Mammoth teeth and ivory

I've taken a real liking to mammoth teeth for handles. I also like some of the mammoth ivory available. Having never held either one I'm curious as to how they are 'worked'. Do they need to be stabilized? Are the teeth hard like human teeth or can they be shaped and drilled? How about stain, polishing and finish?

Thanks.

No one seems to be answering you so I'll see if I can break the ice. I didn't want to answere because all I know is what others have said about working with these products. I would say yes on the stabilization but even then both are going to be rather demanding to work with. Fossil ivory is not as delicate as "fresh" ivory but over heating during grinding can crack it. Drilling it with too much pressure will crack it. The mammoth teeth are even more delicate and likely to break. The up side is that they can be super glued back toghether. They might also have voids in them that will have to be filled with super glue. Hopefully, someone with some first hand experience will chime in and tell you of their experience. Just let me add that you first need to make a knife that rates one of these handles before buying the material and that neither is for the the person who is still having problems with wood handles.

Doug Lester

You pretty much covered it for ivory. Go slow, use sharp bits and belts, keep it cool (Do not dunk it in water).

Mammoth Ivory grinds, cuts, sands and drills very easy but stinks when you are cutting it. I have used it natural and stabilized. It is not really fossilized, it might be just at the beginning stages of fossilization.

Mammoth teeth still make me very nervous when working it. It is much harder and much more bittle than tusk ivory. I have only worked stabilized pieces but it cracks and chip very easy. Glue a piece of cardboard to the backside when cutting or drilling to help reduce chipping.

The main thing to remember is do not get either one hot. If it doesn't crack then, it will later. Even buffing on a buffing wheel can get it too hot. Work it a little, let it cool, and then work some more.

Thanks, I'm going to leave that to the experts and stick to wood, plastic and maybe some cow bone....for a long time.