I am trying to find a more economical option than ivory/bone pieces....you'll see from the pictures what I'm trying to accomplish....the stuff I have been using is hi density polyethylene, but it's still too soft for my engraving machine. Any ideas what would be a harder material? Thanks.
any knife makers supply company sells different types of micarta, and maybe other plastics. i've done a very limited amount of this work. some of the stuff is laminated and looks quite a bit like the real thing.there's an advantage here-- the stuff has no grain to it and works much more easily than does the real thing.
polyethylene, nylons, and other soft specie of plastic have what i call a"greasy" feel to them. i doubt paint or pigments would survive very long on these softer plastics. they simply have no real way of bonding to the surface.
I don't know if it is the same as you are using, but have you tried polymer clay? It can be found in many craft stores. There are tutorials on youtube that show how to make faux ivory with it.