Did I get lucky?

[dcgm4]

I was browsing eBay a few minutes ago and saw this Boker corn knife about five minutes before the auction ended. I threw in a last second bid and won it for less than $14 shipped. The seller didn't say what the handle material is, but I think it could be ivory so I took a gamble on it. I won't know for certain until I get in hand, but I figured I'd show it here and get some opinions and see what you guys think.

[knife7knut]

Looks to be ivory to me.At first I thought it might be bone but that slight red staining if it isn't a picture flaw sometimes occurs in ivory.Usually turns brown after awhile;probably something in the makeup of the ivory.The blade is pretty well sharpened but at the price you paid I don't think you went wrong.

[dcgm4]

Thanks, knife7knut. That makes me a bit more confident. The reason I thought it could be ivory is because when I looked at the close-up picture I saw what appeared to be a wood-like grain which usually means ivory. It's possible that it could be faux ivory, but the "grain" usually has straighter lines.

[tjmurphy]

Hope it's ivory, but it looks like French/Faux ivory

[Knife Nut]

I lean toward Tj's thought. After looking at the enlarged photos, I think it is faux ivory. Let us know when it arrives.

Paul

[dcgm4]

Thanks for the input, guys. Even if it's faux ivory I didn't spend much, so I'm not too worried. I'll let you know what it is when I get it.

[tjmurphy]

I love the French ivory handles. To me they have a classy look. And............well, you know, guitar players and corn knives

[Iron Hoarder]

I would go with Faux Ivory as well. That is the most stable kind of Cell out there. i hardly ever see any kind of shrinkage or warpage with it and never an out gas. The red stains on that are likely from the leather pouch that it was at one time stored in. Most of the pouches didn't make it 100 years.

[knife7knut]

One of the reasons that I thought it may be ivory rather than French ivory is that the lines in French ivory are usually perfectly straight and very well defined.These appear to wander a little bit and aren't evenly spaced.Also if you look around the rivets,you will see tiny cracks starting to form and darken a bit which real ivory will do.If the light were shown a bit better on the scales,the grain would be more readily visible although I have seen real ivory that was almost glass smooth and devoid of the layering characteristic of it.JMO folks.As a good friend of mine once said:" If God didn't want people to make mistakes....he never would have put erasers on pencils."

[Ramrod]

I vote real ivory, for the same reasons K7K mentioned.
It looks old, I like it.
Mark

[dcgm4]

Well, it was quite a wait, but I finally received the knife yesterday. The handle is real ivory. Unfortunately though the seller didn't mention that the back handle is missing! I'll probably give the knife to my friend. She makes jewelry and might be able to use the ivory for something. Oh well.

[tjmurphy]

Man, that really sucks Glad that it's real ivory though

[dcgm4]

Thanks, TJ. I'm glad I didn't pay too much for it, so if it ends up as part of my friend's jewelry it's cool.

[Quick Steel]

I hope you will take a moment to contact the seller and comment on his ethics, as well as leaving an appropriate rating on ebay.

[junom]

they use a hot pin to check ivory it won't melt

[philco]

they use a hot pin to check ivory it won't melt

I've often heard this but never tried it for myself. If it is NOT ivory, then I've just damaged the knife handle and I don't see how that can be a good thing.

[gringo]

the HOT pin method will damage ivory...or any other natural bone type substance...
sometimes it will burn the bone faster than if it was plastic.
honest.