How to clean old elk ivory?

[Laelkhunter]

Hydrogen peroxide will chew off the organic material.

It will also bleach the brown color out of them which made them look plain and ugly.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I put mine in a small ziplock with some salt and carry it in my pocket. The salt acts somewhat like a mild abrasive and scrubs them clean. Also the salt prevents the attached tissue from getting smelly. I usually do this right after removing them from the skull and by the time I get home from the trip (usually a couple days later), they are clean and the brown marbling (stain) is intact. I tried the peroxide overnight once and it took all the color out of them.

 

[Spencerhunts]

[mention]HydeParkHunter [/mention] the pocket change trick is a long term solution. If you already boiled and got most of the meat off, I would expect a couple weeks plus. Like I said, I would use my pocket knife and scrape every once in a while to finish off the bigger pieces. [mention]Laelkhunter [/mention] mentioned salt in a bag worked in a short amount of time. Maybe give that one a try? I just left mine in my pocket until I liked them. The longer the shinier. I have one I just keep in a jacket for fun/“good luck”


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