A Conversation with William Sidmore, Alaskan Mammoth Ivory Hunter

William Sidmore, long time friend and fellow Ivory Carver and Hunter commented about an aspect of the jewelry making and working with Mammoth Ivory that I know well and have a tendency to take for granted.

William Sidmore You are doing a nice job polishing this fragile ivory, as it can discolor when overheated in the polish phase. Maintaining the color during sanding and polishing is a major aspect of this art. Love [the}orange color and {it}is one of my favorites. Any one may become a connoisseur in this wondrous ivory, as it comes in so many flavors, like this mango!

 Mammoth Ivory Creations I agree William, there are many aspects to working with Mammoth Ivory that run a very fine and fragile line between being dull or damaged. I start my sanding out at 80 grit sandpaper for the over all shaping of the piece, then I move to 220 grit paper for the the finer shaping and contouring of the item. Once I am happy with this, I move to 320, 400, 600 and sometimes even down to 1500 grit sand paper before polishing with Zam on a buffing machine that spins at 35,000 RPM.
   One of the aspect I love about working with Mammoth Ivory is how the wonderful colors come to light during the polishing faze. I tell my customers, "It is like Christmas every day in the studio, because I never know what I am going to end up with until the final polish." 
   If you are not into working with fast moving pieces of equipment or any of the finer aspects of lapidary work you can compare the experience to wetting a rock and watching to colors change.

  

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William Sidmore I use white Diamond (rough polish), and finish with Fabulustre from Rio Grande. Old system of polish, using a lot of polish to maintain a cool surface when in a production mode.

This all being said and done leads to a major problem that most people would never consider, that being the reflective properties of the ivory under the intense flash of the camera. Most of the Mammoth Ivory jewelry shown is not polished to perfection before photos are taken because of this exact issue. Therefor the true beauty of the jewelry is only realized when the new owner holds the warmth of the material in their own hands and sees their reflection in it's surface.

This is a prime example of the high polish and the problems it causes during the photo taking faze of the work. The camera focuses in on the reflective surface of the ivory and then blurred the chain details.

Oh the life of an Artist, lol.
LeeC
Mammoth Ivory Creations 

Mammoth Ivory Creations by MammothIvoryCreations on Zibbet