racevw112 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Has anyone here ever polished shark teeth? I was going through some of my old non-fossil stuff and found a small glass bottle that contains some polished shark teeth. I do not remember when or where I got these teeth. Thing is these teeth look pretty cool all polished and shinny and I was wondering if anyone here has experience in polishing teeth, maybe in a rock tumbler? Lyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Oohh, I know for shure fossilized sharks teeth in a rock tumbler is a BIG no-no I guess you could if you wanted to make baby sharks teeth out of the originals LOL Most people would just lightly hand polish a nice specimen if at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenixflood Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Has anyone here ever polished shark teeth? I was going through some of my old non-fossil stuff and found a small glass bottle that contains some polished shark teeth. I do not remember when or where I got these teeth. Thing is these teeth look pretty cool all polished and shinny and I was wondering if anyone here has experience in polishing teeth, maybe in a rock tumbler? Lyle No, not myself, but I got a polished meg off of ebay. No serrations I was pretty mad but the dude said it was polished. I didn't know he took off the whole enamel and buffed the tooth. Dirty trick! The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Polishing is what you do with a tooth that has no other redeeming features, after which, they're jewelry, not specimens. 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racevw112 Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Polishing is what you do with a tooth that has no other redeeming features, after which, they're jewelry, not specimens. I agree on which teeth to polish. No way would I polish a tooth with serrations or something that was unique. I will try and take a picture and post. What I find unique about these teeth, is that the whole tooth is polished both root and enamel. The way they are polished I do not see them polishing them by hand. Since the tooth is fossilized by the minerals it was buried in and has turned into per-say a rock, so when the people polished them they were just polishing rocks? Lyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 ...when the people polished them they were just polishing rocks? Yes, but not randomly in a tumbler. I'd play around with a buffing wheel and rouge. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I agree on which teeth to polish. No way would I polish a tooth with serrations or something that was unique. I will try and take a picture and post. What I find unique about these teeth, is that the whole tooth is polished both root and enamel. The way they are polished I do not see them polishing them by hand.Since the tooth is fossilized by the minerals it was buried in and has turned into per-say a rock, so when the people polished them they were just polishing rocks? Lyle Could they have been river polished? Sometimes the ones I find in the river look like they have been polished and are very shiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 [ Since the tooth is fossilized by the minerals it was buried in and has turned into per-say a rock, so when the people polished them they were just polishing rocks? Lyle Well there's more to a fossilized tooth than meets the eye!! The enamel [outer layer] is very thin compared to rest of the material that makes up the tooth.The enamel is very durable compared to what's underneath it.Once the enamel wears away[like what might happen in a tumbler] you are left with a porous material that has lost it's protective jacket and could either polish well or disintegrate all together. I hope this makes sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Could they have been river polished? Sometimes the ones I find in the river look like they have been polished and are very shiny. That was my first thought also. There are many areas where teeth are naturally polished by wave or current action. As far as actually polishing teeth I would not recommend polishing any decent teeth. Teeth that are badly worn can be given a better look by polishing. I have polished a few for a friend. Megalodon "slugs" are often polished and occasionally sold as high grade teeth. They are nice to look at and they make great paperweights but to a collector the value is quite low. Low grade echinoids, with thick tests, sometimes look nice after polishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racevw112 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Here is a picture of the teeth I was talking about, not sure if you can tell how polished they are in the photo. Wish I remebered where I got these from. I have had them for years.................. because of the area of the closet where I found them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Those really do look like river or wave polished. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 the ones i've seen like that came from high energy wave action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl O'Cles Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 my opinion, Polished = Bad But if you do polish use a buffer wheel but be carefull. I have hear stories of people polishing megs and the wheel rips it out of their hands and throws it on the floor breaking it all up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilMick Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 They look like Florida surf teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Here is a picture of the teeth I was talking about, not sure if you can tell how polished they are in the photo. Wish I remebered where I got these from. I have had them for years.................. because of the area of the closet where I found them. They look like mother natures polishing job to me. The motion of the ocean, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilselachian Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Here is a picture of the teeth I was talking about, not sure if you can tell how polished they are in the photo. Wish I remebered where I got these from. I have had them for years.................. because of the area of the closet where I found them. I would agree with other FF members that these teeth were most likely polished by natural wave action. Such teeth are found on just about any beach were shark teeth are found. No Simonize on these teeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racevw112 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Thanks!!! Sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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