I heard this 'clunk, clunk' from the washing machine and because it only happened twice, I didn't empty the machine to see what it was.
Two days later I realised my beautiful Mammoth ivory pocket knife wasn't where it should be. I duly found it in the door seal of the washer! URK! :barf:
The ivory was swollen and waterlogged, with the cracks proud and open, and the damascus bolsters were starting to rust. I knew how to deal with the rust, but a long search of the internet gave me no ideas about how to dry the ivory. All the ivory articles said "don't get it really wet, don't get it hot".
So all I knew was I'd failed on the first, and didn't want to fail on the second. I figured a slow cool dry, and some pressure to stop any warping was all I could do.
I wrapped the whole knife in some 1 inch wide 'waistband' cotton/elastic strip, really tight, and set it aside on my dresser. I didn't sleep real well that night.
Now, four days later it is almost completely dry, and back to it's original size and condition, looking very clean but otherwise just like last week.
Whew!
I hope this helps someone else. I also hope you don't need the help--keep your ivory handles out of the washing machine! :thumbup:
Greg
Two days later I realised my beautiful Mammoth ivory pocket knife wasn't where it should be. I duly found it in the door seal of the washer! URK! :barf:
The ivory was swollen and waterlogged, with the cracks proud and open, and the damascus bolsters were starting to rust. I knew how to deal with the rust, but a long search of the internet gave me no ideas about how to dry the ivory. All the ivory articles said "don't get it really wet, don't get it hot".
So all I knew was I'd failed on the first, and didn't want to fail on the second. I figured a slow cool dry, and some pressure to stop any warping was all I could do.
I wrapped the whole knife in some 1 inch wide 'waistband' cotton/elastic strip, really tight, and set it aside on my dresser. I didn't sleep real well that night.
Now, four days later it is almost completely dry, and back to it's original size and condition, looking very clean but otherwise just like last week.
Whew!
I hope this helps someone else. I also hope you don't need the help--keep your ivory handles out of the washing machine! :thumbup:
Greg
