Posting this in pieces:
Most folks use a part of the tusk with too much curve. Others put the tusk on backwards. Try and use the tsk to your advantage with the thicker part toward the rear. Don't be afraid to cut off parts and toss them. Better to get one stunning knife from the tusk than to get two so-so knives.
There is a left and a right tusk. One will make a better handle than the other for a right handled knife. Be aware of the difference in the sides and the curvature when planning the handle.
Try to sand as little off the surface as possible. The enamel on the tusk isn't very thick, and the dentin below it will not polish quite the same brightness. Just like using stag, it isn't going to ruin the handle if you have to grind some to fair it in at the bolster/guard, but try and keep the rest all natural shape.
Look the tusks over and make pencil marks where you want to cut them. You can usually get one really good handle from a tusk. Occasionally, you get a good large handle and a usable small handle. I like to cut the bolster end at an angle and the butt more square. This makes the bolster have more pizzazz, and the butt stays simple.
Make a butt plate from wood or metal and put a matching bolster on the blade end. This not only looks good, but allows a shorter section of the tusk to be used. This almost always gets two handles from a tusk. I really like African Blackwood as the accent wood on Warthog tusk handles. The hollow end can be filled with epoxy when gluing on the butt p[late/block.
I often trace the tusk on cardboard and then set the blade on the drawing and move it until I like the section for the handle. I mark it on the drawing, and then cut and trim the tusk to make it come out that way. For the best effect, try and get the tusk to flow straight into the spine. Any angle there or too much drop to the butt will look off.
Warthog sands and polishes really well. Go to 1000-2000 grit and buff with white compound. The 3M polishing papers are superb on this and all other ivories. You just sand/polish up to the 8000 grit paper and them buff by hand with a soft cotton cloth.
I prefer either using warthog as a through tang handle or cutting into scales for a folder. It especially lends itself to a custom shaped large folder that uses the natural shape and lines of the tusk to determine the shape of the frame and bolsters.
About 15 years or so ago, I made a warthog tusk presentation folder for one of the GySgt. at OCS Pensacola.
