Interests in Ivory and other exotic materials on your folder

S

seguine.knives

Joined
Jun 15, 2012
Messages
17
I was just curious if there was any interest in having more exotic materials used for handle scales on folders.

Growing up in alaska and having a family of knifemakers I was able to play with quite a different array of exotic materials such as: Elephant ivory, mammoth ivory, whale teeth, baleen (humpback whale "teeth") walrus tusk as well as various types of exotic wood, bone, and antlers/horns.

Was this just a fad, or is it still something that people want on their knives? Is it a cost perspective? or is it just that many knifemakers find it to time consuming to work with these materials?

Would love to hear some feedback..
 
I'd really like some Mammoth or Mastodon Ivory for my ZT 350. But I'd probably never carry it again.

Still it's tempting. Is it possible?
 
When it comes to natural materials Pearl is my favorite. It's just a beautiful material. I'm also a big fan of stag and bone. Certain woods are really nice. I own nothing that uses Mammoth Bark, Mammoth Tooth, or Ivory, but I would definitely like to change that. :D

I know that some materials are very difficult to work with ranging from basically creating a poison cloud while grinding to materials cracking, flaking, and simply falling apart to dust while working with it. I also know that there can sometimes be serious flaws in materials that aren't visible to the eye without starting to process it. This can make for some very unattractive eyesores in the materials.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay off when a maker purchases expensive natural materials and they end up being useless.
 
Working with ivory is a unique process. You generally use all jeweler tools due to trying to reduce heat. I have also noticed that there is a large misconception that ivory can not take the abuse that synthetic materials can. If anything ivory (if worked right) can be a very good handle material comparable to G10 or Micarta. The only downside is that it pretty much has to be worked by hand and that is an art in itself.

You just dont see a lot of it...I might be a little ignorant of how hard it is to obtain because I grew up in a shop where we had a lot of it and still do. My grandfather is no longer making knives but I am just seeing what the interest is to try and keep some of the traditions going.
 
I am really enamored with some of the production mammoth ivory (Mnandi,Sebenza etc.) and custom knives that I have seen in other members collections on these forums. Sheep horn is also used with spectacular results on both custom and production variants. It is an option that I would seriously consider on upcoming purchases.
 
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