Mammoth Ivory

Doug C

Doug C

Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
26,811
Hey guys,leatherbird here,last time I heard Yamaha owned most of the ebony,rosewood,mahogany,etc.,exotic woods,do ya' s'pose they also have the largest stock of mammoth ivory?I'm bettin' most of it is either Nipponese or Chinese owned and wonder how much there really is out there now.Anyone know anything about this?
 
There is plenty of mammoth ivory on the market. I can buy whole tusks in quantity if I could afford them. Smaller pieces are also available, as are pieces pre-cut for knife handles. Though I have read that the supply is dwindling, I personally haven't seen any shortage.
 
There was an abundance of Mammoth at the Vegas show. None of the dark blue/green, but some nice stuff. Most of it was $25 to $30.00 a set. It seems to me, the price has dropped in the last several months.

A.T.
 
Leatherbird,

I don't know where you get your info.

Not sure what woods you are talking about. We have the biggest supply of desert ironwood, here in the us. There are a couple of players. I think that Elliot Glesser(sp) from Hiltary Surplus has more than either the Japanese or Chinese.

Costa Rica is where cocobolo comes from and if you compare that to what is on Japanese woodwork, you will see a difference, we still get the best stuff.

Most, but not all Mammoth/Mastadon ivory is located in Russia/Alaska. It generally goes to the highest bidder, and that is usually, SURPRISE, dealers from the US.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks for the info.K999,you again!Where do I get my info?I have my sources just as you do.They are readily available via the Internet and some time.I wasn't sure but I thought we had the corner on the desert Ironwood market.I lived in the Southwest 25 years ago and it was everywhere from the Sonoran desert in Mexico to as far as you could drive in a day north,I still have a few pieces today.If you reread the thread you'll see I was asking if anyone knew about the mammoth ivory situation.
 
What is the original source for fossilized Mammoth Ivory?

I would imagine that it would be a paleontological research site or something...if I had never heard of its use in knifemaking, I would think that it was EXTREMELY rare and of interest to scientists.

Nitin
 
Mammoth Ivory has been found from LaBrea tar pits to Siberia,I don't know what the restrictions are on buying or selling it but they don't seem to be to rigid.I'm sure college paleontological digs have found a lot of it but I'm not sure what they do with it after unearthing and cleaning and recording finds.
 
Yeah, when I bought a set of mammoth ivory scales from Sheffields about 2 years ago I paid $150.00 for the set. I guess the price has come down! I haven't made a knife in over a year so I'm really out of the loop.

I saw a show on Discovery about mammoths and apparently most if not all of the ivory on the market is from the former Soviet republic. This program I asw showed nomadic herdsman just picking it up off the ground! Some of it was sticking out of the ground, some of it had to be dug out, but it was fairly plentiful. The bad thing is, it's a finite supply.
 
I know that some of the Nordic makers like Gustaffson, Pearson, and similar use mammoth ivory recovered from the North Sea and it has a very different look to it, from the contact with water I suppose as it fossilized.

It may be true that the rare colors like deep blue and green aren't as easy to find as they once were, but there are lots of knives out there with very good ivory, its kind of like when you hear the common lament: "Oh, you just don't see stag like this anymore", well, yes, I see it all the time actually, any time someone says: "You just don't see stag like this anymore..." :) What I hear is: "This is very good stag". :)

The point being I guess, it's still out there, and I don't see the supply of very good ivory drying up so quickly, though maybe the very best of it, ie. vivid blue/green, is in shorter supply.

I admit, I am a big sucker for really choice fossil ivory, mammoth or walrus, I have more than 1 knife I bought probably in large part because I was so taken with the ivory.
 
William Henry has the very finest blue/green I have ever seen it even had gold colored flecking in it,so very nice.Not only was it in the set I have but a friend bought the same set and his scales were as pretty as mine and the gold flecking was there too.They must have got a very nice batch.Mammoth ivory can be so stunning.I have no idea what the gold flecking was,some type of mineral deposit.
 
