Had a friend tell me this morning there is supposed to be one small ivory bone in whitetail deer foot?? He was going to check with a native american friend of his and get back to me. Said he was given one years ago by this friend..Apparently there is a small ivory bone in the leg? hoof area? that natives used for an awl or sewing needle?? If that is so?anyone here ever heard of or saved one these bones?? I have never heard of such a thing.
Did google search and see where some use little toe bones for jewelry.. Didn't see anything about something being considered ivory.

Mac

Sorry but I've never heard of such a thing and doubt there is. Would like to see it for myself.

Me either

Ivory is dentine which is found in teeth and tusks, so I really doubt it would be found in deer hooves

Nothing like that in the foot area. Just regular bone, cartilage, and the hoof "shell". Maybe he was thinking the upper canine teeth some seer have?

There is a "needle" bone in the front leg of deer. There are video's on You tube showing how to recover them.
It is not ivory just bone.

If there is, my dog has eaten many. She loves to chew on a deer foot.

I bet this is what he was thinking of. Just a bone, but can be used as a needle.

I'm thinking this too not ivory just a bone used as utensil.

Mac

Monster Toms is right on. Here is a link to a picture of what the bone looks like

https://www.etsy.com/listing/183583...=deer+bone+needle&ref=sr_gallery-1-4

There are quite a few bones in deer and other animals that have value and can be made in to useful primitive tools. There is a market for them, though some what limited.

As said, just a bone. I have near 3 dozen in the bottom of a gallon jar that I make deer hoof juice in.
And it smells, well, ripe. Gray fox seem to love it.
Never thought about saving the bones that eventually fall out of the hoof.
I do save the nicer hoofs to do inlays and such.

There is a bone in there foot that can be used for a needle but surly not ivory, just a bone, thought I had a pic but guess not. Bob

The ivory thing is a native term. I had a woman looking for it a few years ago. I don't know why, but I gave her all the feet we had that year.

Elk have 2 ivory teeth.

Cool. I have found bones like that, from whitetails apparently and never knew what they were.

Keith

They make real good awls. I've never tried drilling one for a needle, though. My flintknapping isn't good enough to make a drill that small.

I've got a book somewhere that says up to 10% of whitetail bucks have the same two Ivory teeth like elk have. Seems I remember it saying the farther south the more the percentage. I've never seen any, but can't say that I've ever looked????

The article I read said .01% had them.

Anyone ever find an ivory tooth in a deer?

Well I figured it out and went back showed the older friend that told me about the bones..He said he had talked to his old native friend and it was indeed the right bones.. I guess from what he said his native friend considered the small ball joint what he was calling Ivory..So as someone stated above it was a native thing to call some bone Ivory and it not necessarily being like dental Ivory.

Here are the two I cut out in the hoof area by what I would call dew claws on a dog. Not cleaned up as pretty as some of the pics others posted..
Don't care that their not true ivory I've always found things like this interesting. Is why my friend mentioned it because he know I'm always messing with stuff like this..One more thing for me to show the little kids at show and tell



Mac