Current thinking on final finishing Mammoth tusk

John Cahoon

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
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A customer sent me some mammoth tusk and said "make me a pair of knives". There were a fair amount of delams, cracks and voids which I understood is not out of the ordinary and I filled these carefully with thin CA or dyed epoxy mixed with fine sanding dust.

I spent a lot of time with the custom search engine which had boatloads of info and lots about the final finish. But most of it was very old from the early 2000's to 2012 or so and included soaking in a variety of mineral and baby oils for 24-48 hrs, just this or that wax, both and all kinds of things. Also saw soaking for maintenance once or twice a year.

So I was wondering what the current thinking is? Right now they are hand sanded to 1200 and 2000 grit respectively and dyed with blended fiebrings colors.

IMG_2377.JPG

He also sent me a piece with great green/camo bark that's going on a B&T/EDC.
 
Don't soak them in anything! Never soak mammoth ivory.
I don't understand why you dyed them, but they can be buffed with green compound on a slow buffer, or "shoe shine" buffed with Simichrome polish.
Then put a good coat of wax on them.
 
You are at a good grit to stop sanding. Buff gently with a slow buffer and matchless pink or matchless white. Don't varnish, oil, or coat it with anything.

I think Bill read the post wrong., I took it that the scales were the color shown and you did the repair with mammoth dust and dyed the epoxy to match or compliment the existing color. That is what I do.
 
Wow glad I asked, I went about 4 pages deep in the search engine with "finishing mammoth" and there were several threads discussing the "soak in oil" method with multiple affirming replies. I wonder why? I'll hand buff on some cutoff pieces to test. My buffer is one speed... fast. Thanks guys!
 
Mammoth ivory has been sitting in frozen/wet earth for tens of thousands of years. When it is harvested, it needs to be dried to allow absorbed moisture to evaporate. If you replace that moisture with a liquid, the ivory can become soft and swell.
Some mammoth ivory has become fully mineralized (fossilized.) This ivory is more durable.
 
I appreciate the discussion. I have a nice piece of interior tusk from Mark Knapp.
I want to make a fluted dagger handle. So far I have only drilled the center hole and shaped the profile.
Bill, are you suggesting not to put CA or anything else on it at any stage then?
 
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