it along the surface. If it slides its imitation, if it sticks its real.

 

[JTknives]

1+^
And that’s why Ivory is such a great handle material.

 

[jdm61]

I have read and been told that ivory is one handle material that actually gets "sticky" as opposed to slick when covered in animal blood.

John gave ya good info on the google search, that's how ya tell mammoth from elephant. Here's a little trick on telling imitation from real. Lick your finger and try to slide it along the surface. If it slides its imitation, if it sticks its real.

1+^
And that’s why Ivory is such a great handle material.

 

[Horsewright]

Exactly. This is one of my Paisano models in dammy and mammoth ivory. Designed by a big game guide in MT, this was his girlfriends first buck.

Sheephorn has the same characteristics.

 

[Hkwinger]

Much appreciated guys!!

 

[jdm61]

This is the only ivory handled knife that I have ever made. IIRC, I made it circa 2008-2009. It is walrus and I still have a slight smaller piece all these years later, but no paperwork on it.

 

[jdm61]

How about sambar? I have made a number of stag handled knives and never had any complaints about them getting slick.

Exactly. This is one of my Paisano models in dammy and mammoth ivory. Designed by a big game guide in MT, this was his girlfriends first buck.

Sheephorn has the same characteristics.

 

[LARRYZ10]

Camel bone looks very much like ivory and makes a good handle for knives. I have several pieces of ivory and can compare the camel bone to it. Real ivory sometimes has fine parallel lines in it though. Larry

 

[Horsewright]

I think the stag does as well but I often wonder if the grippyness on the stag comes from the texture or the material. I carry elk myself and have had no complaints. Here Salty is using mine to cut this calf. He'd forgot to switch his knife and sheath from his old leggings to the new ones we'd made him, so he was using mine. He carries his knife on the belt of his leggings behind his back.

Here's my EDC that Salty was using as part of the props for this pic. Job was to make the carry bag that Quigley had his Sharps in when he stepped off the ship for this Sharps.

Most of my knives go to working cowboy/ranchers etc that really use them:

When I could work with mammoth here in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, mammoth accounted for 20 percent of my sales. Sheephorn is now my most popular handle material, followed by elk and then probably camel bone. Customers often ask what camel bone looks like when finished and I often tell em it looks like ancient ivory.

Sometimes folks will have really cool things done to camel bone:

I have noticed that camel bone seems a little susceptible to extreme temp changes and will crack so I don't recommend it for your next muskox hunt. I've replaced a couple of handles that have been used that way from cracking. Sheephorn never. Whether it has the grippiness when wet I don't know. Larry dunk yours in a bucket of water and see. NO DON"T its too purdy! Did ya make that display stand too?

 

[LARRYZ10]

Dave, The client wanted this knife and the display stand and he was not going to use the knife for other than display. I used CPM 154 and had it heat treated to a 60 Rockwell hardness anyway. Crazy thing is that after finishing the knife the client backed out on the deal without even seeing the knife. I kept it . It happens but I was glad because my wife likes the knife and said she wished I could keep it. Larry