Below is a link to a beautiful handled turned by Eden Bromfield. I love the white accent he used for his handle. In his post he said that the white is 'white mammoth tusk'. I tried googling elephant tusk and it's quite expensive.

Is there an alternative that I can use as a white accent for my rod handles?

Thanks.

Oops....forgot the attachment ;-)

[fishingphotos.net]

Most knife making supply houses have alternative ivory materials. They would probably by my first avenue for sourcing something like this.

And, white/marble colored acrylic wouldn't be a bad choice either.

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There are bakelites and other plastics that are very close to ivory.

Thank you for the quick response! I will stop by a knife shop and search for other plastics!

[www.google.com]

First that is awfully white for mammoth ivory so I question that?? But what do I know I'v only seen pictures of it. But Don't overlook cow, beef, lamb, bones, femurs-etc. Get them at a real butcher shop that breaks down the whole animal and pick your sizes that are close to your project size just a bit bigger then you need so you can turn them down, Give them to your dog he will clean them up for you for free!!, Then boil them quickly about 3-4 minutes and let them sit in the water to cool, If you boil them to long they will get Brittle, They are already hollow with marrow in them clean them out, or let the dog do it, YOU DO HAVE A DOG RIGHT? { LOL} You will have to epoxy an arbor in them, they turn and polish up real nice and white then seal it with Ca glue, tung oil, whatever UV won't discolor. You can lightly polish them again lightly with 1500-2000 or finer grit micro paper if you so choose. Surprisingly they are used in a lot of hunting knives. As well as Antlers which could be another opion?Their only brown on the outside that would be removed after you turn them down, Just google antler dog chews just a bit more pricey, If you want an aged look, Bone will take an oil-stain. Just a few more options to throw out their for you, And they're real cheap! If they weren't so cheap to buy. I would send you box of them that my weimarainer has already cleaned out, They lay around here like land mines and hurt like he** when you step on them at night! Don't buy the smoked ones at pet stores as they are too brittle from the heat in the smoking process I won't even give them to my dog because of that, If they have fresh frozen,That would be fine but just cost you more then your butcher, Tight Lines and enjoy Jaa

Here's the pure white acrylic acetate that I've used as thin accents...

[www.beartoothwoods.com]

[www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2016 10:28PM by Jerry Poindexter.

Wow! You guys are rock! This is the info that I needed! Thank you Roger and Jerry for the acrylic acetate blocks!

Jay I don't have dogs but I have a couple of kids who might be able to help me chew the bones. Lol. Joking aside I thank you for the info on antlers and animal bones. Gonna give this a try sometimes. In the meantime I will practice with these acrylic blocks first.....

Thinking white acrylic for accent and some of the more exotic colored blocks for butt caps!

Here goes!

Tight lines!

Look up South American vegetable ivory or the African Molala nut.
Both are eco friendly, hard,can take a dye or be sealed and very nice to work with.
Inlays,trim rings,winding checks can all easily be made with them.

A buddy of mine reminded me that the pool cue industry has not used ivory for many years. Places that supply materials to repair or build pool cues will have the materials they have developed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2016 03:24PM by Spencer Phipps.

Museums sometimes are forced to sell their assets. Keep an eye open for a museum selling a stuffed Dodo bird. You could use the bird's bill for an inlay and sell its feathers to exclusive fly tyers.

Wow! So many options! Thanks guys!

Jerry I just saw your acrylic-accented butt sections. Wow! That's some fine work!

A common alternative to ivory is micarta. Commonly used for knife handles and can be ordered from many knife supply stores on-line. Comes in white and various other colors and is fairly cheap.