Found a walrus tusk?

todlerboyd

todlerboyd

Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
142
I found this in an old house I was cleaning out. The house was from the 1900s. This was in a crawl space below the stairs and I was told it is a old walrus tusk. Is there any way to tell if it is fossilized or determine the age. I was tempted to make it into knife handles but dont know if its worth more left as is. I made the stand it was not with it. Please tell me what you all think. I did stick a hot pin on it and it smelled like burning antler. It measures 21.5"
tusk1.jpg

tusk2.jpg

tusk4.jpg

tusk3.jpg
 
Yup. Walrus. As far as using it I'll let others advise you. Read up on CITES, The Marine Mammal Act of 1972 would be a good read(if you can decipher them)....
 
If you touched a hot pin to it and it smelled like burned antler it is definitely not fossilized. If it were fossilized it would be rock and therefore would not burn or smell of burned antler.
 
The term "fossil" as applied to ivory is misused and misunderstood. It doesn't mean petrified (i.e. turned to stone). It basically just means "old". Most "fossil" ivory is between hundreds of years old and going back to a few thousand years old. Some can be older, of course.
 
Here's a shot of the socket end. I think its strange because all the tusks I have seen on the net are hollow. This is solid. Could it be a small elephant tusk???
tusk5.jpg
 
tryppyr said:
Hollow tusks are fake tusks. Horns are hollow, tusks are not.
Click to expand...

Not true. The socket end on Walrus is hollow for up to around 2"...

I have two right here.

I believe the thin edges of the socket on that one were likely broken off.
 
Brian Ayres said:
Not true. The socket end on Walrus is hollow for up to around 2"...

I have two right here.

I believe the thin edges of the socket on that one were likely broken off.
Click to expand...

Right, all ivory tusks are hollow at the base end when they come off the animal.
 
Hippo and warthog tusk are also hollow for the first little bit. Remember that they are really teeth and the hollow is where the nerve was.
 
As said, there is a conical base for many inches of any tusk. It is called the root socket. If the tusk was broken off, it might be missing.
It can be 6" or so deep on a walrus tusk and a foot deep on an elephant tusk. Hippo and warthog teeth have a 1-2" socket. On an elephant tusk, the nerve channel continues down the tusk a good ways as a small hole. Walrus does not have this hole.


There is something odd looking about that stub. None of the tusks I have had looked like that ( could be the lighting?). It does look old, and would probably be called a "fossil" tusk. I would suggest you cut the stub off about 3/4" from the end and post a photo of the straight and sanded cut. That will answer all questions. ( you can make a belt buckle from the stub cut-off)

If it has a tapioca looking core inside solid dentin - walrus
If it has cross-hatch lines and a nerve hole in the center - elephant
If it is solid and chalky white or crystalline - fake

If it cuts on the band saw with difficulty - fossil - 100 years or older
If it cuts like really hard bone - newer - 1 to 100 years
If it doesn't stink while cutting - fake :)


Since you are already in the USA, and unless you are planning on shipping any knife you make to another country, there is no problem with using this tusk for knife handles. Don't take it to Alaska, as they have state law issues on who can work tusk. Even Washington state can be a problem for any newer looking tusk. California can have rogue game wardens who take it upon themselves to write new laws, but have no authority to confiscate anything.

Yours appears to be old, so there would be no problem in any case.
Print a sheet with the photos you have posted, and write a short description of how the tusk was found. Sign it and date it.
That is enough provenance according to the USFW and other agents I have talked with. Give a copy of this provenance sheet to anyone who buys a knife with this walrus. It really isn't necessary, but makes a great sales tool. Having that provenance with you if an USFW agent asks will take care of any inquiry at a knife show.
Email me for more info on this subject, as I have some Government reference material and communications on the subject that I can send you.
sapelt@cox.net
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top