jo1100
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 1
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Post by jo1100 on Dec 6, 2012 21:14:03 GMT -5
:help: Someone has given me a couple of Elk Ivories to make into a pendant & a tie tack - - - & I have no idea where to begin. Does anyone have experience with preparing Elk Ivories for use in jewelry.
Thanks, jo1100
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jason12x12
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2011
Posts: 798
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Post by jason12x12 on Dec 6, 2012 21:20:41 GMT -5
jewelers saw to cut out.... diamond dremmel to shape and form...hand sand to finish... easy... smelly... before and after pics please
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milto
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by milto on Dec 7, 2012 8:54:41 GMT -5
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller 
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575 
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Post by grayfingers on Dec 7, 2012 10:41:52 GMT -5
I have only worked with one set myself, a belt buckle I made many years ago. I used a dremel with a circular saw blade to cut them. I just mounted them with epoxy and sprayed with varathane. I need to strip it and re-coat with a modern finish that won't yellow. (and set some local garnets into it) Both bull and cow elk have 2 ivories, the bull ivories are bigger and more solid/desirable. I have many sets, I have hunted for forty years, and I inherited all the ivories collected by my father and both grandfathers. I will make some of them into bolo ties someday, they go for a lot of money. Twenty years ago a fella from PA offered me $75 / pair for all my sets, worth more now. Here is a pic of the buckle.  |
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lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
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Post by lparker on Dec 7, 2012 10:58:34 GMT -5
I'm not as creative as some. So I had my wife make three of these. Drilled them and strung them. No polishing, no coating. OK, they are not ivory, but they are elk teeth. Attachments:
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Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 7, 2012 11:00:34 GMT -5
When I first saw this thread, I was thinking "elk ivories" meant antlers. Wrong! A quick Google search set me straight. I saw some for sale online, a pair of bull elk ivories going for $32. There's even videos on YouTube showing you how to remove them (from your legally taken elk, which you will butcher and eat and not waste any of!) and clean them.
Like elephants killed for their tusks, at one time the bulls were killed for their ivory alone. Something else I didn't know - they are the only only popular game animal that has pure ivory teeth. Well, only two of them, which would be the upper canines.
You learn something new every day! Jean
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 7, 2012 11:34:02 GMT -5
I have a few too,they are just wire wrapped and strung.......
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Post by gingerkid on Dec 7, 2012 19:48:00 GMT -5
Like elephants killed for their tusks, at one time the bulls were killed for their ivory alone. Something else I didn't know - they are the only only popular game animal that has pure ivory teeth. Well, only two of them, which would be the upper canines. You learn something new every day! Jean Didn't know that either, Jean, and many thanks for sharing.   Have a billiken scrimshaw that my husband's grandmother brought back from Alaska in the '50's. Not sure what type of ivory it is, possibly walrus? |
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cdfcal
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2011
Posts: 59
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Post by cdfcal on Dec 8, 2012 23:42:33 GMT -5
All of us here call those elk teeth whistlers.... to hear elk bugle in the wild is one of the most exciting sounds in nature.....
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