Walrus ivory

Robert.B

Robert.B

Joined
Apr 17, 2003
Messages
5,283
aI have a friend in Alaska who has offered me a variety of animal parts that I have accepted (bear skulls, bear claws, walrus parts etc) all legally obtained by natives. Her granddad is a knife maker up there and getting on in years and I have been offered a large walrus tusk for a personal bowie project I've been wanting to make for some time.

I have only ever used antler for handles, how difficult is solid ivory like a walrus tusk to work? I want to leave the outside pretty much as is (just polish) and I guess drill the core to fit the tang. Do makers collab very often when it comes to doing the handles if I send a finished blade/guard/pommel? the one thing I dont want is to attempt it on my own only to split it down the middle.

I am at this point a hobby smith and favor working antler but I'm guessing antler and ivory are about as close as cats and dogs. Any input welcome, maybe even suggestions of experienced ivory workers.

:thumbup:
 
Actually, I find it not much different than sambar stag as its pretty hard.I just drilled it with a slower speed and slow feed. pull back to clean your bit often.Dave

This is one I just finished with Walrus Ivory

WalrusKnife.jpg


http://dcknivesandleather.blademakers.com/
 
sounds good to me then! I did some google reading and alot were saying how brittle ivory was to work with and got me a little concerned about wrecking it...how do you grip it when drilling to stop it moving or twisting? what about drill sharpening, do you use a standard 118 degrees? or do you adjust the angle?

Sounds pretty straightforward, great looking piece there i love the color on that tusk! I'm looking to order some damascus in from Jerry Rados for this one. :)
 
Nice work Dave. What is the leather inlet on the sheath? Looks like it might be walrus?
 
Walrus is to the ivories what teak is to flooring. It is probably the hardest and toughest ivory there is.

Grab the tusk and see if there is a section that feels right in your hand. Don't chop it off yet, though, as you may decide that it needs to be larger or smaller. Mark that section with a pencil. Take the measurements and shape a piece of cheap wood (Pine 2X4 is fine) to match fairly close to the size of the section you liked. Drill it and slip it on the knife blade ( you can slip some toothpicks in the hole to make it stay in place temporarily).......How does it feel ? Shape it smaller if you think it is too large, or make another that is larger ....when you like the feel, cut a section from the tusk that will match the mandrel you tested with. This will save you cutting the tusk a tad too big or small. Cut it with a metal cutting band saw, or a carbide tipped wood band saw. A hacksaw will work, but will be slow going.

Once the piece is cut, take a look at the ends. See how there is a center area that looks sort of like tapioca....that is the dentin.....and a layer of creamy ivory on the outside...that is the enamel. Try and avoid any shaping/sanding that would go too far into the enamel. When shaping the tusk section to fit up at the guard, it is best to shape the guard to the tusk, but if necessary, it is OK to grind a little into the core dentin.

If you power sand with a grinder, it must be set at a very slow speed...or you will almost instantaneously burn/scorch the ivory. I would recomend the grinder be used only to make the ends square and flat, and any basic shaping needed. For the main surface of the handle,start wit 220 grit, and just HAND sand with increasingly finer paper grit until you get to 2500. If you can get them, the 3M polishing papers are the champ for doing ivory, as the cloth-like sheets start at 400 grit and go to 8000. Spend some time doing this and remove all previous grit scratches. Follow the grooves and only round off any sharp ridges. When this is done, it should look real nice. If you decide to power buff it go easy, as you can burn the ivory real fast. Hand buffing is best if you are not experienced. Just charge a piece of cotton cloth with white rouge or matchless pink compound, and rub a lot. Re-charge the cloth frequently. "Linde A" powder ( cheap from ebay or a lapidary shop) makes one of the best hand buffing compounds. Just add a few drops of mineral oil to a bit and make a thin paste. Rub the paste on and use the cloth to buff it to a shine. Buff with a clean dry cloth to finish.

The rest of the tusk can be saved to cut scales for a bowie,and other handle and bolster projects.The core section left when you cut the scales makes neat small knife handles. Plan any cut well and think it through, as once cut, it can't be put back together. Remember how hard walrus is, too, as this can make some cuts difficult.
 
I have used it once and plan to use it as often as I can afford to in the future. One thing that I did is what Stacy said about sanding it down with poishing paper to around 2000, but what I also did is gave it a final low speed buff using a 6 inch Home Depot soft buffing wheel in a variable speed hand drill stuck in my vise with a small amount of white compound. Shined it up real nice without burning the ivory or injuring your humble knifemaker.;)
 
Thanks guys! that write up really gives me an incite into what I'll encounter and am getting myself into, i'm much rather do it myself for my own personal knife...I am a minimalist with power tools when knife making (shocking since I'm a machinist) so for polishing I'll take your advice on the hand polishing method.

