Aging fake ivory grips ??

[garypl]

I don't have a heat gun handy, it got borrowed. How about boiling it in a tin can of water?

I believe that should work - that’s how cowhorns are softened to make flat horns.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I believe that should work - that’s how cowhorns are softened to make flat horns.

Respectfully, we actually use oil. Water doesn't get hot enough to soften horn.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

PVC will become soft around 170 – 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

I think the wizard is correct. I checked the heat deflection temperature on rigid PVC and am surprised to see it is that low. Its worth a shot. If boiling water doesn't work, I'd put it in the oven ( when the wife is away shopping ) .

 

[Dickydalton]

The replica ivory grips now-a-days are made of a very authentic material, resin, which is almost impossible to tell from real. Please look into it, you may be surprised.

Kinda like these. It even looks like grain in them. These are American Ivory from Boones Trading Company. $136.35 shipped a year and a half ago.

 

[user 52142]

Kinda like these. It even looks like grain in them. These are American Ivory from Boones Trading Company. $136.35 shipped a year and a half ago.
View attachment 157749

Thanks ! Nice looking grips. Think I'll take a look.

 

[garypl]

Respectfully, we actually use oil. Water doesn't get hot enough to soften horn.

I’ve only done one horn using water (probably 40 years ago) and it seemed to work okay. Do you just heat a pot of cooking oil to soften the horn? I don’t see me flattening any horns in the future, just curious

 

[rickpa]

I use an old Fry Daddy for hot oil flattening of horns, filled with cooking oil. IIRC the oil has to be about 300 degrees but you have to watch it carefully. If it gets above 330 you're going to have french fried horn. I lost a nice little primer horn I was trying to flatten because I went to look for a something while the horn was in the oil. I was gone for less than a minute or so and when I got back the horn was crispy. Water will do it but if the horn becomes hot again it will revert back to its original shape. Oil and pressing the horn will be permanent.

 

[garypl]

I use an old Fry Daddy for hot oil flattening of horns, filled with cooking oil. IIRC the oil has to be about 300 degrees but you have to watch it carefully. If it gets above 330 you're going to have french fried horn. I lost a nice little primer horn I was trying to flatten because I went to look for a something while the horn was in the oil. I was gone for less than a minute or so and when I got back the horn was crispy. Water will do it but if the horn becomes hot again it will revert back to its original shape. Oil and pressing the horn will be permanent.

Thanks for the explanation Rick! How did that fried horn taste?

I think my horn flattening days are long gone…I kind of like them naturally round.

 

[rickpa]

Thanks for the explanation Rick! How did that fried horn taste?

It was bitter, very bitter...... It was a nice little horn that I ruined by a moment's inattention..... Live and learn.

 

[Bad Karma]

PVC will become soft around 170 – 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yes. I’ve softened pipe a time or two for various reasons. My grandfather taught me this trick. There’s a company that makes a gate valve which has tapered ductile iron spigots on either side. He would coat the interior of the pipe (large diameter PIP pipe) with grey pvc cement, light it on fire, place his hand atop the pipe and when it got hot enough, I would shove the spigot inside the softened pipe. The pipe shrinks a bit as it cools and never comes off of the valve. We have a dozen or more of those valves around here.

 

[ernbar]

I used brewed tea on mine and works at aging the polymer. They have to soak for hours or overnight depending on the desired effect.

 

[Rifleman1776]

As for real ivory, legal or otherwise, I wouldn't touch it. I used to make things in my woodworking shop on a custom basis and sell. One potential client wanted an item made from real ivory he would provide. After checking prices of that ivory and it's characteristics I declined the job. It was just too brittle and I didn't want to risk it's self-destroying while I worked on it. I have made things from micarta faux ivory that look great and very realistic. The micarta will pick up slight and natural looking patina with handling and use. Knife makers use it and can be bought from knife supply vendors.

 

[GYJ]

I haven't finished them yet but I slowly making myself a pair of fake grips for a J frame. Larger pieces of PVC pipe are what is being utilized. Got the pieces under a C clamp to take some of the bend out. Not really a bright white, which is what I going for. Fake ivory is just that...fake.My "ivory" grips fool almost everyone but me. I hear the faux ivory is much stronger than the real thing anyway.

