That's a good article, David.
My big problem with what this material in my hilts could be is their size:- they're big lumps of ivory. Reading all the info, yeah, I agree, it could be hippo ivory, but if that's the case there was a very robust trade between some parts of Africa, and SE Asia, during at least the 19th century.
I'll see if can get a pic that will show the grain in these hilts of mine. I know this thread started with question from Shahrial, but his hilt seems to be the same material as the ones I've shown, and I've seen a lot of this type of hilt from the same material. Thanks for your comments Shahrial. Yeah, its a bit hard to find this sort of thing these days. The ones I've shown, plus a few I have not shown, all came from a dealer in Jogja about 35 years ago---you just don't see this sort of thing now.
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