Double stabilize mammoth ivory?

[Fixall]

Hello Shop Talk,

I hope you're all doing well today.

I have some stabilized mammoth ivory from Raffir that I cut into slabs today (Ugh, the smell! ). When I got into the material, it looked like whatever Raffir uses to stabilize the tusk didn't penetrate all that far. I've purchased pre-cut slabs from Raffir in the past, and makers that have worked with them have told me that they were a bit more brittle than mammoth ivory they've worked with previously. I have some unstabilized mammoth ivory that I planned on sending to K&G, so I thought maybe I'd send the Raffir slabs that I cut to K&G too to be stabilized a second time. Thoughts?


The slab in the center is an outer piece so you can see the difference.

This is the unstabilized mammoth ivory I was going to send to K&G... Unless there is a better suggestion for stabilizing? I know some of you use CA instead.

 

[ea42]

I honestly think solid ivory is way too dense for stabilization to be effective. I really don't think it's necessary, plus the heat from curing the stabilizer might be what's causing the ivory to become more brittle. It's not a big fan of high heat.

Eric

 

[Richard338]

When I did a dagger handle from interior tusk, I carefully bored the center hole I needed on a lathe, then submerged it in thin CA for two days. Then I let it thoroughly dry on wax paper before doing the final shaping and polishing. I have no idea if it helped anything or not. Mine was a very clean uniform piece to begin with though.

 

[Lawson69]

Hello Shop Talk,

I hope you're all doing well today.

I have some stabilized mammoth ivory from Raffir that I cut into slabs today (Ugh, the smell! ). When I got into the material, it looked like whatever Raffir uses to stabilize the tusk didn't penetrate all that far. I've purchased pre-cut slabs from Raffir in the past, and makers that have worked with them have told me that they were a bit more brittle than mammoth ivory they've worked with previously. I have some unstabilized mammoth ivory that I planned on sending to K&G, so I thought maybe I'd send the Raffir slabs that I cut to K&G too to be stabilized a second time. Thoughts?


The slab in the center is an outer piece so you can see the difference.

This is the unstabilized mammoth ivory I was going to send to K&G... Unless there is a better suggestion for stabilizing? I know some of you use CA instead.

Ron (and others)- PLEASE, no buying or selling in Shop Talk. Send them an email or go to their website.
Moderator

 

[DevinT]

Hello,

What material do you have currently available? I'm looking for both larg a mid size sections, pieces of both pre cities and mammoth.
Feel free to reach out directly to me by email:
Nornoswal31@aol.com

Best regards,

Ron

He bought mammoth, I don’t think he’s selling any.

Hoss

 

[Fixall]

Ron (and others)- PLEASE, no buying or selling in Shop Talk. Send them an email or go to their website.
Moderator

Sorry, I don't have any mammoth ivory for sale.

This thread is just about experimenting with some processes to increase the durability/stability of mammoth ivory. If you'd like to know the supplier I go through, hit me up on my profile and I'll send you a link.