Hippo Tusk

Jaxe Pen Kits

Jaxe Pen Kits

Pen & Blade Kits
Dealer / Materials Provider
Joined
Aug 16, 2000
Messages
530
Bought a hippo tusk to use as a handle for a Bowie. Anyone have any experince using these, any tips and tricks on polishing? Do I sand off the outer shell with the ridges or leave as is? The end is nice, a creamy to dark brown, and shiny. The rest has ridges running the length, but some are very rough and dull.
 
Some people might disagree, but hippo is known as a softer, less stable variety of fresh ivory.
As a result, I would avoid using it as scales and try to use in a hidden-tank application without molesting it too much.

My 2 cents. Good luck!
 
I have never even seen a hippo tusk. Is it solid all the way through? Can't wait to see the finished blade.
 
While I agree with Joe's statement about the interior being a bit softer than other species, at the same time the enamel exterior of the curved teeth (as opposed to the "peg" teeth) is one of the hardest and approaches the tenacity of porcelain. It makes for a very stable material when left intact on a stick tang knife.

You should saw it with a metal cutting saw. It throws a lot of sparks and will trash a woodsaw blade. I personally would use it without much sanding, and polish through several grits of buffing. If you do decide to remove the enamel, you are in for a treat of frustration. I used up two fresh 36 grit zirconia belts "smoothing" a large tooth last year.

Matched to the right knife, it makes an excellent handle. The "scars" tell a tale of the hippo's unexpectedly violent nature.
 
I was planning on using as close to natural as it is. It's the curved type with the flat slanted end. Overall it's about 7" long and the curve fits my hand. It's going on a 9" + blade so it kind of balances out.

I like the ridges and the not so polished parts, seems to give a good grip. Stick, or hidden, tang. I would like to polish the flat and maybe add some scrim, and "age" the blade to match.

The tusk appears to be solid except for about the final 1 to 2" near the but, where the tang will go in. These are the auction pics for those that never seen one of these:

2uiixhj.jpg

2qtl938.jpg


Need to get rid of the number on it as well.
 
That's a very nice tooth! Shape looks great for a handle. Come from Luca? The number should come off with WD40; looks like grease pencil.
 
National Geographic TV recently had a fascinating program on the Hippo .DNA shows it's most closely related to Whales !!. They are dangerous too !
 
Very dangerous. They kill more people in Africa every year than all there predators put together from what some NG show was saying. Hard to believe, but those mouths and teeth are huge, i woudnt want to be caught in them or trampled. ><
 
Dude!!! I just notice you are from MA. You should come on down here for a visit, you have a open invite.:thumbup: Weather permitting we can make up some Damascus.:D
I work with whales teeth. I just lighty sand and buff. :D
 
ive used Hippo before...the exterior is REAL hard and throws sharks!! Other then that I just treated it like any other Ivory...dont get it hot and take your time...buffs up real pretty!! You have a real nice looking tooth there!
 
BigJimSlade said:
Very dangerous. They kill more people in Africa every year than all there predators put together from what some NG show was saying. Hard to believe, but those mouths and teeth are huge, i woudnt want to be caught in them or trampled. ><
Click to expand...

Hippo is the number one killer by a pretty fair margin. I hear that they kill as many people as the rest of the big critters combined. As I recall, Crocs are number 2, followed by snakes, elephants and leopards. I guess Cape Buffalo only kill rich white guys because those are usually considered the most dangeorus to hunters. :D Poeple usually get killed by hippo's because they either "invade" the hippo's territory by going into the water where the hippos live or they get between a hippo feeding on land at night and the river.
 
What Fitzo and the rest said. Don't overheat it when sanding. Seal the lateral cracks with cyanoacrylic.Buff with white rouge after sanding to a real smooth surface. The grooves and coloration are what made hippo look cool. That piece needs very little work to be a first class handle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top