I thought I had a couple mammoth ivory sights. I let one soak all night in a mix of black tea and iodine..White as the driven snow ..still!..I'll try a few more days. Is there a place that has true ivory ? A lot of them say "ivory beads" but mine must be PVC !..j..

A gun dealer told me that he used amber shellac to age ivory beads.

I have a mammoth bead that I soaked in tea for a few days ,still white as snow, used Fiebing's leather dye a mix of burgundy and yellow. It turned out better but still not like a old ivory sight.

I put 2 more in the mix this AM. I'll see what a couple days does to them.The shellac sounds best..I'm familiar with Fiebings. I've use it to color stock finish mixes..Works great to get a darker brown if you need it..

I hope Rock Island sends my winnings out soon.

Mills..What did you end up winning ?...On the coloring of ivory ? beads..After the soaking in 50-50 mix of tea and iodine..and straight iodine...3 beads ended up with 3 different shades of color. I would not call any of them "yellowish or amber". 100% iodine colored one that matched my center bead well enough that it looks original...and it screwed right into the hole. The other 2 were lighter..but better than snow white. I have one that I know is mammoth..and I'll try the amber shellac on it..I'm guessing that some called "ivory" are really bone..

I'll report when they come and they are something worth bragging about. I have learned that the hard way. Anyway, 2 16s and a project 12