Treating Ivory handles

I am told the oils from your skin are the best thing. It will darken over time as well.

Again, no first hand experience either.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
Depends on what you want to do. Ivory can be sanded and polished to restore most, if not all, of its' "fresh" look. Or as tinkerer states it will darken over time...Many people like the look of "old" ivory.
I've experimented with a variety of "sealers", Krylon spray, liquid plastic, etc., and they all worked to coat and protect the ivory from light dings and scratches but not from the aging process but if you don't like the look or feel they are a bugger if not impossible to remove without risking damage and/or removing material via sanding.

If you want to prevent the yellowing/aging process store it out of sunlight. I have a lot of ivory and whale teeth and most have always been kept in the dark, so to speak, and look as good as the day I got them, well over 30 years ago.

Pics will help a lot with a question like this.
My two cents...do nothing and handle it now and then...not an EDC.
 
Well I emailed ABS Mastersmith P.J. Tomes who was the one who made the knife for me.
P.J is now semi retired and living out of the country. He said to use baby oil or olive oil.
To clean up the Ivory I used FLITZ paste and it worked beautiful.
 
Spend the $30 and get a jar of Renaissance micro-crystalline wax polish. It's what conservators use. It's excellent for ivory and for your knives, too.
 
I am of the mind that Flitz is too aggressive to use on ivory. I do apply Renaissance wax sparingly since it too has an abrasive imbedded in the wax. Olive oil or baby oil might be OK but what sort of people squeeze their offspring to obtain oil?
 
I don't care if he made the knife or not, ivory doesn't contain oil. While it might seal the surface while wet, oil does nothing to preserve ivory and could possibly soften it.
Flitz is abrasive-regardless what they tell you. Ren wax contains no abrasives, but it is expensive and offers no advantage over paste waxes, because it is designed for items that will not be handled. It is simply easier to wipe off. Neutral paste shoe polish holds up better and is much cheaper.
 
@ Bill DeShivs et al

I have never used Flitz, but it looks like it is an automobile finishing product. No way I would use it on ivory. Never.

To polish ivory, I use wet-dry silicon carbide sandpaper. 220, 320, 400, 600 grit. It must be done dry, mammoth ivory does not like a wet polish, bad things happen if you polish with water. If you have been diligent when polishing with 220 and 320 grit (think binocular magnifiers), when you get to 400 and 600 grit, ivory carries a fine polish, good to the eye, but to succeed, you must be thorough. If you want to be fancy, after 600 grit, 1000 and 1500 grit glosses it to a mirror finish (which will only last if nothing rubs against it).

I recommend Ren wax because it is best quality and while at first blush, it seems expensive, a jar will last at least one and one half lifetimes.
 
Fine sandpaper and a buffing wheel with jewelers rouge is all that is needed to polish ivory. At least that is all we ever used for Scrimshaw. You can use a Dremel with a buffing wheel and rouge as well but be careful of overheating ivory. It can develop cracks if over heated.
All ivory will yellow over time if kept in the open.
 
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