mammoth ivory question

Hengelo_77

Hengelo_77

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I want to work with mammoth ivory for the first time.
In the back there are some small cracks. Should I fill them with super glue of will the epoxy from epoxying to the liner do the same?
(I will use a thin G10 liner)

And the stripes on the surface, do they go all the way trough or will I lose them if I contour the handle?

ivoor-achter.jpg


ivoor-voor.jpg
 
The surface your referring to is called bark. It’s the outside of the tusk and yes it will go away if you grind it. If it was me I would fill the cracks. I’m not a huge fan of cyanoacrylate but I know it’s used a lot in paleontology. The big thing I don’t like about it is that it can get everywhere and if it cures to fast it can leave a weird white haze on the surface. It is good for filling real fine cracks as it wicks into every little crany. It’s not the greatest gap filler though. If thoes where mine I might try the cyanoacrylate and let dry. Then use a real thin epoxy (I use clear coat by systems 3) to fill them the rest of the way. I have had luck with using a fine tipped air gun to blast the epoxy deeper. It’s a trick I use to fix cracked rifle stocks. Never used it on cracked ivory but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

But take all this with a grain of salt as I have not worked with ivory all that much. And the stuff I have worked with was not cracked at all like that. But like I said if it was mine I would do it like I said above.
 
Is that both sides of the ivory you're showing - front and back? If so, you have inner ivory without the "bark" that's on the outside. I like soaking mammoth ivory in thin CA so it will soak into the tiny cracks you might not even see. That large crack it won't fill that. I would use a tad of sanding dust to make a paste with a very thin epoxy and fill that. I have seen folks use a black epoxy to fill large cracks to provide a nice contrast. Not my favorite.

Since that is inner ivory most likely you'll have a nice smooth look once it's sanded and polished to a high luster. This is mammoth ivory - you'll never know for sure what you'll have until it's fully finished, but it will look GREAT!

When you're sanding be sure to keep it cool, use SHARP belts and only grind lightly, then cool. Don't allow it to feel "hot" to the touch.

Later
 
Also no dunking in water to cool it while working! As Ken mentioned don't get it hot. I've used Gorilla Glue brand super glue and have had good luck filling cracks with it.
 
I set the scales on waxed paper and soak the scales with thin CA. Let it cure a day, then fill any remaining cracks with medium thick CA. Repeat until the cracks are filled and the CA is above the surface. Sand the back flat .... GENTLY ... with no heat buildup. Go slow on a slowed down belt with frequent 30 second rests, or do by hand in a flat surface. NEVER get it wet. NEVER get it hot.

I love the look of the bark. Just sand the top down enough to get a smooth surface. If the scales are too thick once the top is smoothed down, I remove the excess from the backside. Try to keep as much of the top color as possible. The cracks in the bark are also desirable. When they zig-zag all over the surface it is called "cracked Ice", and is the most valuable of all mammoth handle scales. Fill it with CA and grind only enough to smooth off ... never grind away the cracked ice if possible. When the surface look is really nice, I shape the handle to fit the surface rather than shape the surface to fit the handle.
 
Thnx guys I'll keep you posted.
They are one set of scales, the top pic is the back, the botom is the front.

I've got a full kids free day tomorrow, these scales and a drawing for a the knife I picture them on.
I think I'll use hand tools only on these scales
 
JTknives said:
I’m not a huge fan of cyanoacrylate but I know it’s used a lot in paleontology. The big thing I don’t like about it is that it can get everywhere and if it cures to fast it can leave a weird white haze on the surface. It is good for filling real fine cracks as it wicks into every little crany.
Click to expand...
This one will never leave weird white haze on the surface .When I found it I bought hundreds . . . .:D
It's a little thicker, not that much liquid as normal CA . . ..

2bX6AbH.jpg
 
What is the consensus on getting it wet? In this thread at least two people said never get it wet.
In a thread I found by searching, Frank Niro says "you can safely wet it as much as you want"... (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/mammoth-tusk.1523625/)
Everyone seems to agree not to get it hot.

I'm thinking about starting a project using an expensive piece of interior tusk and I need to drill a hole down the length, hopefully without chipping or cracking.
Any additional tips about drilling this stuff?
 
Wet can cause problems sometimes. It isn't wood, so the problem isn't grain getting filled and warping, but if the material is in any way soft, it may absorb some water. This can cause glue problems later on and cause CA to show the glue lines ( more on that later). It can also cause cracking issues.

The "White Haze" is the cyanoacrylic resin gassing off and precipitating nearby ... especially where it finds oils and organic compounds. It will rub/wipe off with a little acetone. This property of CA is used to "develop" fingerprints. Take a clean piece of glass and put your fingers on it. Put it in a ziplock bag and put a few drops of CA in the bag. Close the bag and watch as the fingerprints turn white and become permanent on the glass. They have done this to whole cars in some special investigations. It can even find fingerprints on skin.

To reduce the white haze, place the glued object in front of a fan so the vapors are driven away.

The glues that don't make as much white haze are usually the slower cure resins that don't gas off as much, or ones with thickeners added.
 
Stacy pretty well covered the mammoth ivory in water question, if the ivory is really dense you can "get away" with a quick dip in water, but if there's any cracks, pores (some of which are not visible) the water will tend to wick in causing possible problems later.

Frank (in thread linked above) is very knowledgeable about mammoth ivory and I fully respect his advice. With ivory fully sealed with a thin CA you can "get away" with dipping quickly in water. But, why take a chance just for cooling. Best not to get it hot, use sharp fresh belts. I'll have a couple blocks of aluminum in fridge, lay one on grinder and use that to cool ivory while grinding. When that block of aluminum gets warmed up, switch with block in fridge. If blocks are put in freezer and allowed to freeze, they tend to frost over which puts that water right back in ivory.
 
To prevent breakout when drilling thru scales you can always glue up a liner to the side the bit will come out. If you wish to be doubly sure, glue thin liner to top side, then grind it off if it won't come off. Bottom side I'd glue up liner that's going to stay, or if liner needs removing, make it a thin liner also.

You mentioned drilling long ways - shouldn't have to worry about breakout on the long ends, they'll be covered with guard and pommel. OR - better yet, glue liner material to the ends. BUT first I'd practice drilling lengthwise of a block of scrap wood cut to same size as mammoth ivory to make sure I had the drilling down pat so as not to breakout the sides.
 
Thanks.
The reason I asked is that I'm attempting something like the Steve Culver tutorial also recently seen in Bruce Bumps Tomb Raider dagger.
(spiral fluting with wire etc)
Looking very closely at the handle on the Tomb raider dagger a very slight crack is evident in one spot near the pommel.
I thought if it can happen to the great Bruce bump, I might have a complete disaster...
Maybe the material can have small cracks to begin with? I guess I'll soon see. I hope it isn't an expensive lesson.
 
Tomb Raider Dagger? You are ambitious! Good luck and please do give a few photos during construction.
 
Ken H> said:
Tomb Raider Dagger? You are ambitious! Good luck and please do give a few photos during construction.
Click to expand...
To be clear, I'm not crazy enough to imagine I can make anything like the Tomb Raider dagger (until I saw that, I thought "trapped ball" was a medical condition).
I did make spiral fluted handles in the past out of wood, following the Steve Culver tutorials.
I will attempt it again with mammoth ivory. Anyway, I'll post some pics of however it turns out.
 
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