mammoth teeth

[Shing]

Could someone tell me what mammoth teeth as opposed to mammoth ivory is like to work?

 

[mdoyle]

For reasons of comparison, think glass and a pine board. Keep the super glue with you at all times. Sand a little, apply more super glue....
Matt

 

[Echols Made Knives]

mdoyle is right. You must work slowly. Don't try unless it is stabilized. Most is from reputable suppliers. It is very hard and very brittle. Makes a beautiful handle but because of the brittleness, it is not for a working knife. Be prepared for the awful smell. Worse than the other organics to me.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[cddc]

Mammoth tooth is like working with glass, agreed. The odor is foul for sure (not sure if I can make a distinction on what is the worst but a half face mask is a must) you dont want to breath the dust. I made an attempt to make some handles out of it, it drilled ok but when i tried to counter bore my holes it split in half. The stuff is miseable to grind too, so if u get some try to size it to minimize grinding. Mammoth ivory on the other hand is very workable, becareful not to overheat it because it will yellow and that is hard to get out. The mammoth tooth remaining in my inventory I will eventually try to use without drilling....someday (I don't really look forward to working with it again). But it is beautiful stuff.

 

[Raymond Richard]

I was going to use a piece of it for a spacer couple weeks ago. Drilled two 1/16" holes in it and it split. I'll forget about it for a couple years and try it again.

 

[Redrummd]

Wouldn't it work better cutting and polishing with lapidary equipment? Diamonds and water...?

 

[steelglint]

I recently did a hidden tang dagger with Mammoth tooth. I had to epoxy the block between two peices of paka wood so it could be worked. After it was assembled, I ground the wood off. It was a real pain and you go through a lot of super glue....lol.
Hope this helps.

Monty