Question re: Mammoth Ivory

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ErikMB

Gold Member
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Jul 27, 2017
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Why is this such a popular and exotic material for knife scales? I don't mean the fancy, gorgeous teeth, but just plain ivory.

I keep thinking we'll run out, someday, and regret it.

Are there laws about elephant ivory that do not apply to mammoths or something?
 
If I understand correctly, fossilized mammoth ivory is not subject to the ivory ban because it is no longer a living species that still exists which could be hunted into extinction for the value of its pretty tusks, unlike elephants and walrus.
 
Why do we like it? Because it's fascinating in person even in it's plainest form.

Why is it at risk of joining the Ivory ban? Because bad actors rename Elephant Ivory as Mammoth to break the law. There is not an easily performed test that a customs agent can carry out to verify the species.
 
It’s popular because it looks great and it’s from a creature that went extinct 10,000 years ago.

I have one knife with Mammoth Ivory. It might seem dumb to some people but I like to hold it and think about what I am actually holding in my hand.
 
Danke42 said:
There is not an easily performed test that a customs agent can carry out to verify the species.
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Yes there is. Looking at the Schreger lines is not difficult. All you need is a good magnifying glass and a bit of intelligence.
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........Oh, wait....government agents......never mind.....
 
Everything I've ever read made it sound like they were shooting the elephants to harvest the ivory. I vaguely remember it being called "green" ivory and as it was shown it was super obvious it was freshly cut and not harvested from deceased animals. They showed where the exposed nerve endings and such would still be bleeding. So it made it look very obvious when poachers were killing to collect. Meanwhile they also showed a massive pile of obviously not collected from live animals ivory that were large broken chunks and other aged parts. They clearly could be tracking and collecting but instead the hammer was dropped on any responsible harvesting. So they ended up just setting it all on fire. Meanwhile they've made the incredibly desirable item even more rare making it worth more than gold to enough people that poaching continues to this very day.
 
Centermass said:
If I understand correctly, fossilized mammoth ivory is not subject to the ivory ban because it is no longer a living species that still exists which could be hunted into extinction for the value of its pretty tusks, unlike elephants and walrus.
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Maximumbob54 said:
www.fws.gov

Toss the Tusk | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

www.fws.gov www.fws.gov

I'm not aware of a federal level ban on mammoth. But there is a company trying to bring back the mammoth so I assume we will ban mammoth ivory soon.
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A number of states now include mammoth (and walrus, hippo, and warthog) in the ivory ban.

Danke42 said:
Why do we like it? Because it's fascinating in person even in it's plainest form.

Why is it at risk of joining the Ivory ban? Because bad actors rename Elephant Ivory as Mammoth to break the law. There is not an easily performed test that a customs agent can carry out to verify the species.
Click to expand...

Arathol said:
Yes there is. Looking at the Schreger lines is not difficult. All you need is a good magnifying glass and a bit of intelligence.
.
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........Oh, wait....government agents......never mind.....
Click to expand...

It's easy to distinguish mammoth from modern elephant if you can see the Schreger lines in the end cut. Arathol does have a point about government agents, though. Mastodon ivory has Schreger lines that are similar to modern elephant ivory, so that is a harder call to make without carbon 14 data.

I have been an amateur paleontologist since I was four years old, and that is the draw of mammoth ivory. I have zero interest in getting anything with modern elephant ivory.
 
lambertiana said:
It's easy to distinguish mammoth from modern elephant if you can see the Schreger lines in the end cut.
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That's fascinating. Where do I find the end cut on my knife? I really want to look at it in such a manner.

bGoC9aG.jpg
 
Danke42 said:
That's fascinating. Where do I find the end cut on my knife? I really want to look at it in such a manner.

bGoC9aG.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, I know that most mammoth scales are not cross cut. Without damaging it, you won't have much luck. The Schreger line distinction is only on a cross cut piece. Yours is obviously not cross cut. The Schreger lines are most frequently used to ID mammoth on whole pieces of raw ivory.
 
lambertiana said:
Yeah, yeah, I know that most mammoth scales are not cross cut. Without damaging it, you won't have much luck. The Schreger line distinction is only on a cross cut piece. Yours is obviously not cross cut. The Schreger lines are most frequently used to ID mammoth on whole pieces of raw ivory.
Click to expand...
So what you are saying is for a manufactured item like a knife there's no easy way for a customs agent to verify the species of origin short of destruction of the object. Does that sound accurate?

Maybe it's just me but it sounds like there's no convenient test for Customs Agents to employ.
 
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