How do you tell if its ivory or not?

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NCBlades

Joined
Mar 9, 2000
Messages
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I bought a custom knife a while back and have had it in my collection for a while. I showed it to a potential buyer Saturday and I saw the look on his face when I told him it was ivory. From the look, I knew he thought it was fake ivory. Well, I paid alot for the knife and was told that it was mammoth ivory. How can I tell for sure? I have heard about using a black light, but what do you look for? I appreciate any information anyone can give me.
michael

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"For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword."
Heb. 4:12

"Lets meet at my house before the game on Sunday" God
 
Michael: If heat a pin red hot and touch it burnt ivory smell like burnt hair. Good luck.
Jerry
 
Some synthetics that look like ivory will fluoresce under a black light. Ivory does not. The hot pin test is better (but destructive). Plastic will melt when touched with the pin. Ivory burns - you normally get just a small brown spot where you touched it. These are the only tests I'm aware of. A good person to talk to for additional information is Tim at www.ivoryworksltd.com .
 
I have seen the piece in question and commented that the grain structure looks like ivory micarta.Is there a non destructive way to see if it is micarta?
David

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AKTI# A000150
NC Custom Knifemakers Guild member
NC Knife Knuts member
 
if you take and place the handle on a hard surface like glass and press the butt of the knife on the surface exerting a small amount of pressure move it in any direction just a little if it is ivory this will produce blueish black mark. or you could use a pointed instrument with a smooth rounded tip and rub a small area that is not normally looked at.this will produce the same effect.
ivory dose have a grain structure similar to a latice pattern hope this helps
 
Thanks for the replies. I have talked to the maker and he says that it is ivory. I will take his word for it. Thanks!
michael

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"For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword."
Heb. 4:12

"Lets meet at my house before the game on Sunday" God
 
Elephant ivory has an end-grain structure much like lacework with the diamond forms being slightly elongated (approx 50% longer than wide). Mammoth ivory has the same end-grain structure, but the diamonds are flatter. I don't know of any artificial materials which exhibit similar patterns. No mention was made of what type of ivory is being questioned, because there is also hippo, warthog, walrus, whale's tooth, etc?

Just to throw in a curve ball . . . one also has to consider whether some "mammoth" is indeed mammoth. A number of folks are taking their old elephant ivory (which is illegal in most quarters) and staining it with wood stain or tea . . . it produces the "real thing"!

Regards, HILTON
 
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