bleaching ivory....

cueaddicts

cueaddicts

AzB Gold Member
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What are you guys' opinions on this? Some of the top cuemakers have been doing this for awhile. Do you guys think it weakens the material, makes it more prone to cracking, etc.? Do you find that the majority of your customers prefer pure white ivory or do they appreciate the natural colors/hues?
 
cueaddicts said:
What are you guys' opinions on this? Some of the top cuemakers have been doing this for awhile. Do you guys think it weakens the material, makes it more prone to cracking, etc.? Do you find that the majority of your customers prefer pure white ivory or do they appreciate the natural colors/hues?
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.I bought a piece of a tusk, from the Werther Musium & when I cut it, I discovered that it had very pronounced brown grain in it. I contacted the Musium & since I had cut it, they wouldn't take it back. They did tell me how to bleach it though. You have to use bleach that can only be bought through a beauty shop supply house. If I remember, it had 40 % hydrogen peroxide. The Ivory was noticably whiter & I used it for inlays & ferrules with no ill effects...JER
 
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I am in the minority in that I love to see the natural grain and color hues.

Josh
 
I have not known many cuemakers who bleach their ivory. I have done it, but prefer to just use the ivory with it's natural color. The bleach/peroxide mixture that is sold in the beauty shop supply places does not weaken the ivory as long as you only use it for surface bleaching. Regular bleach will weaken the Ivory if soaked very long.
 
Yeah, don't want to use regular bleach at all. Not even on buck horn IMO which is less prone to cracking.

The key ingredient in the hair bleach is the peroxide. That is what whitens It, and It has been used for bleaching bone, horn, etc, for many years in several different crafts. I don't bleach Ivory at all, because I prefer not to. It's too prone to cracking as It is IMO. The ivory I use is never so discolored that It's such a huge issue worth the risk, and I don't mind a hair of character as long as It's not down right ugly. I have no idea If proper bleaching would have any ill effects, but I have bleached buck horn before with good results, although It's really strong and there is much less to worry about with It.

I don't really do Ivory collars and such, mostly just use ivory for inlay, and so I could probably get away with It, but Piece of Mind tells me not to bleach It, and so I haven't, but for all I know if done properly It may be alright. I couldn't say for sure.

Greg
 
Buster8001 said:
I am in the minority in that I love to see the natural grain and color hues.

Josh
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Josh, I am with you Sir, I love the look of figured Ivory for inlay material. For ferrules I do preffer White because of the distraction caused by the grain.
 
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