Finishing mammoth

tedinatl

tedinatl

Joined
Nov 1, 2010
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I've searched, but haven't gotten a sussinct answer. How do you guys who regularly use mammoth finish/seal it? Stabilization, or some other method? I
m working on a batch of small knives and a hunter all with mammoth handles and would love to be able to ensure the mammoth stays pretty for a long time (as long as a natural material would, that is).

Thanks in advance!

Ted
 
It's already thousands of years old. Why would you think it needs any help? ;^)
Polish it out and apply paste wax.
 
Thanks Bill! That was my initial thought, but I've heard of some folks stabilizing it, etc...
 
1) If it has big cracks, fill those with structural epoxy that is tinted to match the ivory color - or use a contrasting darker color. A darker fill can make a seemingly worthless set of scales or handle block really pop.

2) If the mammoth is full of big cracks and de-laminations, a trick is to completely fill the voids with acrylic casting resin. You can use clear or a tinted resin. The knife suppliers sell such resins for making. Inlace works well for this type of fill.
Tape the outside of the tusk piece with several layers of masking tape, making a funnel on the large end of the splits/delams. Cover the small end with tape too. Pour the resin in from the large end of the splits/delaminations. Vibrate the piece as you pour to get the air bubbles out.

3) If the cracks are medium size, use thick or medium CA to fill.

4) If it has small cracks or is porous, wait until after sanding to near final finish, then flood with thin CA and sand off several times to fill all voids.

5) The main thing about working mammoth is to go slow, use fresh belts, AVOID HEAT BUILD UP, and finish by hand sanding. Buffing lightly with white rough and a linen buff will make it glisten, but don't burn the ivory by running the buff too fast or buffing too hard. Just hand sanding to 8000 with the 3M colored sanding sheets will leave a perfect gloss finish.
 
Thanks Stacy! The pieces that I have do ont have any significant cracks or voids (all solid backs and only small "crackle" on the front). I'll fill with CA, and hand sand up to 8000, then buff lightly.

Thanks again!
 
I think mammoth ivory is tougher than it gets credit for. A buddy had an ivory handled damascus blade that he carried and used daily in rough and tough ranching conditions. It was a kit blade I'd handled for him. He'd had it long enough that by resharpening it over the years the blade had more of the profile of a sewing awl, yet that handle was in great shape and looked like it did when the knife was new. Most of us would consider the use he subjected this knife to as abuse. Anything from using it as a bottle opener, to digging a rock out of a horse's hoof to chopping ice on a frozen water tank as well as normal ranching chores such as calf castration, ear marking and opening hay bales. He lost the knife on a trip to Reno, something about being over served I believe. Anyhoo he'd stopped by on his way out of town and asked if I would thin what blade was left so he could get an edge on it again. So I saw it right before it was lost and the condition of that mammoth ivory was very impressive considering the state the other half of the knife was in. I've used mammoth ivory quite a bit and it will finish well either by hand or by buffing but don't get it hot and don't dunk it to cool it. Otherwise you will be needing all of Stacy's hints on filling cracks. Got the t shirt on that deal.
 
Mammoth molars do need stabilising because they're cut across the grain and often have large voids.
 
I know that it looks good, but mammoth tooth is a nightmare to work ( without it breaking) and can break easily in use.
 
Yeah - I don't really like the look of the mammoth molars, so I don't think I'll be using it any time soon, unless a customer explicitly asks for it. Would regular mammoth tooth benefit from stabilization?
 
I hope this isn't out of place, but apropos to the topic: can you grind/polish the surface of mammoth ivory, or will that wipe-out any coloring or surface texture?

I just bought a bunch of scales from Nini...
 
You can grind and polish, but it will remove a lot of the color and texture. I snaded mine thinner on the bottom before gluing them, to make sure that I won't loose too much texture and color by rounding/profiling.
 
tedinati has the right procedure.
Grind from the bottom of the scales, and do as little as needed from the top. The pretty colors and cracked ice features are usually very shallow.
 
fineturnage.com has a DVD on working with mammoth ivory and mammoth tooth. I received it for Christmas a couple years back. Lots of good info on there. Some real good tips on working with the tooth if ya ever get orders for it.
 
Thanks agian for all the info and tips, guys. Thought I'd post a pic of how my first attempt at working with Mammoth came out (I also posted this in the Custom & Handmade forum)

BoezaartEDC1of6.jpg
 
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