Thread: Real Ivory or Faux?

I'll post some pictures in a bit.. thanks.

The pin test.. I think I'll pass on that.

From what has been shared in this thread so far, I'll take a guess that the top razor is ivory, based on how thin the scales are.

The bottom one? Faux Ivory?

Yes! I have also not seen bolsters over ivory, not that it hasn't been done!
Now look at the graining and the feel of each. Tap the material on a front tooth. You can tell there as well!

Other things to watch for:

Ivory (and bone) will often still have visible saw marks on the insides of the scales. Even if you can't tell bone from ivory, that will at the least rule out synthetics.

I've never seen a celluloid (or other synthetic) handle with a metal wedge, yet the vast majority of ivory handles have metal wedges. I've only come across one razor dressed in ivory that had a synthetic wedge. Bone is more of a toss up - usually 20th century examples have synthetic wedges, but prior to 1880 had wedges of metal, horn, or even more bone.

http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/p...vory-guide.pdf

Awesome info.. thanks all!

Originally Posted by tintin

I've been told the smoke from a hot pin on ivory will smell like burning hair, plus plastic will probably just melt right through.

Nope - it will smell like your teeth being drilled. Ivory is the same sort of dentine material. Horn smells like burning hair.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Collarless pinning is most often an indicator of ivory/bone, esp in English and Swedish razors, but there are exceptions.

Tom is right - the majority have collarless pinnings, but there are some - eg late 1800s/early 1900s Bassant & Lewis have collars.

Originally Posted by Hanlon

I've never seen a celluloid (or other synthetic) handle with a metal wedge, yet the vast majority of ivory handles have metal wedges. I've only come across one razor dressed in ivory that had a synthetic wedge.

C V Heljestrands frequently have a synthetic wedge with ivory scales. There are others, too.

Regards,
Neil

Run it thru the Swedish custom, if it has any similarities to ivory they will keep it...

Originally Posted by Lemur

Run it thru the Swedish custom, if it has any similarities to ivory they will keep it...

That's surprising, Lemur. I thought as an EU country, Sweden would adhere to the CITES rules for endangered species, making pre-ban ivory legal to sell in member states. Although the ivory ban in 1986 has very strict restrictions, it is legal for EU countries to buy and sell any 'worked' antique ivory items that pre-date 1947. The proviso is the word 'worked' - it means that it must be in its original finished form, not re-worked into something else or otherwise modified. In other words it must be in the same finished form as it was pre-1947.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

That's surprising, Lemur. I thought as an EU country, Sweden would adhere to the CITES rules for endangered species, making pre-ban ivory legal to sell in member states. Although the ivory ban in 1986 has very strict restrictions, it is legal for EU countries to buy and sell any 'worked' antique ivory items that pre-date 1947. The proviso is the word 'worked' - it means that it must be in its original finished form, not re-worked into something else or otherwise modified. In other words it must be in the same finished form as it was pre-1947.

Regards,
Neil

All true Neil,but than one has to show proof that it is indeed pre-ban