Can you please describe your best procedure to preserve tusks?

Currently my best results seems to be filling them with melted candle, but it seems that nothing prevents cracking continue (although with melted candle they last longer)

Thanks !

I put baby oil on a q tip and rub it on the the tusks. I try to remember to do it once a month.
I still have some that have cracked or splintered off a bit

Never tried it but, have recently been told
to completely cover teeth & boiled bone with
White ElmerS glue as thats a good sealer on such things.

Good luck,
George

Put in wet paper tissue or toilet paper and top it off with carpenters glue. Keep upright until dry, lasts for years it seems.

quote:

Originally posted by Afrikaander:
Can you please describe your best procedure to preserve tusks?

Currently my best results seems to be filling them with melted candle, but it seems that nothing prevents cracking continue (although with melted candle they last longer)

Thanks !

I'd say it depends on what type of tusks you are trying to preserve . . .
From my experience, Warthog tusks are quite resistant to cracking, whereas European Wild Boar (and their close cousins) and Hippo are much more prone to cracking and splitting. I SOAK the entire tusk (of any type) in mineral oil for a few days, every 4 to 6 months. you can also fill the nerve cavity with melted candle wax which will be compatible with the mineral oil treatment. I use a smaller size plastic dish sized to fit the tusks which reduces the amount of mineral oil used to cover the tusks. After soaking, pour the oil in a plastic bottle and save for the next treatment. I'll post pics of this process when I've figured out how to do it! I have Warthog tusks over 25 years old which have held up very well by this treatment . . .

Hi!

yes they can be hard to preserve.

As soon as you have taken em out of the boar put em in a glas of water so that ehy do not dry out.

get all fat and tissues out internally and externally.

then I put em in paraffinum liquidum for a day or so. and this you should put on the outside every once in a while. once a month. it will keep em from drying out.

what is really important is that the material you fill the inside with can move so to speak. if you use super glue they might crack because it it to stiff.

Also, if you glue them to a shield like we do in europe you should not glue all parts of the tusk to the sheild as they tusks over the year move due to temperature and air moisture?? (can find the right word right now)

try to glue it only in the base part.

regards.

Thanks !

i believe they crack because of losing moisture content. i take them out of the bone and clean them real well. let them dry until the surafce feels dry. then i fill the nerve cavity with epoxy and spray the outside with a clearcoat. i think this seals off any moisture movement into or out of the tusk. so far my small collection hasn't cracked at all. hope this helps.

I wonder if anyone has tried using the parafin or resin in a vacuum?

All I can say is that bleach and dry weather cause warthog tusks to splinter lengthwise in many pieces.

I will try a polyurethane dip (inside and out) next time. I believe the stuff is water-friendly, so a fairly fresh tusk will seal just fine.

No proven answer that I know.

Here a thread from few years ago.

I'm an American, living in Germany and we bash alot of pigs here, plus have 5 beautiful sets of Warthog tusks; so I've been pretty successful with preserving & fixing piggie teeth.

Warthog tusks (also Wild Boar or Feral Hog tusks) require the insides clean and clear of debris, the living "root", blood and tissue such as found in any other tooth, removed. An old toothbrush (no pun intended) some soap & water with pipe cleaners, Q-tips, bent paper clips, a snipped off piece of metal coat hanger, etc. basically whatever it takes to reach inside and clean the gunk out, but you don't have to attack it, gently does the trick. This should be done as soon as possible when removed from the jaw, left to air dry for a day, no hair dryers or other heat used - plus every time they are moistened and dry out is what starts the splitting, so keep 'em moist until you want them permanently fixed. Don't throw them in a drawer and decide to come back a couple of weeks later to finish your project - it may be too late.

Once the the tusks are clean and dry inside and out; heat up a Hot Glue Pistol until the glue is flowing freely; about 10 minutes, don't rush it or the glue will harden before flowing all the way down into the tusk. Now we are going to fill the tusks completely with Hot Glue. Make sure you have several sticks of glue available to feed into the pistol on hand - you'd be surpised at how much glue it takes to fill them and you don't want to look like the Tusk Geek running about looking for extra glue sticks with a Hot Glue Pistol in one hand and a hot Warthog tusk in the other! (experience always makes a lasting impression).

Depending on the length of the tusk, either hold it lengthwise, rightside up (u-shaped), sideways, whatever it takes, you'll know by the size and the way the Hot Glue should flow to get into the deepest part of the tusk cavity initially prior to hardening. Use something to hold the tusk with because it's gonna get hot (Duh?!) like a a rolled up Bounty towel, a pot holder or similar (ask permission from Momma first to use her kitchen stuff or you're gonna get in trouble). Also it's going to take a few minutes for the glue to solidify and cool down so if you lay it down the glue is going to run out ..... a real mess plus they look like s**t glued to your thumb or the kitchen counter! As the glue dries it will contract so initially only fill about 3/4 full and then top it off later. A lightly closed vise jaws to hold it in the correct position while drying is a great aide, plus helps keeping you out of the kitchen and in the garage where you belong and cannot incurr Momma's wrath. Also if you inadvertently lay it down on in the garage it will be glued to the Ping-Pong Table instead of the kitchen counter. Note: cut the table into any neat shape you want and use as a mounting board for your Trophy Room.

With the tusks finally filled with Hot Glue, depending on your success level and the number of blisters on your fingers you may want to consider building a "glue bridge" between the tusks with Hot Glue which makes for a nifty mount. You can use the "glue bridge" to screw the tusks to a mounting board, covering the "bridge" with a strip of Elephant Leather (not available at Home Depot). Looks cool but your creativity in new possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

We've had success filling them with epoxy,bondo etc we also have boar mounts well over 60 yrs old that have been done this way and none have split so far. This would be in the thousands possibly tens of thousands of tusk done over many years of hunting in my family.

Hope this helps!

Aloha,

Dom