Ivory crack: Fill or Not Fill?

[tryppyr]

I like working with ivory, as I'm sure most of you know. After reading this thread and contemplating preservation methods, it occurs to me to wonder if the procedures are common to all types of ivory. This led to the follow on questions:

1) Any difference in methods between walrus ivory and fossil walrus ivory?

2) Any difference in methods between elephant ivory and mammoth ivory?

3) Any difference between mammoth ivory from the core versus the bark?

 

[TAH]

Rusty,

Thanks for the ivory information. Interesting stuff! Any chance you could send me an email? I have a question about making something for me out of ivory.

Tom

I read that people rub baby oil on their ivory every year, etc. I have seen ivory handles with terrible blotches where the baby oil soaked in to a softer dentin part and didn't soak in in the harder enamel areas.

This happened to me with my Herron fighter. I applied a thin coat of mineral oil, let it sit overnight, wiped it off in the morning, and the oil soaked in around the pins on just one side. This didn't happen with any of my other ivory handles. Stains on the Herron never went away.