shaving materials, ethics and answering critics

My first duty station was Kodiak Alaska. Everybody stationed on Kodiak is tempted with hunting a Kodiak Brown Bear. I was, and after learning to shoot in basic with an M16, 1911 and Remington 1917 line throwing rifle was wisely outfitted with a lovely 98 Mauser in ought six. I bought a license and tag
and met a local guide who took me out free scouting the population. Just getting into the back country was exhausting. We finally made a afternoon camp near a big grass meadow. This stunning and rare blue phase male came out eating grass, grubbing and enjoying the sunshine. I set up my shot after a slow stalk around the meadow edge.
We waited for the breeze to settle and he turned to present a shoulder shot in my Lyman peep site. Then the damned bear rolled on his back and did this wiggle like a big happy dog before sitting up offering a neck shot. I had my finger depressing the two stage trigger and lowered my rifle. My guide
understood and we shook hands on my once in a lifetime 'hunt.'
A new apartment maintenance guy finally fixed our singing toilet. He decided my ivory colored brush was real and made a ignorant and snarky comment. I walked to the china closet and pulled out a real ivory carving. Then I gave him hell with the hard and depressing facts about the collapsing numbers of elephants and the exotic metals in his cellphone mined in Africa also impacting the peoples and native flora and fauna. The maintenance supervisor arrived and rescued him. I heard her telling him outside arguing with me without facts is like walking around with his fly open; and oh, yours is.

Ivory, tortoise shell, black horn, staghorn and many others are still found in vintage shaving items. I imagine somebody has a rhinoceros horn or coral out there and the shed antlers of Scottish elk are in a UK brush. People will make issue over these. At best the argument goes even faux materials encourage the desire for the real thing like a gateway drug or some such reasoning.
The facts, if people researched are that tortoiseshell became so popular demand outstripped even that overexploited supply very early and the majority of even vintage items are a faux material. Staghorn's exportation was long ago banned and black horn has seen ups and downs in sustainable availability. Ivory is still a critical issue and my own greater L.A. area one of the prime illegal markets.
History has shown when a cheaper, more available faux material is made available in time it can reduce the pressure on the natural resource.

So, should you encounter well intentioned ignorance over a vintage or current faux material be educated, be armed with the facts. My small ivory was in fact auctioned as a legal pre ban item for a effort to rescue a circus elephant being abused in a small fly by night outfit and send her to an elephant refuge in California.

I really, really want a Paladin ivory and ebony lotus someday. Damn, but they are handsome pieces.

Not all ivory comes from endangered species. Cervids (deer, elk and related species) shed their antlers yearly, so staghorn is no big deal. Mouthy maintenance people are not an endangered species, unfortunately. It is not his place to tell others how to live their lives. His name wasn't Ralph Minuteman by any chance, was it?

There is also fossil ivory and walrus. People of all political, moral and religious or blue generic stripe are so busy being right they never live a life to be educated. In Louisiana a private shooting reserve provided refuge for what have been identified as a tiny surviving population of the extinct ivory billed Woodpecker. I could never bring myself to shoot a bird: interrupting the thrill of flight seems so cruel. but I am sure glad those guys kept that patch of land .

In addition to fossil and walrus ivory, there is also synthetic ivory. Ivory is just tooth enamel from a really big critter, such as a walrus, elephant or hippo. Ivory substitutes were developed using tooth enamel powder from other animals mixed with resin. This is sometimes called bonded or cultured ivory. It feels cool to the touch, yellows with age, and has the heft of real ivory. It was developed long ago as a much more affordable substitute for the genuine article, even before the dramatic increase in poaching. Ivorex and TruIvory are two brand names I remember. Ultra ivory and Elforyn are others. Mostly these are sold made into pistol grips, but it might be possible to source turning stock to make into razor and brush handles. Paper micarta also works well, as it has a grain just like real ivory.

I had both real ivory and Ivorex on a 1911 Navy and 2nd generation SAA and couldn't tell any difference.

I have a pair of vintage 100 year old CV Heljestrand straights, one in ivory and one in hawkswing tortoise.  They are quite old so I don't think it adds to any danger for current animals.  I also have a custom razor from Robert Williams in pre ban 1970s ivory with a custom scrimshaw on it, and I can understand why that razor may bother some people.

The problem some people have with antique ivory is that recently poached ivory is being passed off as pre-ban material. All it takes is a bribe to the right official and bogus paperwork and voila, pre-ban goods. From what I can see, the focus is on exports to the Far East, but the over zealous are trying to ban the sales of all things ivory. For small items, it won't matter. Give away the item for free and charge$200 for shipping and handling, like eBay.