What I'm curious about is how do you get POST ban elephant ivory? Are there dealers who sell post ban ivory in the US? Has the US government changed its official policy regarding the use of African elephant ivory in the last 20 years?
As I understand it, back in 1989 when the CITES treaty regulating the trade in African elephant ivory went into effect, ALL international trade in A. elephant ivory and other products became illegal (except for hunting trophies which could not be re-sold for any commercial purpose). There had been a good sized legal trade in ivory up to that point. It was declared by our government that all A. elephant ivory already in the US was now considered legally obtained (probably not much was here illegally anyway) and could be used for any commercial purpose, including knives. It can't be imported anymore, but we can still use what was already in country. No certificates were needed then, and I know of no real reason to need certificates now. This was the big topic of discussion at the 89 Guild show.
Back in the 80s when all this came about, the major user of poached A. elephant ivory was in Asia, mostly Japan as I recall. I doubt that much was ever brought into the US or even Europe, certainly nothing like the amount that went to Asia. I remember the big hoopla of Kenya hiring Hollywood pyrotechnic effects experts to come and burn something like 60 tons of ivory from government warehouses to protest the horrors of poaching. (Never mind that they could have dumped the ivory on the market and put the money they received into some boots for the game wardens and something besides SMLE Enfields from WW1 to combat the poachers, they had a show to put on!)
So just who in the United States is going to confiscate your ivory handled knives? The US decided that all the elephant ivory here was legal, so the US Fish & Wildlife isn't looking for you. White walrus ivory if you aren't an Alaskan native, rhino horn, and whale teeth for sure, but African elephant ivory scales on a bowie? I don't think so. There just isn't a problem with poached ivory hitting the streets in the US.
And who is going to actually sign off on the legality of the elephant ivory? Fish & Wildlife doesn't I'm sure. So you buy some scales from Boone Trading and he scribbles his initials on a Xeroxed slip of paper. How legit is that in reality? There isn't a US Govt. agency that goes around checking ivory dealers like they do, say, with the alcoholic beverage industry. What if you buy some of my old scales. So I tell you I bought them in 1985, but I don't have the receipt. Any certificate I throw together and sign is in reality meaningless other than to make some feel better. And what are you going to do if someone sells you a whole tusk section and you cut it up into scales or blocks? You're going to take the one certificate and make a bunch of copies. Just how legitimate is that? I mean, you could make a hundred copies for the dozen handles you actually get. There's just no way to regulate it.
I think you guys are worried way too much about this "pre-ban" certification. The US government did that almost 21 years ago as an official policy. There are several sources for ivory who run a decent business. Boone and these others are no more selling poached ivory now than they were 20-30 years ago.
David