camel-dagger

[Helleri]

Originally Posted by Roland_M

I am unsure but if the pattern I highlighted in the Picture is formed by Schreger-lines, this hilt was made from elephant ivory.

btw, a beautiful dagger, congratulations! I like the shape of the blade.

Roland

There is a possibility that it is Mammoth...Schreger lines tells us that it is from this group of animals. But the only way to be certain about whether it is from an extant or extinct animal is to look at the included degree angle of the cross hatching that the schreger lines form. Greater than 115° and it's Elephant. Lesser then 90° and it's Mammoth. But this test is only 100% accurate if the ivory is a clean cross section from the outer most layer of tusk. Generally speaking Elephant cross hatching is more cube shaped, and Mammoth cross hatching is more diamond shaped.

I would agree that taken with the look of that cross hatching, the color, the sheen, the way it cleaves where it has cracked...It looks like Elephant ivory. But the very small chance that it could be Mammoth ivory (as it is also exported worldwide and has been for some time) still remains. Just something to keep in mind with it.