Mammoth tooth inconsistency.

coachcampana

coachcampana

Well-Known Member
Oowuld you return these scales or use them? I ordered other sets of scales from Turnage and they were perfect, even, and book matched. Just Greta all the way around.

These came from Texas Knifemakers, "sorry big dog..." and the thickness is no where near being even from end to end when comparing the two peaces.

I called and got their web guy, he had to shuttle back and forth between their staff that makes knives and his phone to talk to me directly. No one had a good answer other than "glue them to the tang and then work them. Thanks....

So I'm deciding whether or not to send them back. 75 bucks, stabilized with cryoaculate.

I guess I could use each side as a bolster for two different knives by halving each scale.

It's a big difference when talking the the USA Knifemakers staff and other companies. You get to talk to staff that makes the knives at USA. Makes a difference.

Maybe I'm just being a whiney baby....uploadfromtaptalk1446588167669.jpg
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And after a Google of cryoaculate, I can't find it or anything close sounding to that substance.

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The proper term is cyanoacrylate. Its just a fancy name for super glue. I would demand my money back if I got something like that.
 
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Just to compare. From Turnage. These were 50 bucks, Texas Knifemakers scales were 75.

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Not to be a nay-sayer, but I simply refuse to use mammoth tooth. Its a terrible material to work with, it super fragile, and just creates more problems then I am willing to deal with. I've made about 1/2 dozen knives with it, all at the request of clients, and every single one of those knives has been a thorn in my side. All of them have been returned multiple times for repair, and on 4 of them I talked the owners into allowing me to remove the mammoth tooth and replacing it with something less troublesome.
 
I'm using the mammoth tooth for a knife that someone will never carry around. They wanted a show piece to just look at. I planned on using paleo bond on it, then I'll eopoxy the scales to a liner material I have for this specific knife.

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I'm with Ed, I hate using it because it is a pain to work. I highly recommend epoxying it to G-10 liners and then flooding the faces with CA BEFORE doing any cutting, drilling, grinding, ETC..
 
Mammoth tooth can be a challenge to work with and is what I would even call difficult. That said. When stabilized and processed properly I feel its well within the realm of a suitable handle materiel. Its also beautiful and to me.. worth the added work/time etc... to work with it.

I respect Ed and appreciate his knowledge and experience. More so I love his willingness to share and help.. So this is not meant to be a slam to his comment. I just want to share my thoughts and experience with this material. I have used alot of mammoth tooth and over the years. I have had a 1 (one) knife returned for repair due to the tooth failing. But as a whole I have had more problems with other materials. Horn, Burl etc. Due to materials that move, shrink, crack, etc...

As to your question.. The set you show in the photos IN MY OPINION.. Is not up to snuff. The biggest problem I see is the huge difference in thickness. This causes a problem for most end users. and the fix is ALOT of sanding away tooth. Which causes heat and other factors that will likely make a already difficult material to be more likely to fail as a handle. Or even fail prior to you getting the handle finished. (dont ask ;) ) Long and the short of it. If the scales were the same thickness. or close. I would advise spending some time sealing and filling. But due to the thickness variation and the flaws in these. I say Return em!

The advise to use CA glue super glue is accurate and good advise.. The stuff works well and is a staple in my shop for many handle materials. I use it on EVERY piece of mammoth tooth even if it looks perfect. Get some water thin CA glue. Buy the good quality stuff and use it. It works great on many material. the ultra thin CA glue will get into the finest cracks, soak deep into open grain woods. And even help horn and bone handle materials. By sort of self stabilizing them.. Slather it onto all surfaces of the tooth and let it dry. sand off the surface, replete.... Do this until the cracks or pits are filled. I do this step early on.. Prior to fit up.. doing both front and backs. The continue throughout the process of shaping, cutting, rough sanding and finish sanding. ;)

Sry got a little long winded. Hope this helps.
Blessings
Randy
 
I
'm using the mammoth tooth for a knife that someone will never carry around.
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I had to smile at that one....its exactly how I got caught up in the second one I built. The guy told me it would spend it's life in a display case. From what he told me it did, until one day he was showing it off, and the guy looking at it dropped it on a ceramic tile floor. A big hunk popped out of the handle. :)

Randy: No worries pal! I know my opinion isn't the only one, we all come at things through the lens of our own experiences, and mine have just been terrible with mammoth tooth......I'm really happy to hear that you've had good experiences with it.
 
Hello Randy. I agree entirely with your remarks. Would you also comment on how you drill holes through this stuff? I most often use hollow diamond coated drill bits but still sometimes end up with horrible looking holes. I know trying to use areas in the tooth that are meant to be softer, more consistent can work at times but those with changing grain (and color) don't allow this to work.
By the way i think after maybe trying different belts you will find that the silicon carbide ones will work the best. Ceramic are often useless.
Frank
 
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I sent the mammoth tooth back.

Today in the mail I got my Turnage DVD on how to work with fossils and ivory. If you want to learn something for 35 bucks, buy this DVD. It really shows some great tips on how they suggest you process the materials. I feel much better about my future projects after watching their DVD.

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Well, the mammoth tooth worked out pretty well. I plan on using it again soon. The Turnage DVD is worth the money, it was a huge help. That and paleo bond, someone will do just fine if they want to give mammoth tooth a try.
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