I was shown a very easy and quick method of getting the ivories out by a guy here in Montana a couple of years ago. You just hold one end of a short piece of 2x4 against the tooth, then whack the other end of the 2x4 with a hammer. Lifts them right out without any markings.

A little slicing is necessary for the final freeing, but it's a LOT easier than digging around the roots with a knife point.


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck