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If you could.....would you ?


sboiir

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Posted

All political correctness aside..... If someone handed you Ivory blanks--nut, saddle and pins for your guitar, would you do it ?

Please No political correctness. We all no the gig. Just talkin' story.

Posted

Well,

 

I guess a point can be made that you can't give them back to the Elephant or whale. If I could find out that they are from natural death and then harvested, I'd be fine. Don't know if they were poached. Prolly not I guess. Kind of like purchasing stolen goods. Can't do that either.

 

Aster

Posted

Well,

 

I guess a point can be made that you can't give them back to the Elephant or whale. If I could find out that they are from natural death and then harvested, I'd be fine. Don't know if they were poached. Prolly not I guess. Kind of like purchasing stolen goods. Can't do that either.

 

Aster

 

+1

Posted

Thank you for what appears "positive response". My wife has an ivory jewelery box she is willing to donate to the cause. That is the basis of my question.......

Would You ?

Posted

Thank you for what appears "positive response". My wife has an ivory jewelery box she is willing to donate to the cause. That is the basis of my question.......

Would You ?

Depending on how nice the jewelry box is....I don't know.

 

You CAN still get nuts, bridges and pins made from ivory LEGALLY. There is a stigma, but there are sources of "certified" ivory.

 

The question I would ask is what is the BEST sounding stuff to use, or what you think you might prefer. Just because it is rare and valuable does not make it the best to use.

Posted

 

The question I would ask is what is the BEST sounding stuff to use, or what you think you might prefer. Just because it is rare and valuable does not make it the best to use.

 

I think this is a key question, over the ethics of it. If its pure ethics I guess as the elephant is no longer around i wouild consider it, but i would be even happier if someobdy told me ivory products are now impossible to get no matter what i try.

Posted

it might as well be guitar part as a jewellry box as a set of false teeth now that its a jewellry box . if someone is dead against it being used for a guitar they would have to be dead against it being a jewellery box to the same degree . its still on the planet no matter what shape or form its in. only place it 'belongs' is on an elephants head .

Posted

Depending on how nice the jewelry box is....I don't know.

 

You CAN still get nuts, bridges and pins made from ivory LEGALLY. There is a stigma, but there are sources of "certified" ivory.

 

The question I would ask is what is the BEST sounding stuff to use, or what you think you might prefer. Just because it is rare and valuable does not make it the best to use.

 

 

Agreed, I am experimenting with kauila wood also as nut,saddled and pins. Will go with the one that produces the desired sound and response. Trial & error, or not. Thank you for your thoughts. The jewelery box has seen better days.

Posted

The use of the material would not deter me. I would be reluctant to hack up a nice jewelry box for that purpose though....RRod

 

PS, perhaps if I could see it, I would say hack it up... [thumbup]

Posted

NO... As long as there is sufficient demand for ivory in whatever form, the illegal supply side will continue butchering elephants to fill the void.

 

It's not about the already- defunct pachyderm, but about perpetuating the demand/supply cycle.

 

J/W

Posted

NO... As long as there is sufficient demand for ivory in whatever form, the illegal supply side will continue butchering elephants to fill the void.

 

It's not about the already- defunct pachyderm, but about perpetuating the demand/ supply cycle.

 

J/W

+1

 

As I've mentioned here before, the ivory and ebony L-5 style binding that I put on the headstock of my J-45 in 1970 was made out of old piano keys from some long-dead beast and long-gone African tree. I probably wouldn't do that today just because of the potential legal issues, independent of any moral considerations.

 

Having said that, it really is difficult to draw the line on re-purposing antique ivory. Using it while claiming to be a conservationsist is sort of like publicly claiming to be a vegetarian while chowing down on a steak in secret.

Posted

If that J. Box is kind of dicked up or isn't looking that pretty as a Jewelry box anymore then sure!! I can't cut up a good "anything" that someone has made into a good "something" with out remorse. I can cut up blank or raw stuff w/o hesitation.

 

Also, I would use any certified non poached anything. So I guess the answer is kinda a YES.

 

Aster

Posted

All political correctness aside.....

Please No political correctness.

 

Kinda tough to set PC aside on this topic. A few months back there was a flaming thread on this very subject and, needless to say, there are unwavering positions on both sides of the issue.

 

Short answer: yes, I have in the past and will again.

Posted

My local luthier tells me good bone is better than ivory but I wouldn't pass up the chance for some ivory just becauase it's so beautiful.

Posted

.

 

If I was looking to use ivory, and if I could acquire some that satisfied the legal requirements for use in the US, I would use it. Having said that, I haven't yet purchased an instrument with ivory appointments or purchased ivory parts.

 

 

.

Posted

Uuuuoooops you could be messing with the X-mas peace here.

 

I have an ivory saddle for my '68 SJ. It's made by an ancient hippie who runs a little groovy string-store and he found an old old vase on a second hand market. I've seen it - it has carved motives of castles under palms like from the colonial era in the twenties or something. I said yes when he offered me the material, but would never have done it if there was a contemporary underground hunter/sales situation behind it. I couldn't/wouldn't kill a fly – and then the Q. comes up : What about the elephants that pass away of natural causes – age, decease. Must their bone-teeth go to the great Jumbo-Gods and them alone ?

Posted

Uuuuoooops you could be messing with the X-mas peace here.

 

I have an ivory saddle for my '68 SJ. It's made by an ancient hippie who runs a little groovy string-store and he found an old old vase on a second hand market. I've seen it - it has carved motives of castles under palms like from the colonial era in the twenties or something. I said yes when he offered me the material, but would never have done it if there was a contemporary underground hunter/sales situation behind it. I couldn't/wouldn't kill a fly – and then the Q. comes up : What about the elephants that pass away of natural causes – age, decease. Must their bone-teeth go to the great Jumbo-Gods and them alone ?

 

 

:-k This is a great question. If there were a sure-fire way of certifying such ivory, I could feel comfortable buying it. People, however, being the cunning ba$tards that they are, always seem to find devious ways around due process. This includes falsifying documents, "hastening" death by "natural causes", and a host of other tricks such as bribing the officials charged with the certification process.

 

It still all boils down to demand. As long as people demand real elephant ivory, and are willing to shell out for it, the black market will continue to exploit the opportunity to make a buck using any and all means at its disposal.

 

So until the insatiable demand for ivory is at least partially extinguished, perhaps "deadfall" ivory does have to get sacrificed to the Jumbo Gods.

 

My $0.02/FWIW

:-s

J/W

 

 

 

[ [confused] Maybe we could just use the bones and teeth of our OWN ancestors for our guitar parts until we invent a decent ivory certification program... I find "Grampy" ivory gives much better bass response than "Grammy" tusk... don't you? ;) ]

Posted

Maybe we could just use the bones and teeth of our OWN ancestors for our guitar parts until we invent a decent ivory certification program... I find "Grampy" ivory gives much better bass response than "Grammy" tusk... don't you? ;) ]

 

Hey, that's a little too close for comfort although mine are plastic. We are an endangered species and under federal protection.

Posted

Hey, that's a little too close for comfort although mine are plastic. We are an endangered species and under federal protection.

 

[blush] Sorry, grampa. I actually thought of you after clicking in that reckless post. But say, :-k do you get the same tone and quality of speech with those plastic choppers that you would if they were the real McCoy? [confused]

 

Just askin'

[laugh]

 

J/W

Posted

Good Gawd folks! This is an inamminant object (a jewelry chest)....from a long- been- dead animal. What is the political and ethical problem with 're-cycling it' to another purpose? It's already been used. What is the problem with re-using it?

What has become of free-thinking America?????

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