Thread: french ivory

I often hear the expression when describing razors as having french ivory scales,excuse my ignorance but what is it
Kind regards Peter

I recently got a Boker described as having French Ivory scales. Unfortunately, the razor was damaged in transit and the end of one of the scales was broken. It allowed me to see that in this case French Ivory is in fact "plastique" (as we say on the Continent) . Don't know if this is the standard definition or not.

BTW, the seller was great and immediately gave me a ful refund, since I had paid for insurance.

Originally Posted by Sadataki

French Ivory is in fact "plastique"

This is the case. French Ivory is plastic or another synthetic used to make scales that look like real ivory.

Thanks for the info ,I suspected as much but I wasn`t 100% sure
Kind regards peter

From http://www.uniclectica.com/conserva/ivory1.html

7. Synthetic Ivories
Since 1865, when it was first invented by Alexander Parkes, celluloid has been used as an excellent ivory substitute. Casein has also been used. Names for these "faux ivories" include French Ivory, Ivoride, Genuine French Ivory, Ivorine, etc. Both grain patterns and the engine turned effect are added -- in general, the patterns of these are very regular in the fakes, and more irregular in the real thing. In instances of very good imitations (i.e. using celluloid), chemical tests are required to tell real ivory and the fakes apart.

Tony

Originally Posted by bg42

I often hear the expression when describing razors as having french ivory scales,excuse my ignorance but what is it
Kind regards Peter