It's not. The only thing that resembles ivory but is stronger is white micarta. Think about, +10,000lb critters carry the stuff all their lives, pushing over trees and fighting with them.

The replica ivory grips now-a-days are made of a very authentic material, resin, which is almost impossible to tell from real. Please look into it, you may be surprised.

That's not true. It's very easy to tell real ivory from ANY of the substitutes.

World demand for real ivory has nearly killed off all the wild elephants. No one should be using or buying them. Same for rhino horns, which the Middle East wants for dagger handles.

That's the popular version but it's not true either. I acquired several sets right before the latest interstate ban and would be buying plenty more. Ivory in the US has zero effect on elephant populations. Habitat destruction and poaching are the two biggest threats to elephants. As many are killed as pests as are killed by poachers. Sport hunting would actually save them if people would pull their heads out of their posterior orifices.

 

[springfield art]

It's not. The only thing that resembles ivory but is stronger is white micarta. Think about, +10,000lb critters carry the stuff all their lives, pushing over trees and fighting with them.



That's not true. It's very easy to tell real ivory from ANY of the substitutes.



That's the popular version but it's not true either. I acquired several sets right before the latest interstate ban and would be buying plenty more. Ivory in the US has zero effect on elephant populations. Habitat destruction and poaching are the two biggest threats to elephants. As many are killed as pests as are killed by poachers. Sport hunting would actually save them if people would pull their heads out of their posterior orifices.

With all due respect, that's the excuse that Ivory consumers routinely give. Thanks.

 

[GYJ]

With all due respect, that's the excuse that Ivory consumers routinely give. Thanks.

It's the truth, not an excuse. With all due respect, don't get your information from the nightly news.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I have no need or use for Ivory. whether it was here in the USA for years or not, too may people particularly in Asia and other countries covet it, and YES< poachers and others do Kill Elephants to get it.

 

[GYJ]

They do but the U S was never a major market for poached ivory. The 1990 import ban was very effective. The problem with this subject is that many people believe whatever they hear on the news or other common sources, which is usually sourced from animal rights' groups. To say that it is biased would be a gross understatement. Even though shooters and hunters should be doing their due diligence on a subject related to their favorite pastimes, many do not. Africa has a lot of problems and anyone who thinks that something so simple as Americans halting their consumption of +30yr old ivory for sixgun grips will change any of that, is seriously deluded.

And last I checked, ego had nothing to do with my purchase of custom grips. Most guns come with crappy grips and that is why most of mine are custom.

 

[springfield art]

I have no need or use for Ivory. whether it was here in the USA for years or not, too may people particularly in Asia and other countries covet it, and YES< poachers and others do Kill Elephants to get it.

The demand for ivory in the Middle East and ASIA is such that all wild elephants would disappear in a short time if there were no protections. As it is, the countries where elephants live are generally very poor, corrupt to the core, and the poachers are murderous to humans as well.

 

[GYJ]

The "protections" are a double edged sword. Because they are absolute and broad sweeping, fueled by animal rights' arguments in the west, they do as much harm as good. By placing a total ban on sport hunting, the animals have no value to land owners. There is no motivation to keep them. So forest is turned into farmland and elephants are treated as pests. Whereas with rigorously controlled sport hunting, which takes 1% less than but yields a massive income boost for the landowners, they have the incentive to preserve their habitat. It also finances a lot of conservation and anti-poaching efforts. Instead of working together with a common goal, the animal rights lunatics lump the sport hunters in with the poachers. In the end, the elephants pay the ultimate price, extinction. They can't make the whole continent of Africa into a park.

 

[Dale Lilly]

As for real ivory, legal or otherwise, I wouldn't touch it. I used to make things in my woodworking shop on a custom basis and sell. One potential client wanted an item made from real ivory he would provide. After checking prices of that ivory and it's characteristics I declined the job. It was just too brittle and I didn't want to risk it's self-destroying while I worked on it. I have made things from micarta faux ivory that look great and very realistic. The micarta will pick up slight and natural looking patina with handling and use. Knife makers use it and can be bought from knife supply vendors.

Yes, I use Ivory Micarta frequently for knives. These are aged for over 20 years as well. Polecat