Comments

• a New York City✭✭✭✭

  August 2006 Posts: 800

  can you post a picture?

  Www.alexsimonmusic.com
  Learn how to play Gypsy guitar:
  http://alexsimonmusic.com/learn-gypsy-jazz-guitar/
• Elliot Madison, WisconsinNew

  August 2006 Posts: 551

  Is that Samson the player, or Samson the poacher you are talking about?
• Duozona Phoenix, AZNew

  August 2006 Posts: 159

  Oh boy, this one could get bad.
  
  Im sure its faux elephant right nelson?

  http://www.hotclubofphoenix.com
• nelson New

  August 2006 Posts: 4

  Samson the player. i'll post a pic when sometime later (it's at home).
  
  naw, it smells too much to be faux. it's real ivory ...

  -nellie
• CalebFSU Tallahassee, FLModerator Made in USA Dell Arte Hommage

  August 2006 Posts: 557

  Hey Nelson, You're not the Nelson that goes to Florida state and plays Classical and Jazz are you??

  Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
• nelson New

  August 2006 Posts: 4

  nope, i'm in washington at the moment but live in california.

  -nellie
• CalebFSU Tallahassee, FLModerator Made in USA Dell Arte Hommage

  August 2006 Posts: 557

  Hahaha, I didn't think so but the Nellie made me think again.

  Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard.
• Bohemian State of Jefferson✭✭✭✭

  August 2006 Posts: 303

  I have worked with ivory for years.. Never had a piece that smelled unless you were cutting it, grinding or burning it.
  
  Are you sure it's ivory. Does it have visible grain lines, or tiny dark flecks
  If it has dark flecks...could be bone... and a source of bacteria...
  
  If you want ( at your own risk) soak it in some mouthwash...
  or a tiny amount of bleach in a glass of water..
  
  Be sure to air dry it for at least a day after soaking for 15 minutes.. again
  at your own risk.
• Bob Holo Moderator

  August 2006 Posts: 1,252

  It's probably Tagua nut. A lot of what is sold as Ivory is Tagua nut and they're not uncommon. Does it have a slightly brownish discoloration in the center of the pick? That's a dead giveaway - the center of the Tagua nut has a void in it and the areas surrounding that void are dark.
  
  Acutally - I love Tagua picks - they've been used since long before any of us were born. Cheap, renewable - and they play great. My two favorite natural materials are Coconut and Tagua. Both make great picks, IMHO better than Ebony/Rosewood.
  
  Post a picture and I may be able to tell you.

  You get one chance to enjoy this day, but if you're doing it right, that's enough.