Is any material looking remotely like ivory doomed?

[Patrice Lemée]

I did not think that this would turn into a promotional ivory buying thread for Don and Cliff.

On a more serious note, I appreciate your input but I am not actually interested in Ivory itself but more on the ban's (and the general move away from it) effect on similar looking materials.

Gary, I am not concerned that they are gonna ban cattle bone of course. I am concerned that I will not be able to use it because I either will have to keep a detail record of provenance (the soup bones I bought at the market???) or that people will simply shy away from it altogether. I never handled that much ivory but my little experience proved that roughly 97.2% of the people could not tell the difference between say elephant and “bovine”.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

Patrice,
The price alone for what you would charge for Modern Ivory compared to Bovine bone will be a big part of it.

Also If it helps you any, the few times I have used Bovine bone, horn or otherwise I call it "reclaimed domesticated cattle bone".
Or "annually dropped deer or Elk horn". That helps with folks that ethical questions about how it was obtained.

Some folks around where I live frown on hunting and think they are saving the world because they bought a Toyota Prius :roll eyes:so I am always careful to explain the nature of the handle material upfront.

 

[JParanee]

My house is decorated in dead animals

My chandlers are deer horn

I wear and use leather

I eat meat

I'm not a hypocrite

I don't buy Ivory handled knives because I do not like the problems associated with it ...... Cracking and chipping

I like white handle materials and gun grips so I iuse white linen Micarta

Tough and ages well

 

[rickmenefee]

Guys, now is the time to get rid of all your fossil ivory.

Just send it to Don Hanson or Cliff Parker.

We buy fossil ivory . com

I'll also take a wheelbarrow full. Grin......

 

[rickmenefee]

Laurence, I am sorry buddy, but your last statement is really quite funny. Just go to any knife show, ivory is on a pretty large percentage of the knives there. It could be that you meant to say "elephant ivory" where you said ivory, and to me that's the problem with all these ivory bans, everyone wants to save elephants, but in attempting to do so they lump all types of ivory together.

Theyre is plenty of old elephant ivory around. Legal elephants are also shot regular. I know this does not affect your bank account but we are on the same side.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

... I call it "reclaimed domesticated cattle bone". Or "annually dropped deer or Elk horn"...

I like that Laurence. :thumbup:

Joe, that is surely great for toughness but not for what I need it for, looks just like plain old plastic.

 

[Kevin Casey]

I'm currently working on some knives for ECCKS in NJ, this will be my first US show (i'm from europe).

I read about the Ivory ban and know Ivory is out of the question, but can I bring knives made in mammoth molar (mammoth thoot) or mammoth bone?
This would be colored pieces that look nothing like ivory...

I know Mark Knapp answered this question with"yes you can" however it is my understanding that ALL IVORY including ancient and fossilized mammoth, walrus and all types are illegal in NJ. Does this apply to mammoth tooth? I'll bet it does but I have not read the law. Caution if you are flying into Newark Airport. They are Enforcing this law.

 

[Lupo]

YUP

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

I wonder if you will have to "prove" it's not ivory, i.e., a bill of sale or other documents, for it to not fall into the ivory category.

I have some mammoth ivory-scaled knives (the mammoth being 10K years old) that is banned in my state in USA, so when I post photos I refer to the scales as mammoth tusk and NOT ivory. This kind of ivory is legal pretty much everywhere else. Below on the right are 2 examples of mammoth ivory/tusk by custom makers.