Found in my grandmother’s belonging and lifted to me. Would love to know if the handles are made of ivory. Only markings are on the blade and say “carbon and chrome HENLEY & CO. GERMANY”
by kcbear_23
Found in my grandmother’s belonging and lifted to me. Would love to know if the handles are made of ivory. Only markings are on the blade and say “carbon and chrome HENLEY & CO. GERMANY”
by kcbear_23
3 Comments
Aren’t you supposed to be able to heat up a needle to test for ivory?
Plastic will melt but ivory won’t.
From what I can find on the internet, which is nothing apart from a verified vintage etsy store, it looks like they may in fact be real bone handles. Obviously can’t be 100% certain but judging by the quality of the knives I’d say they are legit.
Bone will have a visible grain running lengthwise when caught in a glare…
Ivory wether antique mastodon, or mammoth, and modern ivory as in elephant will have a crossing or diamond like grain where it curves for the shape of the handle, one way you can tell fossil ivory and elephant apart is by the measure of the angle of this grain.
Synthetics made to fake ivory or bone will have linear layers or no grain at all…