Elephant Ivory Handles

[kootenay joe]

Elephant ivory has been my favorite handle material from the beginning. My grandfather collected ivory carvings which he purchased from an antique dealer friend in London in a time just prior to WW I. My father inherited these ivory carvings which he would bring out, carefully unwrap and show me each one about once every year. I now have these ivories and i'm sure they are what lead me to want ivory handled knives.
I hope this will become a thread to show your knives with elephant ivory. I would prefer it be limited to elephant ivory and that mammoth ivory have it's own thread, which it well deserves. But, if Mammoth ends up here, so be it, no big deal.
The ivory knives i have fall into 3 groups: modern customs, recent production (mostly GEC), and vintage knives which includes Corn knives and Budding knives.
I don't have all of my vintage ones located yet, so i'll start with some recent customs: Jerry Halfrich, Enrique Pena and Bruce Bump. Note that Bruce's knife is "007", referring to the 7th folder he made not secret agent Bond.

[kootenay joe]

O.K., please don't let the posting of custom knives inhibit you from posting any ivory handled knife you have. I just led off with those 3 because they are the easiest to quickly locate in this knife jungle.
I have many 100+yr old vintage ones with broken blades etc but they are still knives worthy of being posted in this thread. Ivory along with Pearl, were top of the line handle materials 100+ years ago, so these are always well made even if now busted, so Post 'em Please !
kj

[MITCH RAPP]

WOW! Those are absolutely Gorgeous!

I to Love Elephant Ivory, probably my all time favorite knife handles!

Here are a few of mine.

[edge213]

You guys are making me jealous.

[wlf]

Ken Erickson. I have another nice little ivory wharncliffe Roland. I grin

[deo-pa]

Here is a Boker miniature that dates from about 1875.

Dennis

[djknife13]

I have a fixed blade to show. This is a F. Velasquez. The brass is a little tarnished. The sheath is a work of art. ___Dave

[peanut740]

Here's a Northfield Whaler,aka,Jumbo swell center in elephant ivory from 2011.

[wlf]

Nice swinguard Mitch.

I probably like Pena's knife best Roland, just the knife.

[djknife13]

These are two Robt. (Doc) Molenaar but I think they are both Mammoth. The Manta Ray sheath is by Roger Gale and the leather one is one of mine. ____Dave

[wazu013]

Here's a Case IV254 from 1987 and a Northwoods Broadway Jack.

[roofsc]

only have one

[jerryd6818]

Camillus #1047 Scout (72) by Wallace Rockwell.

[wlf]

Nice fellas,may be my favorite handle material too Roland.

Nice choice on the customized knife Jerry.

This one was on the outside of Peanut's and a lot of other GECs.

[kootenay joe]

Wow, what a great start. I don't think i have ever seen so many exceptional knives on one page.
Mitch, is your Northwoods LB a Tasco #83 ? Are the Swing Guard & Gunstock Northwoods from when Dave Shirley owned the brand ? I have not seen those ones before Thanks for showing them as i hope this might become a reference thread.
Wilf, what a top Rooster you have ! Ken was very skillful and brave to checker the ivory. Not many cutlers have ever done that. Spectacular knife.
Hi Dennis, great color on your little Boker. Ivory gets better with age. I hope we see lots of oldies here before too long.
Dave, F. Velasquez is a maker new to me but he makes an impressive knife. I would call it a Fighter with aggressive lines designed for penetration. Is the ivory one piece with a stick tang epoxied in place ?
I didn't ever see the Northfield Whaler in ivory. It's the only Whaler i've seen that i like. The very fine ivory dresses it up so it no longer looks just Big, it now is more like a muscular fullback in a tuxedo.
I'm on the hunt for one of these now but i bet the price will be a king's ransom; might need a second mortgage.
Dave, nice Fixed Blades, thank you for posting. Mammoth ivory is basically the same as elephant ivory. They are separate species but as closely related as possible and not be the same species. A trained individual with a microscope can see a little difference in the structure of the ivory but mammoth and elephant ivory look the same without magnification. The outer layer of mammoth can be colorful from minerals absorbed while buried but the inner part retains the creamy color.
roofsc, who made your "only one" ?
The Broadway Jack is fine knife with ivory, definitely makes this knife standout from those with the other handle materials. The ivory that GEC has used on every one of their ivory handled knives is the best quality elephant ivory i have ever seen. Customs costing a $1000 or more might have ivory just as nice, but not better. Looks like there will be no more GEC knives with ivory handles. Those of us who bought some when they were available are very fortunate. The ivory is as good as it gets, which is truly outstanding.
And of course any knife moded by Wallace Rockwell (Camillus custom shop x 34 years) is a beauty, and super sharp as well. He re-finishes the blades including sharpening of which he is a Master.
I won't always comment on every knife posted. That would be boring. But these early posts have such exceptional knives that i want to thank every one for the good start to what i hope will be an ongoing thread.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Here is another custom made knife with elephant ivory handles: 4.5" Lockback with a 3 3/8" blade of CPM-3V made in 2002 or 2003 by Bailey Bradshaw. I have thought of selling this one a few times. Each time i then get it out and open the blade. It opens without any effort at all and moves as if floating on glass bearings. I have no other knife that is so smooth, not even my Steve Hoel. So, then i put it away, i can't sell something so exceptional.
So here is my Gent's Tactical by Mr. Bradshaw:

