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I am in no way affiliated with this outfit, and if posting this note is in violation of board rules, I'd ask Lance to remove it, please.
Just passing along this info --
I have the good fortune to live a few miles away from Texas Knifemakers Supply -- www.texasknife.com -- and drop in there on occasion.
They are a source for relatively inexpensive mammoth ivory. They make knifegrips from it -- nominal dimensions 1.5" x 5" x 0.25" -- and a set is two pieces. But they wind up with a fair amount of leftover scrap, which I have found useful for tieblock inlay and other types of inlay. Most of it is very white, with little discoloration.
I was there a few days ago, rummaging through the mammoth ivory, when I came across some new stuff they have now -- it's a synthetic ivory, meant to imitate the mammoth ivory. It's quite dense, too. I couldn't help but think of Tusq as I was looking it over.
I bought a set -- 2 pieces 1.5" x 5" x 0.25" -- for $21. Not cheap, but if it works anything like Tusq, it's a bargain.
They also have a large variety of stabilized spalted woods. The stabilization process involves the infusion of some sort of epoxy-like material into the wood. It's very hard, and pretty heavy after this treatment. Not all that cheap, though -- about $30 for a 1" square by 5" piece. Still, I'm thinking that for scratch-built rosettes and that sort of thing, it has possibilities.
They also have a large variety of various exotic woods, synthetic materials, horn, antler, and some bone. The bone they have is Camel -- very white. A set of two pieces is $15. I reckon I could get at least a dozen saddles out of one set of grips. Dunno how it compares to cow bone, though.
Oh, and if you're into knifemaking, this is THE place :)
Best,
Michael
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