Wade,,, just Wade,, in Mammoth

Seems I'm on an Ivory roll lately. Except this is in Mammoth Ivory. I happened to grab two 4 X 6 slabs that were bookmatched. I cut one scale from each slab to try and have a matching set. It still boggles my mind thinking about this and then seeing it on my bench. Very cool.
These slabs don't have the typical fissures and cracks but instead look like petrified slabs of wood. Some who know better than me said they are quite rare and are typical of pieces found in Russia. I certainly have no clue about such things.
The blade had some of the typical issues but came up nicely.
Never saw one simply stamped Wade. Hopefully someone here can chime in and add some history.
We decided to follow the design of the original Ivory scales. But instead of using the original wedge , and keeping it all "natural" I used a black horn piece. Triple and double stacks complete the pinning. The blade apparently had a high polish so I followed this as well.
I had to be especially careful ( and couldn't do much) with the etch across the spine which reads in a very shallow etch, Magnum Bonum

Some other shots.

Looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing.

How about it! Considering this stuff is from the Pilocene era, some 2-5 million years ago it still looks pretty good for it's age. Boggles my feeble mind seeing it on my bench.

I can't imagine having a razor with Mammoth ivory, but I know that if I was ever so fortunate to obtain a piece, I'd want you to make the scales. There are as beautiful as they ever could be.

I can hardly stand it anymore. It just gets better and better. I can hardly write my name legibly let alone try something that would come out like these razors you post. Thanks again for sharing.

WOW! :bow
I am a bit curious as to why you did not use a wider wedge to set the closed blade deeper.
A loverly piece of work!
~Richard

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Originally Posted by Geezer

WOW! :bow
I am a bit curious as to why you did not use a wider wedge to set the closed blade deeper.
A loverly piece of work!
~Richard

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Hello Richard,
Very good observation!
I too would have liked to see the blade sit a bit deeper. But sticking with the original shape had I used a wider wedge to let the blade settle a bit deeper would have let the heel of the blade protrude below the scale.
In this case, keeping the original profile, I'd rather have a blade sit a little proud than have the blade stick out of the bottom of the scales.

Odd,
But there is usually a rhyme to my reason.

Rally nice work. I was entertaining the idea of purchasing a slab of mammoth from a Cdn supplier.. Still am actually. But the price is significant for a newbie like me. The rarity of the material and the high probability of me screwing it up is what I mean.. How'd it feel in the build, similar to antler, or wood?
Again, really nice looking razor..
Cheers.

One trouble with sticking to a copy of an original to me is, What is original?

That could have been an old rescale using what was handy. :thinking:

Just STUNNING!!

I'm absolutely stunned by what Mark has accomplished with this piece, absolutely blown away.

This will one day belong to my son when he's old enough for it, Mark, I cannot accurately express my gratitude.

Also, a big thank you to Hart for the suggestion of mammoth ivory.

Great work, the ivory is unusually white. Most of the mammoth ivory I have seen has a brown or blue cast from sitting in the muck for eons absorbing minerals. I get a little nervous when working with a nice piece of wood, can't imagine working with something so precious without a three finger scotch primer. (I know , bad Idea) Kudos mycarver !

mycarver, you never cease to amaze me
i love vintage WB, esp early 1800s
most of all, sexy scales!

Amazing piece of Mammoth, have never seen it that white,looks great:)

Lovely stuff! Have lusted after a few 'Magnum Bonum' on eBay over the years, they're few and far between.

Love that, 'Wade' very cool.

Hi guys and sorry for the delay.

I used the term " original" loosely with the intention of copying the design of the scales the razor currently had.

The material is unusually light in color compared to other pieces I have seen. I 'kinda prefer this to seeing the cracks and dark color splotches though on a specific razor that too could work. But this also is quite different from all the traditional ivory I have .

It worked about the same as regular ivory . Slow going when thinning the scales since it's so hard. Harder I think than the other stuff. Wears out paper and belts in short order.

Working ivories is about on par with say , antler, bone and things like that. And being so hard you can't really make a mistake as any changes happen so gradually. Nothing gets away from you.
If you pause for a second on a sanding drum with horn for example , you'll remove a lot of material and possibly screw up the scale. Here? You're lucky if it shows up.

Thanks again for your comments and input. Hopefully I answered all the questions.

Mammoth is much harder Than Elephant because it is partially minerilized,I just use the regular stuff,much more user friendly:)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3.../bandsawed.jpg

I had a suspicion. Thanks. And it also seems the ( schrager?) lines and grain seems more pronounced . Sort of like Oak grain vs. pine.

Nice piece you have there. Now, slice it lengthwise and the pointed end will be the hinge end for a massive custom razor! Already has the shape of a cool scale.

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Originally Posted by mycarver

I had a suspicion. Thanks. And it also seems the ( schrager?) lines and grain seems more pronounced . Sort of like Oak grain vs. pine.

Nice piece you have there. Now, slice it lengthwise and the pointed end will be the hinge end for a massive custom razor! Already has the shape of a cool scale.

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That little 70 pounder is long Gone:)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...muchoivory.jpg

Attachment 18144270 lbs.? May not have had good balance for a daily user.
Nice work on the brushes!
May be hard to see but the slabs would pass as a petrified slab of some basswood I have. The Ivory slab on left shows so little grain.
This will be good for two if not three sets.

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Originally Posted by mycarver

Attachment 18144270 lbs.? May not have had good balance for a daily user.
Nice work on the brushes!
May be hard to see but the slabs would pass as a petrified slab of some basswood I have. The Ivory slab on left shows so little grain.
This will be good for two if not three sets.

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Cutting Ivory is an art form to get good grain,The schreager Lines only run about 1/2 in. into the tusk,thats where all the grain is.
Makes a huge diff between 50 cents/Gm bland Ivory and $2.00 a gram gem Quality Ivory

That's above my pay grade to know where this came from. All I know is I really like it and hopefully did it some justice.

Wade was the stamp of Robert Wade, later partner with Butcher (but only briefly; the partnership of Wade and Butcher ceased to exist by the ~ 1830s). The spine-stamped Magnum Bonum razors seem to be broad spectrum; all the same shape and heft, and made so far as I have seen examples, by Marsden, Greaves, Wostenholm, Wade, and maybe another that I'm forgetting. Zak has done some good work tracking the history down.

The grain in the ivory is lovely.

That Razor is a work of art, congrats well done. Simply awesome.

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Originally Posted by yardie

I'm absolutely stunned by what Mark has accomplished with this piece, absolutely blown away.

This will one day belong to my son when he's old enough for it, Mark, I cannot accurately express my gratitude.

Also, a big thank you to Hart for the suggestion of mammoth ivory.

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As soon as saw the post title I knew what it was ;)

mycarver has done his usual magnificent work, it's fabulous.

Once again, VERY nice work.

Mark, I wish I had your talent for creating beauty.

My talents ran the other direction toward tearing things up. ;)

I watched that razor during it's auction. It took off fast at the end as I recall.

Great old piece of steel and wonderful old ivory on it now.

W

Thanks. It is very cool. I just wish it was mine.