Scrimshaw

The widespread carving of scrimshaw was enabled when the 1815 publication of the journal of U.S. Navy Captain David Porter disclosed both the market and the source of the whale teeth, causing a surplus of whale teeth that greatly diminished their value and made them available as a material for ordinary seamen.

Early scrimshaw was done with sailing needles or other sharp implements, and the movement of the ship, as well as the skill of the artist, produced drawings of varying levels of detail and artistry.

Typically, readily available pigments onboard a whaleship like candle black, soot, or tobacco juice were used to bring the etched design into view.

Originating in an era when sperm whales were plentiful, only to be hunted to near collapse, scrimshaw is no longer an artform utilizing an easily renewable animal resource, but one that is susceptible to contraband.

The Endangered Species Act and international conventions restricted the harvest and sale of ivory in an effort to bolster populations of ivory-bearing animals.

Scrimshanders and collectors acquire legal whale teeth and marine tusks through estate sales, auctions and antique dealers.

To avoid illegal ivory, collectors and artists check provenance and deal only with established and reputable dealers.

Bone items are even more fragile (more fibrous and porous) and may be treated the same way: with a light clear mineral oil.

Professional conservators of art and historic artifacts generally recommend against applying any type of dressing (like oil or wax) to organic objects such as whale ivory.

For example, Herman Melville, in Moby-Dick, refers to "lively sketches of whales and whaling-scenes, graven by the fishermen themselves on Sperm Whale-teeth, or ladies' busks wrought out of the Right Whale-bone, and other skrimshander articles".