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Does Ivory shrink after drying out?
07 March 2007, 07:47
reddy375Does Ivory shrink after drying out?
Just wondering if ivory shrinks after drying out a year or so. Perhaps some modern day ivory hunters have reweighed their ivory and can tell us. Thanks.
07 March 2007, 08:41
Wildlife ArtistYes it shrinks some.
I heard one time that they might loose 2 or 3% in weight. Don't know if that is true.
I just can't imagine that very many folks have access to accutate scales in those weight ranges, but surely someone has taken good data.
But I do know that some shrink significantly. A guy I know has 50 lb. tusks that used to be 100!
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07 March 2007, 10:40
Kyler HamannAlong the same lines is there any concern of tusks drying and cracking?
Should they be protected with wax or some sort of preservative?
BTW - On a digital bathroom scale after a year my tusks were a pound or two lighter than Parks got.
Thanks,
Kyler
07 March 2007, 18:10
MacD37quote:
Originally posted by Will:
But I do know that some shrink significantly. A guy I know has 50 lb. tusks that used to be 100!
That's unusual, most of the hunters I know, their trophies get bigger, and heavier as time goes on!
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07 March 2007, 18:33
ivan carterWill ...i have had that shrinkage problem happen so fast that before we shot it was a 50 pounder and by the time we walked over to it , it became 45 !!!! I have also had that with horned antelope
a tusk wont crack unless its dropped , also there is danger of damage if they are placed either side of a fireplace that gets warm ... as far as shrinkage , perhaps tghey may lose 1 to 2% but not enough to make them significantly smaller ...
07 March 2007, 21:08
tsibindi...both tusks of my wife's ele have fractured. I feel this fracturing was caused from lack of humidity in the house. We live at 8600', and do not have a humidifier, unfortunately.
I took the ivory to a taxidermist, and they injected some sort of adhesive substance into the hollow end,up into the area of the "cracks". This was done about eight years ago, and has terminated the problem, so far.
My suggestion is to keep ele ivory away from interior/exterior heat as much as possible. Plus, get a humidifier...I wish we would have done so early on. Live, and learn.
And as ALF posted, I too had my hippo tusks crack. They were/are here in my office, and when the first one let go, it was quite a POP.
08 March 2007, 00:47
L. David KeithI would heed the advice given as most all Ivory and teeth I was exposed to in the Taxidermy trade would crack over time; especially in warm/dry settings. Years ago when hunting "wild boar" in east Tennessee became the rage, I noticed boar tusks would crack not long after we boiled them out of the skull. Meanwhile, I'm taking in older, large predator mounts for repair: cracked teeth & tusks. I did as mentioned; filled the tusk and tooth cavities (we didn't use artificial teeth) with resin. Later I took this process a bit farther using resin and silicone. This improved the problem greatly, but as mentioned, avoid heat: fireplaces, heating vents/ducts and direct sunlight. You can hang your mount over the fireplace but move them when using it for heat. If you use humidifiers, do this with extreme caution. High moisture will present mold and mildew problems that will manifest on your trophies. Inspect your mounts quarterly. Look not only for cracking ivory/teeth but mold, insects (visible) powder, dust or hair falling out (Beetles/Moths). This should be a practice for all to follow. Good hunting, LDK
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08 March 2007, 06:22
Wildlife ArtistTeeth or tusks can dry out and crack. The canine teeth of bear,boar,cats etc will split open. There is a large nerve area in the larger teeth and tuks of some animals and this needs to be filled with a slow set epoxy that does not heat up. On some animals like bear or cats the root of the teeth need to be ground down so you can get to the nerve area root canal it and filled with epoxy.
Don't let any of your trophys get to dry or to wet either. We have seen wood logs split after drying out.
Waxing may help on ivory but it would take a lot of wax. I'm just not sure about that process.
If you have a animal mounted with the mouth open I would suggest to use artificial teeth. They make them so good now that its very hard to tell the difference. You can have a skull mount done then but remember to fill those teeth.
08 March 2007, 17:06
zimbabweI live in So. Arizona and it is DRY. My elephant tusks seem to be all right in this climate after a couple of years , but ALL my warthog tusks have split into two pieces. I was in the room when one split and it sounded like a .22 going off. Scared hell out of me.
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09 March 2007, 00:00
Jerry HuffakerMine have had the opposite affect, they were 25lbs when I shot him, now everytime someone asks me how big they are they get heavier and heavier.
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09 March 2007, 01:17
Alloutquote:
Originally posted by Jerry Huffaker:
Mine have had the opposite affect, they were 25lbs when I shot him, now everytime someone asks me how big they are they get heavier and heavier.
THe elephant I shot must have been a brother to your elephant or something, every time I tell my story, his tusks also increase in size and weight and are about double what they started as. Good genes in that ele's family. What else could it be???
Brian
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