composite mammoth ivory

Bruce Bump

Bruce Bump

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Dec 2, 1999
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I had a wild thought. I have a couple pounds of mammoth ivory shavings and scaps that I want to grind up and mix with white or cream colored epoxy to make scales. Any thoughts on the subject?
 
George, What do mean why? Dont you think the scales made from genuine ivory and a high grade epoxy would work on a knife?
 
sounds like something to try! i am wondering about how much pressure they use when the make the stone composite? you might get some clues from (santa fe stone works) they have ad's in blade mag, let us know what happens.
 
I hadnt thought about pressure being neccesary to make composite ivory. I was just going to mix it heavy with ivory shavings and possibly pour it in a mold. I suppose the real thing is pressurized. I have a 26 ton press, you think that will do it?
 
Why not use the resin? that is used with
fiberglass. I was told that it`s stronger
& more flexible, but don`t hold me to it:confused:
 
At best it will be rather plain and non descript. Several years back I saw an article on a fellow who potted larger chunks in a contrasting colour resin matrix in a mosaic sort of thing. At least it looked like ivory.
 
Bruce,I have been wondering if that resin that they pour on the wood tables and clocks and different things like that would work.Like making a mold and filling it up with the ivory scraps and dust and then poring this stuff over it to make a solid chunk.
I remember as a kid when ever we would go to the Oregon coast the souvenir shops would have ash trays and clocks and all kinds of stuff made with this stuff on it and also molded things with shells and other things inside of them..
Just a idea.
Please keep us all informed about what you try,so we can try it also.
Bruce
 
At one time you could buy what B Evans is talking about at wal mart.
Now that you brought it up how would it work to stabilize handles?
You may have to thin it. Just thinking out loud.
 
I was recently going through some old blade magazines and there was an article on how to make a "cracked" looking handle, almost a mosaic if you will. The maker took ivory pieces that had been left over from other knives and glued them onto a piece of thermostatic spacer material, fairly closely together. Then mixed up some black epoxy and poured it in-between the spaces like if you were grouting tiles. When it cured he had a pair of scales that he then attached to a knife and shaped and sanded like you normally would. In your case Bruce you could use varying types or colors of ivory and varying colors of epoxy. Mosaic handles for mosaic blades? Might be too much but would work nicely on a satin blade.
Just an idea,
Chuck
 
bruce i have seen some knife handles that were that poured clear resin, of choya cactus the one than you find that when dried it has the simetrical hole in the branch's like a honey comb pattern. that resin is also used to preseve animal specimens like spiders to make them a paper weight.
 
Yea thats the stuff I am talking about.I may have to try this with some of the scrap Ivory I have and see what it turns out like.I believe it would polish out better than epoxy would as I have never got epoxy to shine up only stay dull.I may be buffing it wrong though.
This could be interesting.I have a bunch of little scraps of reconstituted turquoise and coral and some other things like that from years ago that might work in something like this.
Now that I think about it,There was a guy in Memphise one time that had sealed off corn cobs that he had died with this stuff and was making them into Knife Handles.They were the wildest things that I had ever seen...
Bruce
 
Bruce-

I don't think I'd grind up your scraps. I think the idea was cool, but if you think about the dust that comes off of your grinder versus the piece of ivory you're grinding on...they don't look remotely close to each other.

You can take a piece of beautifully figured, flamed mahogany and grind it up into dust and then glue it up...you end up with plain old particle board.

I think you'd be much better off to do the mosaic type like was mentioned above. I have that article and it was a pretty cool looking handle.

Just another viewpoint ;)
Nick
 
sorry, I'm no help with the ivory question. but

The casting reson you are talking about is a purified form of polyester reson (standard stuff used in fiber glass)

I've been trying to use the regular stuff to try and imitate amber
only marginal results
what do you think, an insect incased in amber set in a handle? :D
 
I think I would just put them all in a little mold of some kind and fill the rest with the resin stuff and then cut scales from it,Who knows what will come out of it that way.
A bu in the amber would be totally COOL....
Bruce
 
I think Nick and george may be right if I grind it up like saw dust but if I use the resin with color added and chop the ivory into bigger peices like with the blender in the kitchen I bet it would look cool like mosaic almost. My Slim Fast in the morning may taste kinda funny though.
 
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