Thread: Identifying Ivory

I've never seen or touched real ivory, so I don't think I'd recognize it. I think some scales that I recently acquired are ivory, even though I originally identified them as bone. They were very dirty at first, and the grain lines looked like bone scales I've seen. I soaked them briefly in Oxyclean, and they developed a slightly slimy feel (probably just the Oxyclean). Once dry, I sanded lightly up to 2000 and polished with metal polish, and they are very glossy now like plastic. They are very thin and light. Definately not plastic.

Post a pic taken in natural sunlight,the diff between ivory and bone is very apparant.

Thanks. I'm at work at the moment, but I assume it's sort of translucent around the edges, like horn is?

Ivory are much smoother than bone, bone is also more porous.

One way to help identify ivory is to knock it gently against your teeth, they will make a sound like clicking your teeth together.

Since you have sanded them the smell should also be a indicator, bone smells like sh@*t, ivory not even close.

Ivory has a curved grain that cross hatches. You can take a hot needle point and stick it on the inside of the scales for a few seconds. It should smell like burned hair. It should only leave the tiniest mark.

You will never see the Schreger Lines (cross hatching) on scales,only from an end cut view,scales are cut along the lenth of the tusk section and the cross hatching becomes wavy lines.
As above, Ivory will burn,it will not melt and the smell you get is like being at the dentists office when having your teeth ground on.

+1 on pixelfixed's picture. One more from a cut of mammoth ivory would complete the set. The angle of the Schreger lines is/are different for mammoth.

Here's a good resource: All About Mammoth Ivory

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

+1 on pixelfixed's picture. One more from a cut of mammoth ivory would complete the set. The angle of the Schreger lines is/are different for mammoth.

Here's a good resource: All About Mammoth Ivory

Correct, is very simple to tell the diff between Mammoth and african.

Pixelfixed is correct - the smell generated when working elephant ivory is just like at the dentists - when he drills your teeth. That is because an elephant's tusk is really a huge, specialised tooth so it is made from the same materials (dentine and enamel) and thus smells the same when drilled/sanded. The main part of the tusk is composed of dentine. The enamel mainly protects the tip of the tusk and is gradually worn away.

The waves/schreger lines are't always as apparent as in Pixelfixed's photo though - sometimes they can only be seen at the edges of the scales, sometimes it is very hard to make them out at all. They are most prominent the nearer you get to the central core (pulp cavity).



I'm not too sure about it being translucent around the edges like horn being a good identifier - it is pretty dense stuff, denser than horn (which is derived from keratin, like hair - it smells like hair when burned) and has opaque mineral deposits and cementum in it. I suppose you could make it very thin at the edges, but I have never seen ivory scales like that - it makes them prone to chip (it is a brittle substance) and most edges are finished at an angle somewhere between 35 and 50 degrees to the horizontal.

Also, it's not a good idea to soak ivory. The stuff is dimensionally unstable enough as it is, and swells as it absorbs water. It also loses water over time and contracts. You can see the effects of this at the pinning points on most old seven-day sets of razors in ivory scales - a good number will have split at the pin due this movement, coupled with flaring the pins too tightly in the pivot holes.

You can rehydrate ivory, though. A very light mineral or vegetable oil, or even glycerin can be applied to the scales and allowed to seep in. You can see just how much it sinks in with examples of ivory scaled razors that have been over-zealously oiled at the pivot point - it leaves a horrible looking stain, often tinged with rust or brass/copper from the filings generated by opening and closing the blade.

Regards,
Neil

Yet another master class at SRP.
Thank you to everyone above for sharing for our benefit.