Hilt material

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by thomas hauschild

Looks a little bit like the core of walrus-ivory. But these tooth are straight and it will be really difficult to make a grip with a 90° curve out of it. I saw walrus tusk with 1 m length and 10 cm diameter ( they are mostly oval but 8cm on the short side and 10 as the longer diameter ) such a big tusk will be enough for a keris hilt. Difficult to see from the pictures if the area of the grip near the blade will show „outside structure“ of the tusk or not. Maybe a hilt made of 2 parts ? Take a look at pictures of Yatagan with walrus grips. The „ears“ of that grips will show the outside structure and the area near the tang will show the core grain.

Hello Thomas,

Thank you for your insight. Walrus ivory is something that came up my mind also. But at first I thought it would not be possible because of the (90 degree bend) shape of the hilt.
I can't see any marks that the hilt had been made by two different parts.

When looking at the marked part of the hilt in the added photo, you see a kind of 'rougher' surface. I would say if it should be whale tooth ivory or walrus ivory, this part should have been smooth, and not with a kind of porous area?

Kind regards,
Maurice