interesting jambiya on eBay

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Originally Posted by Lew

The lack of translucency does not mean its not rhino. It depends on how the piece was cut.
Lew

I personaly have found the degree of translucency depends on the darker deposits, { The melanin and calcium content} within the horn Lew ,not the direction of its cut, whichever direction the horn is cut, any translucentcy still remains.

Generaly the lighter the horn colour the greater the translucency.

Dryness, Dirt & lack of oiling also reduce any any apparent translucency.

As an aside, I find it interesting how the different colours of rhino horn are sought after in different parts of the world.

Personaly I rather {like the Bukarans & Nepalese Royalty} prefer the toughest, heaveyist, hardest, strongest & indeed least translucent of then all.

The rarer central inner black core. {The very dark green is also rather nice to but have only ever seen one speciemien.}

The commoner potentialy more jouvenile golds, yellows, oranges, lighter browns etc are very pretty with that lovely glow are much prefered by the Yemmenis, Turks etc.

I understand the Chinese "medicine men" also place vastly different values on the origin, type & colour of horn as well.

Its a Very in depth subject I think, I wish I knew more.

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