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I've seen post where members has used ivory to rescale Razors and make brush handles ok my question where do you get the Ivory. What kind of Ivory is it please help I have a few razors that need rescaled and I want to try Ivory so any help will be welcomed as where I can get Ivory Thanks
You mean LEGALLY? :shrug:
I think people who are using ivory are either using synthetics, bone, or reusing old scales. The only other option I can think of is buying some old art and hacking it up...but I dont' think that's likely.
Goog
There is 'pre ban ivory' which is material that was imported before the ban and is expensive and I guess rare. Than there is mammoth ivory on which there is no ban since it is fossilized if I'm not mistaken. I imagine if you google 'knife maker's supply' you'll find some sources for ivory. :shrug:
I knew there was a ban on Ivory I have Googled it the only stuff I've found was to short. There's Walrus and a few other animals that have it.
Custom maker Robert Williams is 'Papa Bull' on the forum. You might send him a PM and ask him for a source for blanks of an appropriate length for razor scales. He had a stash or pre ban and I got one razor with that from him and another with walrus. He said the walrus was very tough to work with. Wore out some saw blades fast.
+1 on Jimmy's response - consult Mr Williams and knife making suppliers.
The alternative which I have seen here is to find vintage letter openers made from ivory and use them for scales. I have one myself, but I am keeping it as a letter opener, its beautiful.
Or if you find a vintage blade that is knackered, but the ivory scales are salvageable, they can be removed, very carefully by someone who knows what they are doing.
Small pieces of ivory are very abundant and can be used for inlays. If you wanted some for that, I have plenty of old ivory scales that have splits and cracks in them which I have saved for when I will one day make inlays, or if I find another matching scale!
Try this place http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/index.php they have almost everything I've ever needed.
I've seen ivory brush handles made from antique billiard balls. According to Wikipedia ivory was the favored material for making those since at least 1627 until the early 20th century.
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Amund.
Be prepared to suffer blood and tears if you end up using fossilized ivory and don't have the proper tools. Might as well use stone rock to try and make scales from. Fossilized ivory is killer on your tools.
I have bought ivory from the Warther museum, they are one of the few leagal dealers of preban ivory. Piano rebuilders are also a good source for small scraps they usually have a supply of broken key tops.
Charlie
There's also hippo ivory and elk have ivory in their rear molars. Every now and then in S Africa they cull the heards and that ivory is legal in some countries but its very expensive and the paperwork is massive.
This is a very helpful link that talks about working with pre ban ivory
Society of American Silversmiths - Working With Ivory
I really enjoy vintage razors that have Ivory scales. I just wish the scales were thicker. When I bought my first ivory scaled razor, I was amazed at how thin the scales were.
Here is one source for as much as you need. I will post another in seconds that has many types of ivory.
Ed
quicknicker
http://www.elephantivorytusks.com/index.html
Here's the other one. Great people to deal with. I got some narwhal ivory that I used in one of the pipes I made.
Have fun looking through their site, and good luck with the scales.
Oh, I noticed in one of the posts that ivory cue balls were mentioned. My wife bought me one for my birthday to make a shaving brush handle!
Ed
quicknicker
If you do find an old razor to swipe the scales off, be really careful with them. I have a pair of razors with ivory scales that I stripped down to clean and man, are those scales thin..! I spent the whole time working on them with my heart in my mouth hoping to God I wouldnt wreck them.
I've bought pieces of ivory recently from custom billiard cue makers for great prices. You can try some of the forums, they're are often large pieces or entire tusks for sale in the classified section. Try here:
www.azbilliards.com/forums
There are a number of dealers in the USA that sell pre-ban Ivory,but there are also a few cue making supply houses that also sell ivory slabs which could be used for scales.
I always find it interesting how there is so much preban ivory just "floating" around out there. The stuff was band in the 1970s and narwhale in the 60s. I can see old piano keys and cue balls but tusks and all I wonder where most of this stuff really comes from. Smuggling is a real problem I can tell you that. I have a shaving brush with an Elephant Ivory handle and they guy who made it documented his efforts to source the stuff and document it was really preban. He was up in Canada and it took him months to locate some and he tried both in Canada and here.
Narwhal is hunted near Greenland as a sustainable fishery. Thousands are taken each year. The tusks can be seen on display for sale in Canada at various places. They are pricey, but nothing compared to the fines and jail time you will spend if you are caught bringing one into the U.S..
As for the elephant ivory- since the ban thousands of tons of poacher taken ivory have been warehoused in Africa. Last year, or the one before, Africa decided to auction off the bulk of this ivory-no kidding. The sale, or the bulk of it, went to one of the Asian countries.
This info, and the rationale behind it, are google searchable.
Ed
quicknicker
