Ivory Tusk for trade... in Tampa area

I have an early 1900's cigar cutter that was made out of a 9" tusk and sterling silver. I'm hoping to trade this for a basic cue. This piece has been in my family since the 1920's and has been in the USA since the 1960's. It has been stored in air conditioned homes over the last 40 years.

No part of it big enough around for use as a butt cap, but I'm sure someone who knows how to properly work with raw ivory can get several joint collars and ferrules out of this, and will also have inlay materials to work with... You can look at this as a two-way deal... use the ivory for several cue projects, and transplant the antique hand-made sterling silver cigar cutter part to a nice tusk-shaped piece of decorative wood you end up with a very cool cigar cutter that you can keep or sell....

The tusk is hollow for the first 4 1/2" and the outside wall gets thicker and thicker towards the bottom of the hollow portion. The tusk is completely solid for the bottom 4 1/2" and according to my cheapo postal scale, it weighs 7.2 oz by itself. The sterling silver piece weighs another 1.8 oz.

As you can see from the photos, the tusk is oval shaped, with outside diameter 1.35" at widest spot, and 1.13" across the narrow dimension at the same spot. At the 4 1/2" mark, those oval outer dimensions are 1.25" & 1.07"

I am hoping to trade this rare piece for a relatively basic cue with a little character... Ideal cue dimensions would be between 58-60" long, in the 18-19oz range and tip diameter in the 12.5 to 12.75mm range. Ideally, the cue would be made by whomever I end up trading with.

Time is not so much of an issue for me with this, and if you want to make a deal but don't have anything finished and unaccounted for at this time... I'm also open to providing you with a very basic build design I have prepared and waiting it out.

I would really prefer to do this deal in person and to eliminate shipping, but I also realize that dramatically limits my options, so I will entertain all offers. I live in Tarpon Springs, Florida and I can be found at Strokers in Palm Harbor pretty much every Tuesday night.

I do travel from time to time and my next planned trip is to Charlotte & Greensboro, NC in July 2015, with stops possible in Jacksonville FL and/or Atlanta if there's a deal to be made...

Again, I'm not in a big hurry with this... And I'm not even sure if there will be any interest in this... But you don't know if you don't put it out there, right?

PM me if you have any interest in doing a deal.

John T.

I hear you guys... and part of me agrees with everything that's been said. So I'll elaborate a bit on where I'm coming from...

This came from my step-grandfather's estate, and him and my grandmother met and were married pretty late in their lives, when they were in their 60's, back in the 60's. I was never really what you'd call close with him. Being a crusty old German vet who did not like to engage in much conversation with kids, he wasn't what you'd call the warm fuzzy type. Plus, I have a bunch of other really neat things from him, including a massive hand carved 1920's furniture set, antique wooden instruments, a very cool walking stick, some original photography (incl. WWII 35mm negatives) and authentic war memorabilia. Point being, there's no shortage of remembrance items for that side of my family in the house.

Several of you have asked about the value I place on it.... The only frame of reference I have dates back a little over 10 years ago when I shopped the cutter around some antique dealers in the Sarasota area and was told it was worth upwards of $400 retail, if someone were to put it in their store. And therein lies the rub. Two of the dealers I showed it to seemed genuinely thrilled to see it, but they also said they wouldn't put it in their inventory because of what it is. Ironically, one of them had some hand-carved ivory trinkets in her store, but said this real tusk is a bit "in your face" and would surely spark poaching discussions, which she felt were better to be avoided altogether. After that, I shrugged off trying to do anything with it and it ended up hidden in a box and basically forgotten for the last decade.

So, fast forward to now... On a bit of whim I thought this might be a better approach, bartering for a cue and offering it up as a source of raw materials to a group who does actually use ivory. And maybe I'd find a more interested and less skittish audience that way. Part of me was also looking to trade it for something I'd be inclined to keep and use. The cutter would live on with me as part of the incoming cue's story. Getting rid of it that way just feels more right to me... for the same reasons you guys are saying not to cut it up.

Having done some more research since posting this, I realize my perception of its value is more of an "antique value" rather than simple raw materials value.

All of that said, I'd sell it today for the $400 I was told it was worth 10 years ago. Then I would probably go on eBay and hunt for a decent McDermott C or D series cue (one with sharp points and no nylon wrap) or maybe even a Meucci road agent (I always wanted one of those, love that design).