[FuzzyBunny]

I'm wanting some carved Ivory grips for my .45. I know there is some Ivory embargo going on in the u.s. and then I saw this. I heard the guy interviewed on the radio and he carves stuff from them.

The one in the pic due to the size of the whole thing as its on the large size will auction for $50,000

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/big_tusk012409a.jpg

from this link
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page2921.html?theme=light

Any idea what Mammoth tusks are like? Are they as nice as elephant ivory?

Anyone have or or have seen these tusks made into grips?

I guess I need to write the guy and ask him but I know he will have ton of email for a few months.

[XD9WBT]

I got to see a set of mammoth handles made for a knive by AG Russell. In my mind it was a rip off. First the Ivory was porus, brittle, and flaky.
To get around that they surrounded it with epoxy beads and sort of melted it into the the bad spots and a little more. Bassically it became a set of plastic handles that looked nothing like a tusk.

Someone else might have a better method.

[moooose102]

i have no experience with this at all, but it would seem to me that something that has been dead for thousands of years, would have decayed a bit from it former pristeen state. where as elephant ivory would be realativly fresh. just something to think about.

[LKB3rd]

Mammoth Ivory is used on guitar bridges and nuts (the spot near the tuning pegs with slots to hold the strings in place).
It is similar to elephant ivory, but the color is usually a yellowish or brown mottled color.
http://gregboyd.com/accessory_detail.html?accessory_key=432&accessory_image_key=532

[dogrunner]

What you get depends solely on what you start out with.

I made several sets of SAA grips from MI I found in a shop south of Fairbanks a lotta years back. The full tusk was cracked & in chunks, but large enough segments remained to do some really nices panels. The stuff I had finished up precisely as a good piece of Elephant ivory would, not with the dark and cracked stuff I have seen offered. As I recall the ivory I got had been steam blasted from the permafrost at an area near Ester Alaska, a gold mine site where that method is used to extract the minerals.

Like I said, if you could choose the piece you'll come up with some truly spectacular material.

I also recall that a fellow had an ad in the American Handgunner magazine several years ago offering MI. That guy had an Ester address as I recall........might be worth a query to the publication.

[heron]

Keep in mind that ivory needs special care, since it shrinks and cracks over time. I think you need to rub it with clove oil periodically.

[theotherwaldo]

My sister carves mammoth ivory. It's qualities depend on how long it was exposed to air, flowing water, various minerals, and animal remains.

Well-preserved mammoth ivory is much like elephant ivory except that it has a different grain pattern and smell. It is a tough and forgiving material. For example, my sister is working on a series of crochet hooks for her friends. These hooks are almost as thin as steel hooks and can be bent almost like a bow without breaking. They have the added feature of being slick to dry materials like yarn while gripping moist hands - very useful for most firearm grips.

I plan to inlay pads and strips in the grips of several of my firearms. I don't like solid ivory grips because they tend to hold moisture against the metal of a gun (from my experience). I may use it for the grips of my next 1911, but only because it has a stainless frame.

[akodo]

http://www.thegunengraver.com/Grips.htm

I came arcoss that site before, where it claims most alaska mammoth ivory is exposed more while siberian mammoth ivory is more commonly totally embedded in the permafrost.

Note, he has some skrimshaw pics on the bottom that are R rated.

However, the Original Poster talked about getting Mammoth due to the Elephant Ivory Embargo.

Not so. CITES allows limited sale of ivory. See, the elephants have pretty much filled their habitat to carrying capacity and the herds need to be culled, so there are still a limited amounts of elephant hunting (there should be more...but that is another matter) and the ivory is turned over. Also, natural elephant death the ivory is harvested. CITES allows this ivory to be sold at a certain rate per year and reinvests the funds into elephant management.

There is also a third option...Walrus Ivory.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=321674

in this thread it comes up that mammoth teeth are also a source of ivory...but not very desirable.

I suspect that a lot less of a tusk of mammoth is actually suitable for grips, but that much more is sold because there are a ton of people who would love to have mammoth ivory on their knife handle or gun grips just for bragging rights.