Very simply.....What have you found to be the best way to preserve the moisture in your Elephant tusks. Do you oil them? What??
Thanks.

You could give it to me and I would preserve it...

Mike

Ivory Care http://www.si.edu/mci/english/...king_care/ivory.html

http://www.si.edu/mci/english/...king_care/ivory.html

Glycerine

What about vegatable oil....or clear baby oil??

I would ask the question on the Taxidermy forum and let the taxidermists weigh in. My guess is that if anyone knows, they do.

Don't hang them over or next to the fireplace.

Not a thing. Life-Form seems to have already done it.

I've heard of people using mineral oil... Call the guys at boonetrading.com and see what they recommend. They sell lots of pre-ban ivory

In the tropics where humidity is high they do not dehydrate and therefore unlikely to crack.

Be very careful in those cold wintery zones where dehumidifiers and heaters are commonly used - the ivory will dry up to the point of splitting lengthwise (it happened to some of my stash, including hippo tusks).

My remedy was to soak them in a bathtub of warm water for about 24hrs, dry them with a cloth then rub them down with "Dubbin" or any other similar product to "seal the pores" and keep the moisture trapped - don't forget to oil the nerve cavity as well.

Haven't had a repetition of the problem since.

I've got rid of most of my trophies now because I got sick of all the BS involved in dragging them around the world but FWIW, always used an occasional rubbing of Johnson's (clear) baby oil and it worked a treat...... the only problem is no matter what you use, it seems to stink for a day or three afterwards.

Another recommendation for Johnson's baby oil.

That was the recommendation I got from Mochaba Taxidermy/tanning in Maun, Botswana - noted some kind periodic treatment was needed, especially in dry conditions. They would know dry...

I haven't noticed an oder when using, but it's about time for another application and I'll check.

I should have stressed you need to rub it in properly rather than just give it a bit of a wipe.

All that said, I've got an ivory bracelet on my arm that's been there for donkey's years. I never take it off because my hand is too big to get it off and it obviously gets worn in the shower when I swim (both the sea and in pools and I've never given it any kind of treatment whatsoever and it still looks as good as it did all those years ago when I first put it on.

One warning with the Johnson's oil..... be sure to use the clear one and not the pink one because the latter will discolour the ivory........ oh and the same stuff works just as well on warthog ivory.

Emory,

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the smell.... I don't find it particularly offensive but I do reckon it has a certain scent to it.

I love it! Smells like a baby's butt to me - sure beats a skanky smell of root canal!

The first thing we did when the tusks came out of my elephant was to rub them with beeswax candles and seal them up. Second, I still have access to the nerve canal and pour in some baby oil every couple of months. Third, I keep the house humidity above 35% ,which is a real problem in winter up here in Alberta. Fourth, keep them out of direct sunlight.
So far after 5 years there is no cracks and they look as shiny as they were in the bush.

I live in Wyoming and we have very little humidity. After about 2 years, both my hippo ivory and my elephat ivory cracked.

The hippo ivory was filled but cracked anyway.

I have two sets of elephant ivory. The set that was mounted on bases and filled have not cracked. The set that has not been mounted and not filled has had one tusk crack in the area of the nerve.

I have since sealed the interior of the nerve with epoxy (pain in the ass) and have used glycerin on the balance. So far so good.

Here is a related thread: http://forums.accuratereloadin...761047771#8761047771

I have no experiece on this sbject but I thought I wold shae a piece I saw about the ancient Greek temple Parthenon.

It seems that a lot of ivory pannels were used. Yes PANNELS. They achieved this by soaking it in vinegar and this made the ivory peel in layers!

Just a bit of trivia.

wow, that's really helpful. now all i need is pan large enough to hold 5 foot tusks and enough vinegar to fill it. i really do want the ivory to peel in layers- should look really nice

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I should have stressed you need to rub it in properly rather than just give it a bit of a wipe.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the smell.... I don't find it particularly offensive but I do reckon it has a certain scent to it.

It could be that you associate the scent with certain dens of iniquity that you frequented. The knowledge of rubbing instead of wiping tends to confirm this.

Damn but that just made me spit coffee all over the keyboard!

B,

Here's another vote for baby oil. I also live in dry Wyoming and my ivory cracked too. My taxidermist recommended the baby oil and it seems to have stopped the cracks.

Mark

+3. Recommended by a number of my PHs and taxidermists.

A word of caution gentlemen. Consider that the vegan mob are of the opinion that hunters suffer from various sexual psychosis, it will not do the reputation of hunters much good should some of them be found rubbing their warthog and hippo tusks with clear baby-oil.

Hey, it might give them ideas that in time will turn them into soft skinned, meat eating hunters.

I'm confused. Over the years I've followed several threads like this on the Taxidermy forum and it looked to me that the consensus was to wax the tusks. So I did that as recommended by many people. Now most people on this thread are saying to use Baby Oil. But since I've already waxed them they probably won't absorb any oil. I'm not sure what is the right thing to do and I'd sure like to keep my tusks from cracking.

the oil will dissolve any wax.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
wow, that's really helpful. now all i need is pan large enough to hold 5 foot tusks and enough vinegar to fill it. i really do want the ivory to peel in layers- should look really nice

They will make awesome curtains, or even a nice throw to drape over the back if the couch.

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
I live in Wyoming and we have very little humidity. After about 2 years, both my hippo ivory and my elephat ivory cracked.

The hippo ivory was filled but cracked anyway.

Hippo tusks are not ivory but are teeth, and are covered in a hard layer dentine which will not shrink and will pop off the core as the core dries and shrinks! The only way to avoid hippo from destroying it's self is to fill the nerve cavity, then incase the whole tooth in a block of clear acrylic while it is fresh before it starts to shrink. This takes away all air so it doesn’t shrink.

Hippo will sooner or later destroy it’s self. I have a pair of 26 inch hippo teeth that are about 20 yrs old that have popped off some dentine from the core in some 4 or five inch strips.

Elephant and wart hog ivory are both real ivory and if not filled and waxed will crack over time. Elephant will slowly yellow, but wart hog will remain white!

I envy those who have the problem saving their elephant ivory! My problem is I've fired exactly two shoots into the heart/lung of one elephant that belonged to someone else to back up a botched frontal brain shot. My sots were for naught, because my friend's second shot found the brain dropping the bull in his tracks!

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