I'm glad to hear that its a hard material, I guess with what walrus do in the wild it'd need to be.

:thumbup:

EDIT: while i'm asking, I know its illegal to import walrus tusk from canada to the US...bringing back a tusk from Alaska, being a US state shouldn't be an issue if i have proof it was legally acquired? I know they sell tusk, oosik, baleen etc at the stores in Homer where my wife is from but figured i'd ask peoples experience buying tusk.

WALRUS (non-fossil)-
Regulated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Raw walrus ivory predating the Dec. 21, 1972 law, tusks bearing the Alaska state walrus ivory registration tags or post-law walrus ivory that has been carved or scrimshawed by an Alaskan native (Eskimo) are legal to buy, possess, and sell. Raw walrus ivory obtained after 12/21/72 is not legal to buy or sell unless both parties are Eskimo (it is legal to own). A $30 export permit is required to ship walrus ivory or oosik (legal as per above) out of the United States.
Click to expand...

The piece I have been offered is raw, and obtained not too long ago (10 years old max) via a native hunt...does this mean it would be illegal for me to have it being that I am not Inuit?
 
Last edited:
It is illegal to mail any ivory out of the USA. That includes Walrus. I think that includes fossil Walrus which is a stupid law.
 
DanGraves said:
It is illegal to mail any ivory out of the USA. That includes Walrus. I think that includes fossil Walrus which is a stupid law.
Click to expand...

Actually, it is not illegal. It requires a Cites permit to export. Also in regards to your original question, no non-native person may work fresh ivory, any ivory after 1972. If it is fresh ivory you would need to send it to a native person to have the handle work done. It should also cure for a year after the animal is killed or if it was not stored inside.
 
Ok thanks guys, I'll have to lay this one to rest then...I was going to take it with me from AK back to KS when I go to visit friends, but if its illegal for me to work I'll just order some decent stag in for this project I think and pass on the tusk. Ivory sounds like a real headache!

Cheers.
 
The indians scrim theyer name and a little something and its art and can be shipped. I have saw a lot here in the states with blood still on it but it had a little scrim on it.
 
rickmenefee said:
The indians scrim theyer name and a little something and its art and can be shipped. I have saw a lot here in the states with blood still on it but it had a little scrim on it.
Click to expand...

I'll look into if I can have that done, maybe toward the big end where I'll cut off...a lot of my friends up there are native and bound to know someone who will scrim it, but last thing i'd want is to take it then have it confiscated at the airport.
 
Robert.B said:
I'll look into if I can have that done, maybe toward the big end where I'll cut off...a lot of my friends up there are native and bound to know someone who will scrim it, but last thing i'd want is to take it then have it confiscated at the airport.
Click to expand...

The thing is, if it is native artwork, you are not allowed to alter it afterward, even repairs to native artwork are supposed to be done by a native artist, we are supposed to leave it what it is forever (we are talking after 1972 ivory here). We all make our own choices on how closely we follow these laws. I personally follow them to the letter and I would not advocate anyone else doing any different. It's very risky to mess around, especially since we have all been talking about it (people are watching). There is a lot of available legal ivory around and no reason to take a chance. We should do the right thing.
 
I'll just pass on the tusk then and I'm sure he wont mind, I honestly don't need a tusk handle bad enough to jump through a series of hoops and to have a handle made for a blade I supply by a native artist would be more then sourcing a nice taper of Indian Sambar. Thanks all who gave their input, it is good to know either way and I'm sure I can apply those techniques to some of the more legal natural handle materials available.
 
Geesh, if you're there it seems like you might be able to score some cool "fossil" walrus ivory. It'd be beneficial in several ways.

  1. It's legit
  2. It's old and historic
  3. It's often more colorful and beautiful than plain white ivory
  4. It's typically more stable once dry and seasoned
  5. It's not encouraging ongoing harvesting for profit
 
Phil Dwyer said:
Geesh, if you're there it seems like you might be able to score some cool "fossil" walrus ivory. It'd be beneficial in several ways.

  1. It's legit
  2. It's old and historic
  3. It's often more colorful and beautiful than plain white ivory
  4. It's typically more stable once dry and seasoned
  5. It's not encouraging ongoing harvesting for profit
Click to expand...

It's possible, but each time I've been up there the most I can find for sale is fossil walrus teeth and not the tusk...I was being given the tusk mentioned at no charge along with a brown bear skull and claws from a bear that died on his property (found it in the summer well into decomposition. But since its illegal for me to own/modify this particular tusk for a handle I have no interest pursuing that.

Unless one of my friends up there can find one for a reasonable price before I go up to visit I'll put it on the back-burner for now...I do agree with you though, I have an ulu with a fossil walrus tooth handle and the colors are stunning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top