ivory veneers

P

Perrin

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May 12, 2013
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My job provides many opportunities to pick through rubbish piles out of old houses. Needless to say I find lots of cool stuff, although my wife would disagree as to the perceived worth of my finds. The other day I ran across an old piano that has been sitting outside under a shed for several years. The piano was ruined of course but I noticed the veneers on the keys were separating from the wood beneath. I popped several off to see if they were ivory. Well after some research I am 90% sure that these are ivory. I haven't done the hot needle test however each key that had an "L" shape, was made with two pieces. My few minutes of research indicates that this was done with ivory while plastic would be one piece. Does anyone have any experience with such so as to confirm my suspicion that this indeed elephant ivory?

ivoryveneers_zps78092493.jpg


I plan to use them as spacers for small hidden tang knives. They are super dirty and stained, I don't know if they could be used for anything else. Maybe bolsters but they are only about 1mm thick. Besides inlays, has anyone else used these for some aspect of knifemaking? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to how to use them or clean them up?

I do not make knives for sale, so I'm not particularly interested in the legal issues associated with elephant ivory that always seems to be suggested in threads concerning this subject, thank you.
 
Just run a flame along the edge of one and you will know. Plastic will melt, the ivory will scorch/burn and smell like burning hair/feathers.
 
Those are the perfect size for scrimshanding, so you could always take a crack at it and make a necklace pendant for the wife.:D
Here's a piece I made for a friend to give to his wife on her birthday from a piano key overlay, for an idea.
9eyyqA4l.jpg
 
Thanks Nighthaxen, that is a wonderful idea. I will have to admit that my first reaction was one with the four letter word "can't" in it. However upon further contemplation I don't think that I could produce the more traditional pictures but maybe something else. I could stick with what I know and make the wife one with a silhouette of a Focke Wulf or an overhead of a P-38. They don't sell those at Jared's. :p
 
Clean up is really easy too. Just get a few sheets of sandpaper ranging from 120 up to 1000 grit and some double sided tape. This video shows cleanup and shaping using piano key tops at the 2 minute mark.

[video=youtube;HKR7T_nDY8U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKR7T_nDY8U[/video]
 
I used piano ivory just like that for inlays on my first knife.
Inlayed in black buffalo horn and polised it afterwards. Nice and smooth with black/white contrast.
If you go full tang you can have the pins covered with shapes cut out of this stuff.
If a hidden tang isn't wider as a piece like that it can be a subtile bolster/guard (or spacer)
Interesting stuff, just make sure it is legal since it is ivory (don't know about the law where you are)
 
Yep spacers inlays all good stuff but wonder about future. How will we prove this ivory came from old pianos. Here is a little dagger I made several years ago out of a file wrought guard, silver and ivory piano key spacers and ebony for example.
YoYmMl3.jpg

Chris
 
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What a pretty little dagger. Thanks Chris, that is exactly the kind of pic I was looking for. I'm stoked, they are going to look great on a future puukko.

So are the ivory police really that attentive when lowly knife makers use some scrap ivory on a piece? Who here has had the brown shirts come and shake them down over their ivory? Wait till I post a pic of a dagger handled in unicorn ivory. (the dust turns to gold and silver glitter as you sand on it) That will really get their attention. Might even send agents Scully and Mulder to investigate. I guess let the revenuers come if that is what things have come to because I've got some gabon ebony that these are going to looking awesome next to.
 
No, the Greanpeace barge will back up to your house and the long hairs will harrass you.
 
It's all good, they will be distracted by all the trees to hug since I live in the middle of a national forest. Bunch of these tress needs some hugs too, after this recent ice storm. :) In all honesty I have quite a few friends of the long hair, neo-hippie variety that well understand the silliness of trying to fix a problem from the periphery instead of the source.

I'm glad you chimed in tryppyr, Greg I believe, I have been wanting to ask you what kind of ivory is that pretty pink stuff you are using on your Global kitchen knife inspired piece. It's so pretty. My name is Brad by the way.
 
Lol I just fear the writing on the wall. But it's not going to stop me in the near term from using the ivory scraps I have. The ivory ban post in the custom forum is a interesting read and my take on it is more paperwork and restrictions on interstate transactions if anything. So if you don't sell you are even safer. Enough of that let's see what others have used piano keys for. Chris
 
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