Question: how is warthog tusk for scrimshaw?

Hey everyone. So I have a client who wants some scrim on a knife, and the knife he has in mind (but has not yet purchased) has warthog tusk scales. I've never done any work with this particular material and am hoping someone out there might be able to tell me how it handles for scrimshaw. It's harder than elephant ivory, right?

Thanks.

-Katherine

Hi Katherine,
I 've never engraved on warthog tusk but a friend of mine Gregory Delaunay says he gets no more comissions to make a scrimshaw on warthog . It's very hard and it's difficult to get a good contrast on it and he can't do there his best job.
Greg is a well known scrimshander here in France , here's his work :
http://www.elfic.fr/anglais/pages/scrimshaw.htm

You can ask him directly , his mail is on his website .

Jean

I use wild boas tusks and buff off the hard outer layer. They then scrim well. If they are thin walled I fill the
inside with epoxy

Hi Katherine,
I use a lot of warthog and do a lot of scrimwork on it. its a little bit harder than elephant, but scrims well.
I dont know where people get the idea that elephant and warthog has a enamel layer? the only tusk I know of that has a hard enamel layer is Hippo tusks. some times 1/8" thick. just a note out of Africa.:yes

My "Classic" handle from Warthog tusk with some scrim. enjoy.

I too have scrimmed on warthog with no problems, it is harder than mammoth or elephant but I did not run into problems. I do the "dot" type scrimshaw and on this particular piece I used oil paints for color. It was done only in black/white and of course shading was accomplished by the density of the dots. Good luck!

Walrus, warthog, boar tusks have an enamel outer shell. You have to get under it to get the best scrimshawable surface. It usually comes off when you are sanding, filing, and polishing or preparing the the surface down to the white ivory underneath. If you get a piece of cut and finished ivory, you should not have any trouble with it. Walrus ivory tends to be more brittle than elephant as does elk's teeth, but they will work just fine. They are a bit more stable I think than elephant ivory. Some of it has to do with how the knife is assembled.

Here is a story that happened to me which almost turned me against doing knife handles.

I was going to do a series of knives by Texas knife makers. I did two promenent makers which came out alright. The third one was of a very well known older knifemaker. It was a knife that had the handle drilled through lengthwise and was attached and held on with a screw on butt cap. I did the maker's portrait as i had done on the other two, and it was a perfect likeness of the man. I took the knife to Reno and showed it one year. When I got home the ivory had cracked right down throungh the middle of the maker's face. Made me so mad, I quite the series and have never done another of that series. I still have all of the knives of that series myself, afraid to sell them.

I keep it pretty simple and look at how the knife is made carefully. you might talk to Sandra Brady or some of the other scrimmers to see what their experiences have been.

Watch out Katherine, there are some booby traps out there, and give your clients a disclaimer, as ivory is often unstable and will crack. This is not your fault, but if you tell your customer this, you have warned them and if they want to continue, it becomes their problem.

Good luck!

Ron S

Hi Katherine,
I'm thinking it would be very important to remove the tusks from the warthog first.
Just my opinion.
Abigail

Jean, maplesm, Chris, bcarter, thanks for the input! I appreciate the information.

Ron, I worry about that sort of thing all the time! Yikes. I've heard a lot of similar stories. So far (knock on wood) I've had no problem with any ivory here.. Do you think there are certain styles of knives (as far as how the ivory is attached) that are more prone to problems?

Abigail, thanks, I hadn't considered that. As hard as it is to get the elephants to stand still with their tusks under the microscope, I'll bet a feisty wart hog would be no picnic.

It's kinda looking like the client might go with a different knife anyway at this point, but I thank you for the responses!

-Katherine

Sometimes it is the knives, pinned on ivory, cramped, or ivory under pressure or climatic changes are all suspects here, and maybe it is just the ivory itself. If it is seasoned good that makes a difference, and some of these characteristics are undeterminable. Ivory that is stable is hard to determine, and I have had just loose pieces crack. Probably humidity or lack of it, or barametric pressure, altitude. Funny stuff.

As long as you give a disclaimer, you willl probably be alright, although even with that it doesn't stop the dissapointment of a crack running through your work. There might even be some ways I am not sure about to help prevent this from happening such as using vaseline (old timers ideas, not that I am an old timer HaHa) to penetrate the ivory and remoisturize it sort of. supporting ivory from the back by glueing them onto something stable also helps, but that isn't always possible.

These are just things or experiences I have come against that might help you to make educated choices.

I am just trying to protect you in little ways. I don't mean to scare you. Like I said, it might be good to talk to long experienced scrimmers to see whaat they say. I am an engraver first, scrimshander 5th or something. I did quite a bit of it however, over the years.

Ron S

Katherine as much as I hate to argue with such an Icon as Ron, Walrus Ivory has no enamel coating. It has a tapioca center that is very difficult to work but the Ivory it self is very stable and nice to work I have been using it for many years. I have a couple of boars tucks that have an obvious enamel coating and they tend to crack just sitting here, which is why they are still sitting here. I have never used Wart hog, but our African friend seems to think they are wonderful and I think he should know. If you need any Walrus Ivory I have several sources for legal walrus, and have several tusks here.

I have been using Boon Trading Co. for the last 10 years with no problem on what I got.
They take great care in giving you the best. There are dif. grades of ivory and Boone will recomend the best for your intended use. Heating any bone or ivory can result in cracking now or in the future. You may not know what process the knife maker has used to shape or polish the scales or how hot they got.

The biggest problem with ivory cracking is a sudden change in humidity.
It was a well established bet in the old days that Los Angeles engravers or scrimmers would have cracking problem with their ivory when they displayed them at a Las Vegas show in the summer. Even in an air-conditioned hotel. Before the days when most cars were air-conditioned they would start to crack on the drive up there.
Just 5-6 hours drive and not enough time for the ivory to adjust to the change in humidity.
In those days, before there were thousands of homes in LV with well watered lawns and gardens the humidity was about zero in Vegas.
The west coast is not particularly humid for the most part but the difference was enough to damage a lot of pistol grips and knife handles.
Luckily, turning LV into a garden in the desert has changed that. But it does take a big bite out of the Colorado River’s available water supply….but that’s another story.
And Katherine, I’ve had no problem in scrimming or with stress cracking with warthog tusks.
Best.

Hi Katrina

I worked a lot into a warthog tusk.Never no problem.


Stefan