Here are a few examples of what I'd call very nice fossil ivory. To me, each is like some rare, deep blue treasure or gem, sounds corny I know, but I just can't get enough of really nice blue/green ivory, or really nice pearl for that matter. In many ways, it was these rare and attractive natural materials that got me into, and keeps me interested in custom knives.

deanbwecuhdllt%20bestfrm.jpg


bl%20ivry%20text.jpg



Walrus Ivory

DSC06836%20copy.jpg
 
Wow,beautiful,exquisite knives.And pix.A king's ransom.Thank you for posting them.Did a fella named Dunn do the gold and silver work on the beautiful Dean?
 
leatherbird said:
Wow,beautiful,exquisite knives.And pix.A king's ransom.Thank you for posting them.Did a fella named Dunn do the gold and silver work on the beautiful Dean?
Click to expand...

You have an excellent eye LB. :) Yes, Steve Dunn MS did the gold engraving on the Dean. Steve is a very good engraver.

If you havent, you should try to find the thread in which Buddy posted pics of his feather damascus/ivory Dunn bowie, oh my god, that thing was engraved and just filled with gold everywhere, all by Steve, with killer mammoth ivory to boot! Now that's a knife! :) I'll try to find the pic and post it. I'd sure like to get one of those. :) Steve's work is really outstanding, and I'd say he is underrated.

OK, found one pic of the Dunn bowie, this thing rocks, just wished it rocked at my house....

orig.jpg
 
I am just blown away by your pix,I'm a nfg but I have never seen this knife's equal.Again thanks for posting Megalobyte.leatherbird.
 
leatherbird said:
I am just blown away by your pix,I'm a nfg but I have never seen this knife's equal.Again thanks for posting Megalobyte.leatherbird.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, the picture of the feather damascus bowie was taken by Buddy, not me, Buddy is an excellent photographer, the other pics were mine.

I agree, that's one of the nicest small bowies I have ever seen, hey Buddy, tired of it yet? :)
 
I sold tons of mammoth to a company in Japan in the early 90s.This was soon after the elephant ivory ban. They were hoping to use it for their signature stamps. I made a lot of money for a few years (I sure wish I would have invested it wisely ). They did not find it suitable and as far as I know very little mammoth ivory goes to Japan. Most mammoth ivory from Siberia goes through Hong Kong. Since more ivory started coming in from Siberia a few years ago he price has come down some but good quality with scales with color will still go for $100 to $200 per set.
I used to buy four to six thousand pounds a year from the placer gold miners here in Alaska. In the last ten years mining in deep round where ivory is found has almost stopped and I am lucky to get half of that.
Keep in mind only the outer bark is colorful and less than 5% of that is blue or green.
 
AKivory, thanks for the info, how would you compare mammoth ivory against walrus ivory in terms of rarity, quality, price etc.? I find WI to be richer and more dense, it also seems like it's more expensive, but I'm not sure about that. Any thoughts?
 
Hey Chuck, glad to see you around. Chuck know's his stuff guy's. He a ivory carver up in Fairbanks and does some great work. You should see the pile of ivory and mammoth bone he has...
 
Walrus ivory is going to get very rare. 99% of the old walrus on the market in the US comes from St Lawrence Island . The easy stuff has been found. the only reason this ivory can be dug and sold is the island is owned by the Siberian Yupik people who have live there for over 4000 years. I used to buy fossil walrus for $15 to $45 per lb in the early 80s. It is now going for $80 to $200 per Lb. It is amazing the number of knife makers that are afraid of using ivory. It is very durable and easy to work with. I do not sell walrus now but I consider it the best of all the old ivories.

Saberman please stop by if you make it up this summer.
 
Thanks,Most informative post and you sound beloved in Forum.When you say 100-200 a set,is that by size or weight?Or is that just enough for 1 knife?Second question,blue or green or blue/green are the most precious? I've seen blue/green with cream turning to orange that was absolutely stunning.William Henry.I missed out but acquired another set off them I just love.Again,thanks.leatherbird.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top