Has anyone seen or used dinosaur bone for scales??

Roger I have some mammoth leg bone from Chuck AK
I haven't used it yet but this stuff is nice
looking polished up med dark brown..
 
Roger-
I think there is a bit of a misconception here in the sense that what is known as "fossil" ivory or mammoth bone, etc. is not in the technical sense anyway fossilized (at least not completely) - that's why it can still be worked with ordinary tools and not lapidary tools as would be needed if it had become completely fossilized as dinosaur bone is. This type ivory in fact is called "fossil" - in a sense a legal term - meaning it is older than the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and is therefore legal to possess. Although affected by the groundwater and minerals it has not been replaced by them and turned into "stone" as a true fossil is.

Here's a description of the various forms of fossilization which may clarify things:
"Studying the process of fossilization, or taphonomy, can involve several varying directions. After an organism has died (regardless weather it was flora, fauna or miscellaneous others), a rare event may occur leading to the possibility of fossilization. A brief discussion of the multitude of biased events which limit the possibilities of fossilization will then be followed by the basic types of fossils that may be formed. Carbonization is one form of fossilization and is typical for such organisms as plants and insects. These fossils are a coal black film formed when the volatile organic compounds disperse from the decomposing organism and end up leaving a thin residue of carbon. Permineralization is a second type of fossil formed. The soft tissue of the organism decay away and the remaining hard parts are flooded with ground water.
Dissolved with in the water is calcium carbonate (calcite) or silicate. Which ever mineral is present precipitates out and fills the pores of the long gone organism. Cementation occurs and a "rock" is left in the place of the wood or bone or what-have-you with an amazing amount of detail preserved as well. Dissolution and replacement is a third type of fossilization and can be a step
wise progression from permineralization. In some cases, when the ground water flows into the space previously occupied by the soft tissues of the organism, the original material may dissolve away, leaving a void in the surrounding sediments. This space, which is in the shape of the organism like a jell-0 mold, quickly becomes filled with minerals and an internal mold or "stone cast" is formed. Replacement can occur if it is a per mineral fossil which is
dissolved and replaced by a secondary type of mineral. Finally,
recrystallization can be the fourth type of fossil. Shells are often
recrystallized because of the relatively unstable minerals that they comprise of to begin with."
 
Much of the fossilized dinosaur bone in the western US comes from the Jurassic Aged Morrison Formation of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. These bones are commonly mineralized by Uranium rich solutions. If the fossil is dark gray to black, it is probably rich in the mineral Uraninite. If it has a yellowish to greenish cast, there are probably Uranium oxides in it. Many of these are seriously radioactive. They will make a Geiger counter or scintillometer go ape. The Carbon in the organic tissues actively helps to fix metals in the fossillization process. There may be serious health risks in carrying a chunk of this around on your person.

On top of this is the fact that 85% to 90% of the states where these fossils are found is public land and the federal antiquities act forbids collection and possession of vertebrate fossils. Most of these fossils are contraband and can get you in trouble unless you have documentation of the collecting locality.
 
I had a friend around New Orleans that was an excavater and everyonce in awhile they would run into mamoth tusks and the darn things would pretty much turned into chalk.
 
Raymond
yeah Chuck B's got it..
this stuff has small micro cracks and may be brittle
it sets too long in the open weather,
(because it's not worth so much they say)
water gets in and freezes over and over
causing this, so it's touchy to work with, so they say..
but it works like the reg stuff we get, as far as reg tools go
and belts..
 
Dan-Just did my homework :D

Steve (shgeo) Just realized you live down the road in Aztec - I'm just north of Bondad on the LaPosta Rd.

As Steve said be aware of who you buy dinosaur bone from and where it comes from. There are bonafide dealers of the stuff - just remember when buying ANY exotic material caveat emptor.
 
No, what I ment to ask about was fossilized dinosaur bone. I've got mammoth bone and its nice to work but rather hard on saw blades.

You can find dinosaur bone on ebay. I don't want to have to buy a gieger counter though and was wondering about what it would be like to make scales of. Probably very heavy.

RL
 
Roger as noted fossilized dinosaur bone is no longer really bone but rather a form of "rock".
 
Chuck, well yes I imagined that and in fact I was returning to edit my last post to replace the word 'fozzilized' with 'petrified'. I would guess it would be both heavy for scale use and brittle to work. It would be interesting to try it though. I don't want to get irradiated by it.

RL
 
Roger,

Petrified is just a generic term for fossilized material, usually replaced or permineralized stuff (see Chuck's post above-he has covered the basic modes of fossilization well.)

Considering the down side, I have just ignored fully fossilized bone. This obviously does not include things like mammoth ivory, oosic etc., which are really only lightly modified.

Often, fossil bone is very fragile and falls apart unless stabilized. If it is solid, it will be as heavy as most other sedimentary rocks, ie. a specific gravity of 2-2.5, which would make fairly heavy scales. Bone, enamel and dentine are composed of a mineral called Apatite and are porous. The fossilization process will often fill the pores with clays, calcite or silica (quartz).
 
Well, I'd say the reason of posting my question has been answered. I'll lay off dinosaur bone. I've held petrified wood and its as heavy as rock.

Thanks all for your comments. I'll think more along the lines of amber as a handle material for a near future knife. May the dinosaurs rest in piece(s).

RL
 
I just found some beautiful looking "dinosaur bones" and was kind of upset that it might be radioactive. Is there any safe and legal source where I can get non-radioactive "dinosaur bones"?
 
I've seen several very nicely done fossilized bone handles from various pieces of dinosaur bone. Yes, the fellow making them uses lapidary equipment, you gota treat the stuff just like stone.

As far as radioactivity goes, it's only certain limited deposits that have any issues at all, in general 99.8% of the stuff you find out there is NOT from those fossil beds and you've nothing at all to worry about.
 
I have both mammoth bone and dinosaur bone. The mammoth bone can be worked with regular equipment. I've never used my dinosaur bone yet, as I don't have lapidary equipment. The dino is some neat looking stuff with a cellular pattern in bold reds, greens, blues and yellows. But as stated by others here, it is basically a rock now. My dino bone is small (approximate 1" x 2" pieces about 1/8" to 3/16" thick). I think I have 7 pieces of this size. Some day I'll use it, just not ready yet.

It would basically be work that would have to be done with techniques similar to what Jay Fisher is using on his stone handle knives.

Based on the appearance of the dinosaur bone that I've seen, I'm surprised that it isn't used more often.

Ickie
 
Raymond Richard said:
Dan, Just currious, does it still seem to be bone like or is it more like rock?
Click to expand...

Ray, sorry, I can't believe I missed answering this for 4 years better late than never :eek: :)
I missed the question Roger asked
but the bone I have is bone like and the surface is full of micro cracks from being left out in the elements
( weather type elements :) )
 
Dino Bone as we call it here in the Four Corners area is fully mineralized replacment and thus rock! It comes in either agatized form ( which is gem quality and requires diamond or silicone carbide to cut and polish it as in lapidary type equipment although you can use some of the 2x72 belts that we use for grinding blades, add a little water and sand it quite nicely!) or other softer minerals that don't lend themselves to a good polish! San Juan Gems in Cortez stocks some fine rough and slabs in the material as well as equipment and supplies to work the stuff. I have cut gems from the agatized bone and know of some local knifemakers that have used it as scales...very beautiful! Hope this helps! Bill A.
 
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