Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Care of oosic and fossilized ivories?

A friend has a knife with an oosic handle, and mine has a section of fossilized wooly mammoth ivory. I know mineral oil is the classic treatment for ivory, to keep it from drying out too much and shrinking too fast, and maybe checking. However, fossilized stuff is a bit different, or at least I think it is. How does one care for the fossilized stuff? His maker recommended Murphy's Oil Soap. Any insights here, info or suggestions?

I've heard that some knifemakers prefer to seal the pores of oosic, bone, and stag handles with crazy glue. Wipe on,
let dry, and buff smooth. Some other makers use epoxy. Not sure if this is done with ivory, though.

The super glue works on porous items like oosic or stellar sea cow bone. Mammoth ivory is to dense for the super glue to penetrate.
Do you know if the Mammoth Ivory was stabilized?

DT

In the interests of learning something new today, what is oosic? Never heard that term before.

It's the penile bone of a walrus. Almost too much information already, ain't it?! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I guess thats where the term boner came from. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Coined by Sic,an Eskimo, who spent too much time alone with the walruses

Sorry, I know wittness isn't my strong point <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the definition though, I learned something new today
Kevin

Yep, you can prick something with either end of your knife.

LOL!!

Thanks for the info (I think?) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Now that it's out in the open, our gun club gave one of the members an award for service. It was a handmade knife made with, if I've got this correctly, the fossilized penis sheath of a walrus for a handle. I only saw it briefly but it looked a bit like jade with a nice marbled figure to it.

Would oosic have a characteristic like that? I don't really remember the details of what it was, only that it was part of a penis from an arctic mammal like that.

Whatever it was, I gotta admit it was a very interesting and dare I say very beautiful material. (Oh no, is that bordering on penis envy? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

Jim, where do you live?

I've only seen a couple examples of that stuff, Jim, and they were nice, but rather plain looking. I'm guessing they
probably weren't fossilized, but I'd guess that this one might be:



Stockwell Knives.com


Others here know much more about oosic and such, I expect. While doing a search, I stumbled across a source for
oosic and other materials. Thought it was kind of interesting: Oosic Knife Handles

I'm going to go wash up now.

The knife was presented to a gunsmith in Ontario, OR, when I used to live in Fruitland, ID. That would have been sometime around the early or mid 90's.


Walker, that picture shows the same type of material or is very close. I'm thinking the one I saw had a definite greenish color hence my reference to jade, but memory being what it is it could very well have been brownish like your picture.

Oh well, no biggie either way. But definitely a unique material to work with.

Jim, in the stabilization process, which is usually done by vacuum, color dyes are often introduced. You can find all sorts of knife handle material with unnatural colors.

"Ode to an Oosik"... Author Unknown

Strange things have been done in the midnight sun,
and the story books are full -
But the strangest tale concerns the male,
the magnificent walrus bull!
I know it's rude, quite common, and crude,
Perhaps it is grossly unkind,
But, first glance at least, this bewiskered beast,
Is as ugly in front as behind...

Look once again, take a second look then,
you'll see he's not ugly or vile -
There's a hint of a grin in that blubbery chin,
and the eyes have sly secret smile...
How can this be, this clandestine glee,
that exudes from the walrus like music.
He know - there inside, beneath blubber and hide,
lies a splendid contrivance... the oosik!
"Oosik" you say, and quite well you may,
I'll explain if you keep it between us;
In the simplest truth, though rather uncouth,
"Oosik" is, in fact, his penis!

Now the size alone of this walrus bone,
would indeed arouse envious thinking.
It is also a fact, documented and backed,
there is never a softening or shrinking!
This, then, is why the smile is so sly,
the walrus is rightfully proud!
Though the climid is frigid, the walrus is rigid,
pray, why is not man so endowed??
Added to this is a smile you might miss -
Though the bull is entitled to bow,
The one to out-smile our bull by a mile,
Is the satisfied walrus cow!

I acquired an oosic in Goodnews Village AK last fall that is 23 inchs long and 2 3/4" by 2 1/2 " at the base. Must have been a fairly good sized walrus. It will go into knife handles.

Blackwater
Fossil is a pretty loose word when dealing with ivory and relates more to "not green" than an actual mineralization that would be a true fossilization. It is typically much harder and denser than fresh ivory and less prone to the movements that crack fresh ivories.

Mineral oil can do bad things to ivory and I prefer wax. Oil can turn black. I like Bri-Wax as it builds an incredible polish quickly and easily.

Oosik and other "fossil" bones are usually too open-pored unless filled with epoxy or superglue. I use a lot of both. I have never dealt with stablized material, that went through any of the various vacuum processes, to comment on them. I have made pastes of ivory dust and epoxy to fill cracks and gaps.

I have seen many naturally-colored oosiks that ranged from brown to dark green and even powder blue. The minerals in the soil stain the bone and ivory. I have some fairly big pieces of mammoth that looks like carmel-colored glass when polished.
art

Ironbender,....thanks for the poem, it's a real gem. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Here's my custom folder with oosic grips. It a fun conversation piece trying to get people to guess what it is, and their surprise when you tell them. My favorite line when they're trying to guess is, "squeeze it...feel it throbbing?" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />