Help needed

T

topol

Joined
Jul 10, 2007
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Newly acquired....reputed to be scrimshaw on real ivory....any way to tell if real ivory. Also, from blade shape and tang stamp appears to be early 70's.....any way to pin it down. Thanks.

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Beautiful knife! The only ways I know to test "real" ivory involve a flame or red-hot needle, neither of which I would recommend in your case.
 
Tang stamp on the blade looks to be '73, in '74 there was 1 dot on each side of the "110". The ivory is best observed with a lope or magnifying glass. The grain in Walrus is a lot less noticiable than Elephant, which can have like a cross-hatched pattern in the grain.
 
Looks like something 334dave might have done...Old man of the sea; figurehead; spaceships; lots of swirls...Nice knife!!! :)
 
Scott Hartman said:
The ivory is best observed with a lope or magnifying glass. The grain in Walrus is a lot less noticiable than Elephant, which can have like a cross-hatched pattern in the grain.
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Very true. Try looking for some grain along the thinner parts of the handle.
 
Its a nice looking knife even if it's not real... But like other have said... Ivory has some grain lines...
 
Yes I do schrimshaw, IMHO from the picts i would say that it appears to be the real thing. the engraving is of a much higher quality of work and art then the scratching is.. not done by the same person… again MHO
The quality of the scratching is about were i am on skill level yes trax it is a style i considered and started some designs on.. whale ivory is the teeth, they don’t have tusk... the little i have is whiter when done and takes on a mellow tone as it ages were as elephant does not tone down as much. hippo is almost not ivory and walrus will yellow more ,, i dont like walrus for much.. hippo is tough good handle but hard to work! whale teeth work great but cost!!! mastodon and mammoth well it depends on the ground it was in ... very unpredictable stuff
Elephant.. is best around in my book, and even there there are differing types.
 
If you look at the close-up of the rear bolster, you can make out the scrimshawer's name in the lower corner of the scale...

I'm looking at the bolster engraving, and it is excellent...real engraving, not electro-penciling...and stamped motifs as well...lots of stuff going on there...a lot of time went into this knife...

I've watched engravers at gun shows...working with mallet & chisels...takes a lot of time, practice (obviously!), and patience...

I'm guessing about $1,000 for this knife...

(How far off am I?)
 
Thanks everyone for the complements and the info on how to tell if real ivory. I looked under a strong magnifying glass and did not see any grain at all. Also compared to and old walrus tusk, scrimsaw handle carving set (pictured below) sent from Alaska by an uncle in early 50's which I know is real ivory and there was a big difference.

Also, forgot to post pic yesterday of signed area on knife that I think is the person that did the bolster work.

Again, thanks to everyone.

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Topol,
Even if it turns out not to be real ivory, the knife is a gem. The engraving work as previously mentioned is top notch and the overall presentation of the knife is great. An overall beautiful 110. Also, if it isn't real ivory it sure looks like it to me. Isn't there a slight sign of grain in the corner by the artist signature? Additionally, it looks like there is a slight bit of yellowing. Again, simply a beautiful knife.
Mike
 
As the wildlife guy here in the bunch, I have had to monkey with some Ivory items seized for border crossing issues. I agree with Mike there is grain structure visible near the signature. Ivory.......the needle test is usually only done on non-art, usually raw "chunk" objects...there is an Xray test also.....300Bucks
 
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