Ivory grips ?

[Asphalt Man]

I just picked up a Ruger BlackHawk 45 at an estate sale. It was made in 1973, 3 screw
& has not been updated. It comes with a set of Ivory grips, how can i check to see if these are real Ivory?, Thanks

 

[atbarr]

Look at the flats of the bottom. If there is grain (not smooth color), then it's probably ivory.

Stay Safe,

A.T.

P.S. Welcome!

 

[clang]

Remove the grips.

Take a pin and get the tip red hot.

Press the red hot pin into the back side of the grip (where any marks will not matter). If you smell burnt hair - it is ivory.

 

[Asphalt Man]

Grips

Thanks guys. There is grain lines on the bottom of the grips. Also i heated up a needle & it did not melt the grips at all

 

[zxcvbob]

It could be holly.

 

[Old Fuff]

It's likely they are genuine ivory. At the time they were nowhere near as expensive as they are now. There is nothing like a total ban to drive up the price of anything.

 

[SaxonPig]

Ruger medallions? Ruger used to offer factory ivory as an option and these are worth a small fortune, today.

 

[Virginian]

By 1973, real ivory was getting scarce and more expensive if I remember right. There are several brands out there with simulated grain and some even contain small amounts of non-elephant ground 'ivory', so they will age just like the original old stuff. They have been made to fool people. If I really wanted to know, I would ask an expert.