Potassium Perm./ Mammoth Ivory

J. Neilson

J. Neilson

Joined
Feb 6, 2001
Messages
3,621
I've been getting a bug to play with mammoth ivory lately. I've gotten some nice pieces but, mostly inexpensive stuff to start with. I was wondering, before I try it, if anyone has tried putting potassium permanganate on plain, pale mammoth ivory before, to kinda give it a better look. I know the better mammoth has all the coloring and whatnot so is the pale stuff just cosidered "junk" mammoth? I've got alot to learn here.
 
Plain, or mineral colored, it's all beautiful to me. Any way it goes, it's thousands of years old, from a living thing that is now extinct, and died in a way that has yet to be satisfactorily explained(quick frozen to the bone in minutes, and still in permafrost, with the tropical plants they were eating in their stomachs, or even in some of their mouths). I'll take it any way I can.;)


You might want to get ahold of Bruce Evans, he had worked out a method of coloring bone to have the blue look of premium Mammoth tusk.
 
J, you might get some of Tess's Feibing's oil dye to try.That's what I use on stag.I haven't tried it on ivory though.Just a thought.Dave :)
 
J. Sometimes I feel like I'm preaching but......PP will give a greenish tint over the years. There are better things to use. Plain old coffee or chewing tobacco being two.
 
Why mess with something that has come down from at least 10-12 thousand years ago and has been preserved by natural processes? I know the weathered bark is the most striking, but if it was me I wouldn't change it.
 
I'm with Mike and Steve on this one, I don't see any reason to alter it. Many knives benefit from the milky color of white ivory. And it gets so mellow over the years.
 
I havent been satified with PP on anything so far including ivory. I think ivory should be left natural in any case. I dont really like the plain jane tan ivory though. Bright white elphant and deep colored mammoth perks me up.
 
Ok, Ok let me elaborate. I'm not a good sleeper so I think of all kinds of stupid/crazy things during the course of the night (look at my toast cutter). I like the tan stuff too (that nice folder Tess got me for x-mas was light colored with just a few markings) but, I know the darker colors are more appealing or should I say, sought after for higher end knives. I've been trying to broaden my materials and produce some higher end stuff. I'm pretty happy with my knives (there's always room for improvement of course) but, I want to use more diverse materials as well. I broke down at Timonium and bought some MOP, gold lip and coral. I've always loved the looks of this type of material but, didn't have the nerve to try it out. I've got the nerve now, just not enough to spend $90-150.00 on a set of scales. Not yet anyway... ;) I've gotten some good mammoth and some inexpensive, plain tan stuff. I was just wondering if anyone had played around with this. I was thinking of the coffee thing too, Peter/Don. Time was and is always a factor. I really don't have alot of time to play between orders anymore so when I get to play around with ideas I want to make the best of it. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
 
Well J. If you want instant gratification, use a 10% mix of water/Nitric acid. Brush it on, let it dry a little and use a heat gun on it. Instant cherry brown. Add a few nails and let them dissolve. Do the same thing and instant reddish brown to down right mahogany depending on the iron content,

Can't get any quicker than that but like any new technique, do a little experimenting of scrap first.

Wipe it down with Ballistol after. It kills the acid and gives some body to the surface.
 
I just got a pp antler handled hunter from Chuck Fogarty It is a ripper. I have not seen the treatment before and was very impressed with the colour and his workman ship. However given the age of the ivory my first reaction was to leave it plain then after thinking about it, if it is going to look better it is still going to be the same age and the same material. I like my knife because it looks good with the pp antler. I think go with what you like the look of best.

some people like red cars some like blue it is a personal thing.

Chuck may have some tips, he did a first rate job. I would recomend his work to anyone.
 
J. Neilson said:
..............;) I've gotten some good mammoth and some inexpensive, plain tan stuff. I was just wondering if anyone had played around with this. I was thinking of the coffee thing too, Peter/Don. Time was and is always a factor. I really don't have alot of time to play between orders anymore so when I get to play around with ideas I want to make the best of it. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
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J., I wasn't criticizing you for thinking of doing this, just voicing another opinion.

Bruce Evans did that with dog chew bones from the market, but we all knew what it was(and it looked good too), but doing that with Ivory might be possibly misconstrued by some suspicious buyers.

All the paranoia aside, you could send the plain ones to Mike at WSSI and have them dyed, while it's being stabilized.
I have some Mammoth Ivory here that's been stabilized only, and that stuff is very stable. Having it dyed through, and through might work out great. I, at least have never seen that, and with the proper colors, it might be very beautiful, indeed.:D
 
I look at it this way.....

Would you take a really gorgeous piece of gold lip pearl and then dye it purple to make it look pretty?

No....

nothing can beat nature. Every piece of mammoth is different, and that's what makes it so special..... even if it is "plain old mammoth" without the bark. :)
Having said that... yes, I am biased ... and not a single one of the custom knives in my collection has anything but natural handle materials. Each to his own I suppose :cool:
 
To start with I must say I have never used PP on bones or ivory but back about 30 years every one was using it on gun stocks and like Peter Nap said about it turning green I found out the hard way. Back then I made a special flintlock rifle for myself and in about 10 years it was VERY green . It looked just awfull. :grumpy: I did a lot of very carful sanding and used leather dye this time and today the color has not changed even with all the use I have given it. I still hear pp is use on rifles but it sure wasn't worth all the work I put into it.
 
Hi Guys... This thread was the first I've heard about PP turning green after a few years and I'm confused. In other past threads it has been said that pp was used on all the Sambar stag that was imported into the U.S. and Canada as a means of killing all the little creepy crawlies. Also that the PP was what gave it the rich colour. If this is so then why is Sambar so sought-after? I have never seen green Sambar. Can someone clear this up for me? I have about 40 sets of antler that I was going to treat in the near future but now you've got me ready to take the PP to the household toxic waste disposal site.

Thanks Jim Ziegler
 
J.Ziegler said:
Hi Guys... This thread was the first I've heard about PP turning green after a few years
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Like this? Although the other side is OK. It appears to be where the pores are open.
greenstag1.jpg
 
Over in the general discusion forum they were talking about Mineral Oil for antlers as a preservitive. One member stated that after several days soaking it actually darkens the antler, would this maybe get the result you wanted.

Here it is
 
Thought you might say that about the PP :(
That photo was of a 1980 knife by the way.

and..... tomorrow I'm off to find some dark colored mineral oil, as I have a knife which has some of the palest washed out looking (European) stag you have ever seen, and I'm gonna try dunking it for a few days. I'll take some before and after photos, and report back on the results.

Cheers
Rod
 
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