Young speaks on scrimshaw at Front Porch Chat

Drexel Young spoke at the July 10 Front Porch Chat at the Stutsman County Memorial Museum. Young spoke about the ancient art of scrimshaw and brought some of his pieces with their intricate and delicate designs to show the attendees. Members of the audience could see and feel examples of scrimshawed powder horns and a cribbage board made out of an elk antler, while Young explained the process involved in a craft that, as he said, “requires few tools but an enormous amount of time and patience.”

Young compared the line-drawing and ink technique of scrimshaw to the dot and ink (stippling) technique of tattooing. He said he uses an exacto knife to produce the outlines and line shading and various types of needles for the stippled areas. This produces cuts or holes in the horn, bone or other medium that are then filled with India ink (or sometimes colored ink). Then steel wool is used to work off the excess ink leaving the inked design. Young’s scrimshaw designs depicting eagles, fish, deer and other natural subject matter have become elaborate since he first began the art in college. He has done some of his hand drawings based on his photos, sometimes adjusting the pose for artistic presentation. Young said that now he sometimes uses a computer to scan the original drawings so that he can print out the pattern in a size that is convenient for the space he has to work in, speeding up the process.

The art of scrimshaw dates back to the mid 1700s when whalers engraved nautical designs on the teeth and bones of the sperm whale during their long hours of down time on the ships until the ban on commercial whaling. Eskimos had engaged in some primitive forms of the art on walrus tusk and bone for several thousands years before.

Although whale tooth ivory is the most prized medium for scrimshaw, walrus and elephant tusks are also utilized as a medium for the art. It became illegal to import or export ivory of any kind in the U.S. after 1972. Young said that estate sales can still sometimes be a source of elephant ivory, but he said he prefers to work on horn or antler. He buys some shed elk antlers on e-bay. Synthetic ivory is more readily available than the genuine product but is sometimes more porous and difficult to work with to get a sharp design. Young said many scrimshaw belt buckles and key chains for sale today are made of synthetic ivory. He told of a method to test for synthetic ivory by using a hot pin to make a tiny hole in the object. If the heat causes a melted spot, it is synthetic.

A member of the audience noted that the North Dakota Heritage Center has requested some of Young’s scrimshaw works to add to their display.

Tags: other events, diversions