Keris with elephant-headed blade.

[A. G. Maisey]

This advice is not from me, it was given me many years ago by a recognised authority in museum restoration & conservation, I'm only passing it on.

"Do not use linseed oil on ivory, ivory is a very dense material, linseed oil will not penetrate ivory, but it can cause discoloration & other damage.
The oils to use on ivory are high quality mineral oils, oils like medicinal paraffin."

Linseed oil used correctly can be beneficial for wood, but must not be used on ivory.

In fact, my personal experience is that I have never had much luck with closing up a crack in ivory.

In Indonesia there is a saying:-

"Tiada gading tanpa retak" = "There is no ivory without a crack"

This is understood as:- "Nothing is perfect."

[Athanase]

Since I received it, the ivory has given way.

In fact, the handle had already been completely broken in two (or even three pieces), then glued back together. And it might not have been the first time it had been glued in that spot, because on the side I can see an older repair with a small ivory nail to help hold the two glued parts together.
On one side there's also a missing piece that's been filled with a piece recarved from bone.
Now that I've removed the two parts of the handle, I'm thinking of trying to remove the old glue with acetone and then attempting a clean re-glue using the glue we use for fossils at my work (acrylic glue: Paraloid B72).

[A. G. Maisey]

I thought that might have been the case when I followed the cracks.

I have repaired more than a few hilts in many different materials, my adhesive of choice is 5 minute Araldite. The joining surfaces must be absolutely clean & dry, I like to roughen the joining surfaces with cabinet paper or a sharp pointed tool before applying the adhesive & this adhesive can be tinted with artist's powder colour. Hold firmly in place by hand until the adhesive sets, before that adhesive hardens I go over the hilt using a 2x or 3x loupe & dentists picks and clean away any excess adhesive. Sharpened bambu sate sticks are also good for this purpose.

Re roughening surfaces, it is best to leave the one or two millimeters adjoining the visible edge of the crack without roughening in order to make it easier to get a tight fit of those visible edges.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Athanase

Since I received it, the ivory has given way.

In fact, the handle had already been completely broken in two (or even three pieces), then glued back together. And it might not have been the first time it had been glued in that spot, because on the side I can see an older repair with a small ivory nail to help hold the two glued parts together.
On one side there's also a missing piece that's been filled with a piece recarved from bone.
Now that I've removed the two parts of the handle, I'm thinking of trying to remove the old glue with acetone and then attempting a clean re-glue using the glue we use for fossils at my work (acrylic glue: Paraloid B72).

Please show us the result! Maybe also pics of the broken hilt.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

This advice is not from me, it was given me many years ago by a recognised authority in museum restoration & conservation, I'm only passing it on.

"Do not use linseed oil on ivory, ivory is a very dense material, linseed oil will not penetrate ivory, but it can cause discoloration & other damage.
The oils to use on ivory are high quality mineral oils, oils like medicinal paraffin."

Linseed oil used correctly can be beneficial for wood, but must not be used on ivory.

In fact, my personal experience is that I have never had much luck with closing up a crack in ivory.

In Indonesia there is a saying:-

"Tiada gading tanpa retak" = "There is no ivory without a crack"

This is understood as:- "Nothing is perfect."

Hello Alan,

This crack in a tumbok lada hilt from ivory I've closed with a one week bath in linseed oil. The crack was opened for ca. 3 mm, now my fingernails can't fit inside anymore.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

As I said Detlef, my comment was not my advice, it was advice given to me a long time ago by a lead conservator who had an extremely impressive resume. This man was heavily relied upon by a couple of major museums.

I have never tried linseed oil on ivory.

Looking at your hilt that has come together I might give it a try on something unimportant, I've got a lot of ivory, I can probably find something with a crack that I'd be prepared to try it on.

Tell me, was your linseed oil boiled oil or raw oil?

Did you demount the hilt before soaking?

If you demounted, did you clean out the tang hole & tang before remounting?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

As I said Detlef, my comment was not my advice, it was advice given to me a long time ago by a lead conservator who had an extremely impressive resume. This man was heavily relied upon by a couple of major museums.

I have never tried linseed oil on ivory.

Looking at your hilt that has come together I might give it a try on something unimportant, I've got a lot of ivory, I can probably find something with a crack that I'd be prepared to try it on.

Tell me, was your linseed oil boiled oil or raw oil?

Did you demount the hilt before soaking?

If you demounted, did you clean out the tang hole & tang before remounting?

Hello Alan,

The linseed oil I used was cold pressed, not boiled. The hilt wasn't demount, I had noticed that the crack before became bigger and I got the impression that I needed to do something. Frankly said, it was the first and only time that I used this method on ivory. This is now some years ago.

Regards,
Detlef

[Athanase]

If it works with linseed oil, I imagine it could also work with the mineral oils Alan mentioned.

The advantage is that they are colorless and would preserve the whiteness of the ivory.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Athanase

If it works with linseed oil, I imagine it could also work with the mineral oils Alan mentioned.

The advantage is that they are colorless and would preserve the whiteness of the ivory.

I guess it's like this! But I can assure you that the colour of the ivory hasn't changed by the bath.

BTW, very nice keris! Congrats!

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I guess it's like this! But I can assure you that the colour of the ivory hasn't changed by the bath.

BTW, very nice keris! Congrats!

I had a nice piece of very white hippo ivory that I yellowed with linseed I wasn't thinking For already yellow ivories I cannot tell any visible difference. I have tried to stick to mineral oil after that mistake.