If you treat your scrimshaw with care, it will give you many years of pleasure and may become a treasured heirloom. This material is also used for knife scales and handles and other pieces that get a lot of wear because it is tougher than ivory. Centuries of burial or immersion in cold seawater color this material a light tan to a deep brown or gray. Teeth are used whole, or they may be cut in to slabs or crosscuts, displaying a chatoyancy similar to tiger-eye or star gems. This is truly a fossil ivory, and is rarely found in large pieces suitable for scrimshaw.
Pieces often have a strong pattern or grain.
I also have a small selection of thicker elephant ivory pieces. This has all been obtained legally. I have not purchased any of this material for several years, since well before the import ban went into effect in 1990. When the stock runs out, it will not be replaced. Included are a few hair combs and thimbles, as well as some other carved or pierced pieces, a couple tusk hollows, and standard-sized pieces for pendants.