Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
September 8, 2011

Question:

I read the articles on the Wire-Sculpture Blog about ivory, and was wondering that is there any specific test for checking the authenticity of camel bone craft.

-Irtiza in Karachi, Pakistan

Answer:

Whenever someone has a question about ivory or bone, I turn to our experts on those subjects, Faculty member Mary Bailey and her husband Joe who had this to say:

Bone is bone and camel bone is not that special. It is a more dense bone, highly favored by carvers because due to its density it has the weight and feel of elephant ivory and does polish up with a high gloss like ivory. Camel bone will still exhibit the tiny little pore openings that catch rouge and everything, just like cow bone.

Guitar makers like to use camel bone as the inset on the part of the guitar that the strings rest on, and to make guitar picks, etc. The same hot needle test will tell you it is bone since it will scorch and smell. If someone is trying to sell you something and keeps quoting that it is camel bone and wants a ridiculous price for it, then avoid it! True, some highly intricate carvings are done using camel bone, and in that case you are paying for the high level of creativity, not the material it is made from.

For all our all Pearl & Ivory Tips, simply click here: Pearls and Ivory.

Answer contributed by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
July 5, 2011

Question:

Dear Dale: Thank you for your clear teaching style; your directions are the best! I’ve been looking at the Pearl Link Bracelet video (one of the series of three) and I would really like to try it. Are the pearls called by another name? I don’t seem to find anything matching the description of the pearls you are using. I’ll keep looking, but a hint would really be helpful.

-Peggy in Mount Vernon, Washington

Answer:

You are very welcome Peggy, I teach on camera the same as I do in person. I am glad to hear that you find my instruction so clear!

The Pearl Link Bracelet was fun to come up with. Faculty member Mary Bailey and I were playing in my studio over Christmas break 2 years ago, she described what was in her mind’s eye and I reproduced it in wire. The pearls I used both then and now (in a lot of my designs) are actually custom-ordered by Wire-Sculpture! Between the mother-of-pearl disc links, I used 7x5mm Large Hole White Fresh Water Rice Pearls. Wire-Sculpture also carries the same size and shape large hole pearls in black, and both colors in a round shape, with large holes too! These pearls generally accommodate up to 18-gauge round wire (19-gauge square). Although I used mother-of-pearl disc beads, you can substitute about any disc-shaped bead you would like.

Here is a short video I made showing just how cool these pearls are!

Of course, if you already have some pearls that you want to use, check out this video from Mary Bailey and Charley Key: How to Ream a Pearl.

Answer contributed by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
April 7, 2011

Question:

I need advice on making the Pharaoh Ring. I’m using a very big flat pearl, it’s about 18mm wide, any ideas? Or maybe another ring style? I have all of your DVDs. Thanks!

-Ida in Tucson, Arizona

Answer:

Hi Ida! To make such a wide pearl into a ring, first take into account the size of the finger the ring is being made for. Place the pearl on the finger-is it wider than the finger? If so, then I would use a smaller item. If the pearl "just fits" the width of the finger, it can be used; however, the side bindings will be a bit off. You will have to plan the wraps for a smaller ring, so they lie on the sides of the finger (and might feel cumbersome between the fingers).

Use a cloth measuring tape to measure 2/3 of the finger – around the back and the two sides. Make the normal wire bundle, mark the center and then mark half of the distance you measured around 2/3 of your finger. Work the wraps backwards, beginning each at the 2/3 mark on each side of the center, wrapping back toward the center. Now continue making the ring as normal, except do not use the mandrel and mallet to round the wraps, as they will be on the sides of your finger! When locking the pearl into the frame, the lock-in wraps will go on the sides of the pearl, toward the back. Good luck! (Me, I’d use a smaller pearl or make a larger ring, like a size 12!)

Answer contributed by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
January 18, 2011

Question:

I have a stained, dirty piece of ivory. Can I clean it with toothpaste, a tooth brush and a little warm water? Ivory is basically teeth anyway!

-Pam in Mechanicsville, Virginia

Answer:

Hi Pam, I have to tell you that when I read your question, I could understand why you would think toothpaste would be an obvious choice to clean ivory with. However, at the same time, I grimaced, knowing that our Ivory Expert would scold me. So I posed your question to Wire-Sculpture Faculty member Mary W. Bailey who responded:

"Oh goodness, what a supposition. First of all, toothpaste has an abrasive in it…so don’t use it. A soft toothbrush would be fine to start with, but do not use water, since ivory and water are a bad combination. I would use some glycerin and work it gently to clean off the surface dirt. The glycerin will also help put oil back into the surface and loosen deeper dirt. Keep working the glycerin into the ivory and wipe it off between cleanings with a soft rag. I realize this is a general answer, since I don’t know what the item is: a bead, a carving, a tusk, or other ivory piece."

For more tips on Ivory, click our Ivory and Pearls blog category.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
October 14, 2010

Question:

I read your "how to" on authenticating ivory by the "checkering." I wire wrap some bone carvings (ox, cow or camel) and fossilized walrus tusk. Can you tell these from ivory? I do not want to mistakenly work with ivory. Thank you for any info you may have.

-Connie in Kissimmee, Florida

Answer:

For questions about ivory, I turn to WS Faculty member "Scrimshaw" Mary and her husband, Joe, who say:

Bone is very pithy, and you can see the pore holes in bone, such as cow, camel, ox and even deer, etc.

Ivory has cross-hatching or geometric patterns, and it is almost always solid so that you can polish it to a mirror shine. Bone does not, and will not take a buffing to a high polish without the pores actually grabbing the buffing compound, so that the pores show up as little black dots because they now are full of the buffing compound.

In the fossil walrus, if you have that center of "nutmeg" or "cracked ice" look, that is a dead giveaway for it being ivory. If fossil, it will usually be a light cream in color, etc. and not a stark white.

If you are buying carved material, it is most likely bone. If someone is telling you that it is ivory, but the price is too reasonable, it is not ivory. People will sell you bone for a cheap price and swear it is ivory, but not the other way around.

-Mary & Joe

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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