Any Experience with Elforyn Super Tusk?

[joamo]

Has anyone any experience using Elforyn Super Tusk for straight razor scales? I don't have any on hand but may be ordering some 1.5 mm thick blanks soon.
How does it compare visually to ivory? Any issues working or finishing it?

 

[Doc226]

Never heard of it, looks very nice, they claim it is good for knife handles, should be OK for razor as well.

I tried some imitation ivory a while back, it was very bendy when it got razor scale thin

 

[alex1921]

I have a razor with them, no way I would mistake those scales for ivory.

 

[Doc226]

I have a razor with them, no way I would mistake those scales for ivory.

Pics needed

 

[alex1921]

HG razor. I think the maker of the razor described it best in his listing, softer than real ivory.

 

[joamo]

HG razor. I think the maker of the razor described it best in his listing, softer than real ivory.

View attachment 1931816

View attachment 1931817

@alex1921 could you tell me the thickness of those scales. You've said they are softer than ivory, how does the rigidity compare? Would it be comparable to say an acrylic of the same thickness or more flexible?

 

[Legion]

1.5mm seem pretty thin for scales, unless it is as stiff as real ivory. The acrylic I use is 3mm.

 

[joamo]

1.5mm seem pretty thin for scales, unless it is as stiff as real ivory. The acrylic I use is 3mm.

I agree.
I have some of the Elforyn and another substitute, Arvorin, on the way. That has a stated thickness of 2.3 mm.

 

[Legion]

I agree.
I have some of the Elforyn and another substitute, Arvorin, on the way. That has a stated thickness of 2.3 mm.

I suspect the 1.5mm stuff is intended for inlays and lamination. Guitar fret boards, piano keys, and so on.

 

[alex1921]

@alex1921 could you tell me the thickness of those scales. You've said they are softer than ivory, how does the rigidity compare? Would it be comparable to say an acrylic of the same thickness or more flexible?

Around 2.6mm. Definitely flexible when you press in the middle. Would be easier to judge if it was a loose piece.
Pretty scales.

 

[Doc226]

@Steve56

Steve, what was the material we tried a while back?

 

[joamo]

The Elforyn Super Tusk Piano Key Tops, set of 4, were ordered from Atlassupplies on eBay. Based in Illinois, they are the North American distributor of Elforyn products produced in Germany. They were shipped in a bubble envelope with no additional internal packaging. Cost for the 4 pieces was 23.50 USD, delivered.

Measurements were 1 in (25.4mm) by 6.125 in (155.5 mm) and 3 were .06 in thick (1.5 mm) and one was .07 in (1.77 mm.) The surfaces were covered in lengthwise grooves from the machining process. To me, it felt like a strip of bamboo. It is a slightly off white and not the more yellowish, ivory color, we normally associate with the natural material. There was a fair amount of flex but less than expected. The ?Schreger lines? were not readily apparent at this point.

I chose one blank and scraped with a single edge blade and lightly sanded. The Schreger lines became more apparent as the surface smoothed out. I'm happy with the lines visually as they are both complex and flowing and reasonably comparable to ivory. I'll try my best to capture the lines in a pic but they are subtle.
The lines, ignore the color:

Surfaces as they arrived:

Flex:

Elforyn also offers Elforyn White, which I believe would not have the Schreger lines and Elforyn Ivory Grained whose stock photo shows the more yellowish color but with less defined streaks?

A few things I may experiment with would be to see if the material would take a stain or dye to give it a more traditional ivory color, although white is entirely acceptable. Possibly adhering a thin G10 liner to improve the rigidity.

I'm still awaiting the Arvorin. It was purchased from Amazon and shipped from China. I'll do a similar report in this thread when it arrives.

 

[joamo]

Shortly after posting the above the Arvorin Ivory Substitute Piano Keytop arrived, ordered from Amazon at 8.99 a pair with 6.49 shipping. I ordered 2 sets and the shipping didn't change. They arrived, shipped from China, taped in bubble wrap inside a poly envelope.

Size was .90 in by 6 1/16 in and .08 thick. Color is more like a cream than off white and not a stereotypical ivory color but acceptable. The blanks all have a bow from shipping and hopefully they will relax. The flex is a tad more rigid than the Elforyn.

The surface came much smoother and appeared to have micropores. With a little scraping and sanding it had a smooth, shiny surface. It would take much less effort to finish these than the Elforyn would.

Now onto the Schreger line approximations. Nothing like the stock photo and nothing like ivory. I'll post up some pics but if I were marketing these I would call them a bone substitute instead of ivory.


Color comparison:

Stock Photo:

Best figure:

What figure:

Between the 2 I would much rather use the Elforyn and may try a thicker slab. They do offer a .125 thick in a 2 by 6.

I think the Arvorin blank may just be rigid enough for scales and will try them first. If it doesn't work out, I'll have lots of wedge material.

I'll post more when I've made some scales.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I try to get scales at or just less than 3 mm which ~0.125 inch thick. I would go for the 0.125 inch.

 

[LJS]

The flex you show is too much and what I have experienced with sheets of synth ivory. If you plan to use for razors scales I’d suggest some kind of backing/liner for better rigidity. It will be interesting if that takes any kind of stain or coloring….although I think color is fine anyway

 

[Doc226]

The Elforyn Super Tusk Piano Key Tops, set of 4, were ordered from Atlassupplies on eBay. Based in Illinois, they are the North American distributor of Elforyn products produced in Germany. They were shipped in a bubble envelope with no additional internal packaging. Cost for the 4 pieces was 23.50 USD, delivered.

Measurements were 1 in (25.4mm) by 6.125 in (155.5 mm) and 3 were .06 in thick (1.5 mm) and one was .07 in (1.77 mm.) The surfaces were covered in lengthwise grooves from the machining process. To me, it felt like a strip of bamboo. It is a slightly off white and not the more yellowish, ivory color, we normally associate with the natural material. There was a fair amount of flex but less than expected. The ?Schreger lines? were not readily apparent at this point.

I chose one blank and scraped with a single edge blade and lightly sanded. The Schreger lines became more apparent as the surface smoothed out. I'm happy with the lines visually as they are both complex and flowing and reasonably comparable to ivory. I'll try my best to capture the lines in a pic but they are subtle.
The lines, ignore the color:View attachment 1933394

Surfaces as they arrived:View attachment 1933395

Flex:View attachment 1933396


Elforyn also offers Elforyn White, which I believe would not have the Schreger lines and Elforyn Ivory Grained whose stock photo shows the more yellowish color but with less defined streaks?

A few things I may experiment with would be to see if the material would take a stain or dye to give it a more traditional ivory color, although white is entirely acceptable. Possibly adhering a thin G10 liner to improve the rigidity.

I'm still awaiting the Arvorin. It was purchased from Amazon and shipped from China. I'll do a similar report in this thread when it arrives.

That’s for the detailed post.

That seems like too much flex for scales.

 

[Steve56]

@Steve56

Steve, what was the material we tried a while back?

Just saw this - for some reason no notification or I missed it. I believe that was Elforyn that was bendy.