[kootenay joe]

Next one i post will be a vintage knife, made very early 1900's, likely in 1906. It is my best knife and i have never posted it before.
kj

[QTCut5]

Here's my Lone Wolf Paul collection that Ivoryman customized with elephant ivory.

And here are some other ivories I've collected. The top one is a custom Dr. with a wharncliffe master blade.

~Q~

[wlf]

Next one i post will be a vintage knife, made very early 1900's, likely in 1906. It is my best knife and i have never posted it before.
kj

My eyes just perked up.Come on with it.Roland ,I need to scan the ivory wharncliffe you gave me.

Lot of cuties, Qt. I'm grin'n. Of course that wharncliffe you posted does a little extra,wonder what that's about.

Here's another from the same fellow that I got the bark ivory whaler from,and from the same tooth.Hey,I've probably got relatives in others of this thread.Ivory is thicker than water.

[kootenay joe]

QTCut, thanks for posting. I did not know the Paul came in that many sizes or as many blade profiles.
In the picture of 4 "other ivories", what is the bottom knife ? One of the Scagels ?
Wilf: "I need to scan the ivory wharncliffe you gave me"
yes, please do, i have forgotten this knife.
Did you have the HJ 6 re-handled ? I do not recall ivory being one of the original Charlie C. offerings ?
And: "My eyes just perked up.Come on with it.Roland"
I dunno Wilf, it is not a Rooster and it doesn't even have a Wharncliffe blade. Are you sure you wanna see it ?
kj

[wlf]

I don't remember how many were ivory Roland. Checked,9 interior and 3 bark

[QTCut5]

Yes, Koot, that one is indeed a Scagel. Picked it up on eBay awhile back...it was the first to appear in what turned out to be a batch of 4 or 5 all exactly the same, except that mine was in the best condition, and I paid less for it than any of the other 4 sold for (sometimes the "early bird" really does get the best worm!)

wlf - the Dr. with the wharn master was custom made for me at my request and to my specs by an 83 yr, old cutler in Lake Eufala, OK, by the name of Albert Crenshaw, who was profiled in the March 2011 issue of Knife World (Vol. 37 No.3). It was interesting because the entire transaction, beginning with my initial request, was conducted via handwritten snail-mail letters, no electronic communications or photos were exchanged; real "old school" style. I saved all his letters--written in legible albeit "shaky" handwriting on lined, spiral notebook paper--the only custom knife I own with a documented provenance history...and a great story as well.

Old Al put some serious time & effort into the filework...even on the liners!

Oh, and before I forget, here's a customized Case large Copperlock modified in elephant ivory by our own Glennbad.

And, finally, a Northwoods elephant ivory Hawthorne.

Cheers & Aloha,

~Q~

[kootenay joe]

Very impressive, lovely knife with fine detail work by a gent in his 84th year. I'm not there yet but i can appreciate how exceptional it is to take on such a project at that age.
I missed out on the Hawthornes. I was trying to abstain when they came out but now i realize i actually need an ivory Hawthorne.
Here is another fairly recent custom this one by Mike Zscherny with bolsters engraved and gilted (such a word ?)by master engraver Joe Mason.
I have it For Sale in the "Adverisements" forum so i'm giving it a plug here.
Very fine knife but this is not my "best" knife referred to above. I need courage to post The Best, well My Best actually. I'll get there sooner or later.
kj

[QTCut5]

Sweeeet! Wish I could afford to buy it from you but unfortunately my "Commander-in-Chief" seems to feel that paying off the mortgage takes precedence over another knife (some women just don't have their priorities straight!). I'd gladly swap my Hawthorne for it!

You certainly have a bevy of beauties in your collection.

~Q~

PS--that "whale-tail" shield should be posted in the "Got Shields" thread:

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 35&t=12268

[Railsplitter]

Great thread, Roland. You folks are posting some impressive photos!

I just have this one Elephant Ivory fixed blade made by Craig Camerer. Sorry about the inverted pic.