Ed asked: "Greetings, A customer is considering having her keyboard restored, which in this case, means a new set of ivory or something other than plastic. I heard, several years ago, of alternatives such as walrus tusk, certain cow-bone, etc. being introduced to the piano market. What, if anybody cares and knows to tell, is the performance of these alternatives? This is for a piano teacher, the keys will be used a lot. thanks," Ed, There are several options: 1. Two piece Ivory, which is the traditional "look". 2. One piece Ivory, which was seen on upscale pianos, (usually European, but also 7' & 9' Yamahas). Both are available. I do the two piece type. Rick Wheeler does the One Piece Ivory. 3. Beef bone, which is very porous and is a bear to keep clean, because of the porosity. 4. Imitation Ivory, which to my eye is hideous, but there are those who like that look. Vagias makes that stuff and I suspect there may be other makers. There is one "imitation ivory" that is favored by the scrimshaw group. That stuff looks pretty good, but does not come in sheets like we need them. (as far as I know<G>) If Ivory Tusks have a serial number on them, they can be bought and sold, under strict conditions. I don't know what those conditions are. The prepared Ivory is pretty expensive, but the real cost is in the labor to install the stuff on keys. I hope that helps. Joe Garrett, R.P.T. Captain of the Tool Police Squares R I -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110112/75940b15/attachment.htm>
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