French Ivory Knives?

[Woodrow F Call]

I've seen a few posted on this forum. I'd like to know more about this material and who all used it. I'm really liking the look of the stuff.

Anyone got some information or pictures?

 

[knarfeng]

"french ivory" is a form of celluloid.

Celluloid was useful for creating cheaper jewellery, jewellery boxes, hair accessories and many items that would earlier have been manufactured from ivory, horn or other expensive animal products. It was often referred to as "Ivorine" or "French Ivory". It was also used for dressing table sets, dolls, picture frames, charms, hat pins, buttons, buckles, stringed instrument parts, accordions, fountain pens, cutlery handles and kitchen items. The main disadvantage the material had was that it was flammable. Items made in celluloid are collectible today and increasingly rare in good condition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celluloid

 

[supratentorial]

It was widely used. As one example, the "office knives" were commonly French ivory. Here's a pen knife that I sold on the Exchange...



Here are a few knives that belong Monsieur Charlie

Apparently these knives were used for many years before the invention of "White-Out", to erase (scrape away) mistakes made in ink! An added spear blade to open letters made the tool more versatile.
Here are my two, a Schrade Walden, and a long-pull Camillus:

Will we see this level of quality again, in a humble working knife?? Very nice knives, with ivory cell (french ivory?), and some sales numbers on the back. They came from that collection that A.G.Russell is selling.

 

[Jack Black]

It was used extensively by Sheffield cutlers, for table cutlery as well as penknives, I have loads of the stuff. It can look good, but unlike the real thing, it shrinks slightly over time, which can lead to some ugly gaps at the bolsters. The product itself seems to vary, with the even grain of some being very obvious, and in other cases less so, as in this Sleeveboard by Joseph Rodgers for example.

 

[Pipeman]

Here are the two I have. The FJ is a cut co, the 196 is a Walden NY USA, A very thoughtful gift from Scott, thanks brother.

Have a great Sunday folks.

Best regards

Robin

 

[Jack Black]

Here's a FI Sleeveboard by John Petty. In the hand, the artificial 'grain' is actually quite apparent, but Doesn't show very clearly in the photographs.

 

[Jack Black]

Here's a few more. The artificial 'grain' is clearest in the last 4 photos.

 

[Jolipapa]

If " It was often referred to as "Ivorine" or "French Ivory", according to the (retired) maker of that little canif (58mm), it is a compound of ivory dust and resin. You don't have outgasing problems with ivoirine and less shrinkage.

 

[Jack Black]

I may be wrong, but I didn't think 'Ivorine' had the artificial grain - at least the materials Sheffield cutlers (perhaps incorrectly) refer to as Ivorine don't. The Sheffield cutlers did, and do, use various similar synthetics without an artificial grain, possibly because they were less expensive, but they are still using a 'French Ivory'-like synthetic with an artificial 'grain'. I doubt there's much ivory dust in any of them though! :thumbup:

Quite an interesting article on Ivorine here: http://parkercollector.com/ivorine.html

One of the strangest materials that pens have been made from is a material called Ivorine, a sort of protein based plastic that was developed in the late 1800's in an effort to replace the black board slates used in schools. The first white boards, in fact. According to David Wells, a pen collector that has done extensive research, Adolf Spitteler and W. Kirsch in Bavaria developed the process of making plastics from formaldehyde and... well... skimmed milk

The name 'Ivorine' also seems to be used as a generic term for any synthetic substance designed to resemble ivory.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

Very nice knives!

 

[Jolipapa]

parkercollector is confusing ivoirine, always very clear and kinda striped, and galalithe (aka French Bakelite) derived from milk and that may have any color you may want.
Galalithe is still produced today in Italy (so did not stop as indicated by the English Wikipedia) and can of course imitate ivory. Today Borson knives use it for instance.
There's also vegetable ivory, from a South American palm tree looking very much like ivory with some grain, the main former use beeing buttons, under the corozo name. It may be used for knives handles too and some try to reactivate it's use. It is clear that whatever the real material used, commercially speaking ivoirine/French ivory sounds more classy than corozo or galalithe.

There's also

 

[Jack Black]

Very interesting JP :thumbup:

 

[smiling-knife]

Great knives and information everyone. Another example.

 

[Jack Black]

Nice Ring-opener S-K :thumbup:

Interesting reading about Tagua nuts, which I'd never heard of before. The smaller ones seem to be very inexpensive, but the very large nuts are quite the opposite.

A few more.

 

[wazu013]

 

[Jolipapa]

Lots of fine knives here, I am fond of this material.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I don't know why, but I really like the stripped knives. Normally, I'm not fond of the plastic handles. I guess I like Delrin, Micarta, and French Ivory.

 

[wlfryjr]

I was always told it was celluloid developed originally to replace ivory for cue balls specifically and other expensive ivory uses.

Here are my examples:

Wostenholm 3 15/16" stamped Michells Seeds



Pile side of 4" NYK,contrast on this side shows grain a little better:



Same 4 1/8" shadow Schrade Cut Co as Robin's,I grin. Extra thick liners and extra pins:



Top is Schrade Cut Co, bottom Shapleigh DE. Seems Schrade contracted many of Shapleigh's knives after the demise of Empire.Funny Empire's and Schrade's farmers jacks bear a remarkable resemblance,different from other makers of this pattern,I say quizzically.Same 4 1/8" knife, different marks:

A 4" Remington etched,exact knife shown in Sargent's books.How do I know? Fingerprints match, and I asked him in person.:

 

[Jack Black]

Fantastic knives Lyle :thumbup:

 

[Whetstone39]

Fantastic knives everyone. I only have one, a Winchester Scout, and it is my first experience with French ivory.