Fossil Walrus TUSK. Working to scales.

ron_m80

ron_m80

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I have pictures I will post on Monday or later tonight. Working to conserve all the pieces possible from the animal that left its tusk for my use is something I am finding enjoyable. Like a puzzle if you will.

The pieces are developing a stickyness as I work them. Is that the pith breaking down?

How much of the pith needs to be removed for great scale stability? I have them down to just about where I like them and I have a small pool of pith left in the center of the backside.

Thank you for your time.
Ron M.
 
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Never seen a walrus tooth, tusk yes but not a tooth. There is some mastodon tooth out there. Pictures would help. would like to see a walrus tooth if you have one.
 
Lets run with tusk until pictures show up then, shall we? Thanks.
 
There might be some core material but like t mentioned no real pith. How long have you had it and how long has it been out of the ground? Might be a bit on the wet side. Needs to dry at least a year before use. I like to let em dry a lot longer, like 2-3. If using as scales and they are good and dry you should be good to go.
 
To conserve the precious animal contribution, I trimmed all the usable parts before getting to the part I wanted to isolate.

I can save the extras for some really nice inlays or later.
cutpieces_zpse45398af.jpg


Pretty close to final shape.
scales_zpsd11de09a.jpg


There is the stuff I was calling pith. the chalky white in the middle.
scalespithy_zpsd6554e7c.jpg


And this is what looks about right to me.
scalesdone_zps838e26b8.jpg


Working this stuff takes some real time to get even for use.

-Ron
 
Looks pretty fresh to me. I'm more accustomed to working with fossil ivory.

If it is fresh you may have some issues with that. I'll let those with more experience provide more information.
 
ron_m80 said:
I just checked the source, it is fossil Walrus ivory.
Click to expand...
I don't want to rain on your parade but where is the color?

I would not use or buy walrus ivory that is this white. You may get burned because of the current political climate regarding ivory.

Chuck
 
You aren't raining on my parade I bought what was labeled as fossil walrus ivory, from a reputable supplier here on Bladeforums.
 
The material he is showing was bought from me, it is fossil walrus ivory, no question about that. Besides my documentation, the blue and orange colors in the piece indicate that it is ancient or "fossil" ivory. The material in the center, what we call the core or "tapioca" is solid and good material. This material is cured, you should wait a year on material that is not cured. If material is cured you should wait a couple of months after you get it, to give it time to acclimate to your environment. Once ivory is cured, do not get it wet. Work it dry, and cool. It should not get sticky if it is worked dry.

I suggest that all my customers save the receipt you get with your purchase, it is your documentation as to the origin of the piece. If you should ever be questioned about it, I can provide the name of the Alaska native person that dug it up. My phone number is on the receipt.
 
Thank you Mark.

I wasn't planning on selling it anyway, since I live in California. This is for skill development, and a personal knife.
 
Whew! Nice to know its origin. So yes, save the cut offs. I often integrate the cut-offs of my fossil ivory into other projects that need accents.
 
I am glad I could prove to everyone here that I am in compliance.

I will likely never show this material again here. too many bad vibes about it for sure.
 
I didn't mean to come on too strong with my post. Here's the thing, it should be no secret that the USF&W service reads this forum. Three people that used to post here regularly do not anymore after they were caught doing the wrong thing. I have also been called by USF&W when something I posted looked "too white". So whenever someone mentions fresh or white ivory on here, eyebrows go up in some offices somewhere. That's why I wanted to make it clear what we had here.

It's OK to post your stuff here just be sure you're doing the right thing.

If the new stuff coming out about elephant ivory is any indication of things to come, it will be increasingly important to document where any ivory comes from.
 
I saw what was going on, the 200 views, and three (or five) posts. with two lurkers watching for over an hour, and never posted on the forum anywhere.

That's why I told you about the thread Mark.

Thanks again,
Ron
 
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