Ivory grip blanks....what to do with them?

[krems]

About 18 years ago I purchased a set of ivory grip blanks that I was going to have fitted into a set of grips for a Colt Saa. What are the legalities on shipping these if I decide to do so. I think they are elephant ivory. I have no record of sale as they were a gun show find. I’ve read conflicting info on how previously purchased ivory is being treated. Anyone have the real info.?

[EMC45]

Be careful

[krems]

Been reading online about ivory. Makes me feel like a criminal for buying these blanks 18 years ago. It’s not illegal to own ivory but it better stay in my possession. I doubt I could even talk a grip maker into fitting these to my gun. I get the impression that if I want a set of grips made I’ll have to do it myself in the basement when it’s dark out. HaHa.....

[EMC45]

Yup, they have muddied the water so much with pre-ban vs. post-ban ivory. The last administration cracked down pretty hard on it. It would almost be guilty until proven innocent.

A shame because I know an older woman who has 100lbs or so of carvings and intricate sculptures all pre-ban ivory. She'll have a hard time "transferring" it to someone else.

[JimB..]

I suggest that if there is a grip maker that you want to work with that you call him and inquire about what he/she requires. My view of the law is largely irrelevant.

[Winger Ed.]

. I get the impression that if I want a set of grips made I’ll have to do it myself in the basement when it’s dark out. HaHa.....


That's what I'd do, I'd get some pieces of hard wood to learn and practice on before I jumped down on the ivory blanks.
Remember: A project like this is also the perfect reason to buy more power tools.

[Ickisrulz]

I would imagine a grip maker that works with ivory would be able to answer all your questions.

[bedbugbilly]

Kind of seep us informed on what you find out - in a hypothetical way. I was given a revolver many years ago by the widow of a friend of mine and the grips "appear" to be ivory - I just have never done the hot pin test on the underside of them. It may turn out that they aren't ivory but if they are, they would be pre-ban - the pistol does not require registration and I don't plan on selling it - it will be "passed on" but I would like to know as well just what the law says about such things. . . . . yeah . . . could make an inquiry to the correct agency but for some reason, I seem to have lost all respect for some of the agencies we used to have high respect for.

[OS OK]

Back in the day when I ordered this Colt SAA, I wanted fitted ivory. The smith had to send the Colt back east somewhere to have it fitted...then, the work around was to use Walrus Ivory.

https://i.imgur.com/9LAuVAw.jpg

It looks pretty but it doesn't do anything for the shooting grip...save yourself some buck$...if you want to shoot it go with something other...if you want an expensive wall hanger, well...there's Walrus Ivory.

[Love Life]

https://www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/ivory-ban-questions-and-answers.html

[SvenLindquist]

It is really silly. I can't go to a trap shoot in Kalifornia because my 1916 Ithaca single trap has an ivory bead front sight and the gun would be confiscated !

[NoZombies]

It is really silly. I can't go to a trap shoot in Kalifornia because my 1916 Ithaca single trap has an ivory bead front sight and the gun would be confiscated !

Well, that's not really true. It would be illegal to try to sell the bead itself, but owning ivory is still legal everyplace in the US as far as I know, some states just make it even harder (than federally) to buy or sell it. Federally, and every state law I've seen, (Including Kali, but I haven't read every state law, and there might be an exception) has exceptions for products that have ivory that is ancillary to the value of the piece. A shotgun with an ivory bead would be legal to sell anyplace the same gun would be with a brass bead. Most of the laws are written in such a way that if the ivory content is minimal, and doesn't add substantial value to the product vs the same thing without it, it's exempt from most sales bans.

So, a shotgun with an ivory bead isn't likely to have substantially more value due to the ivory bead. A pistol with ivory grips might be argued to have substantially increased value due to the ivory content of the grips, and might therefore be illegal to sell according to the laws.

I'm not a lawyer, but I do own a bit of ivory through inheritance and purchase (back when it wasn't illegal to do so) and so I've tried to keep up with the laws.

[Thin Man]

Interesting topic. About 10 years ago I was gifted a bag of take-off grips from a friend's estate. Big bag. Among this clutter were (2) pair of stocks for the 1911 frame, (2) pair of stocks for the S&W "N" frame, and (1) pair for the S&W "J" frame square butt. The estate executor thought these were plastic and joked about them as I placed the bag in my car. I only discovered they were not plastic after I got them home and had the time to look over them. No, I can't declare them as elephant ivory but they appear genuine "something" ivory from the growth rings visible from the bottoms of the pairs. This deceased friend had inherited them from his father (15 years before he passed) who was a professional man with expensive taste and no "junk" in his collection.

[Love Life]

If you can post pictures of the bottom of the grips, they can probably be identified as real or fake.

I love elephant ivory. There is nothing else like it. Fossilized walrus and mammoth ivory don’t have the same feel to me. Ivory is warm, feels alive, and even polished to a high grit is still very grippy.

I saw the ivory retardation coming, and purchased enough to last my life for projects I have in mind. It is well documented and none of it is for sale!

Elephant ivory can still be bought and sold legally as long as it falls under the rules. I posted the rules earlier.