Scotty-Bhoy Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Hi folks First post - absolute newbie to the subject, so please go easy on me (especially as what I propose doing may well be seen as vandalism by some!). I have a dinosaur obsessed partner (Velociraptors in particular) and I'd like to get her a unique gift. So I was thinking of purchasing as nice a tooth or claw as I can get my hands on and somehow attach it to a necklace. I guess the easiest way to do this would be to drill a small hole through it, but how viable is this in reality? I appreciate this is probably a 'depends on the example in question' question, but how likely am I to reduce a lovely piece of history into a crumbled mess? Are these typically quite solid materials? Would their be a preferred material between a tooth or claw? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielb Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 I would recommend just getting them a raptor tooth in a nice display case instead of ruining a nice tooth. If you drilled into a raptor tooth it would destroy the entire value of the tooth. Also you will only find raptor teeth online and no velociraptor teeth. - Daniel 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Thanks Daniel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadrosauridae Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Youd be better off making a necklace from a cast of a real tooth or claw. Any attempt to drill through a real one would likely cause it to shatter. Even if successful, the tooth or claw would be far too fragile to withstand being worn like this. 1 4 "There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Great info - just what I was hoping for. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 talk to a jewelry artist.. most of them use clasps instead of drilling holes. So much easier and non-destructive. I do think that many of these teeth are solid enough to be worn occasionally as a necklace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Thanks JPC - I've since seen some designs (mainly shark teeth) that are wrapped in precious metal wiring - could well be the way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kikokuryu Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Scotty-Bhoy said: I guess the easiest way to do this would be to drill a small hole through it, but how viable is this in reality? If you go past the likely destruction of the specimen, a major setback here will be the size. Most dromaeosaurids (especially Velociraptor) are very small animals and the teeth are generally around 0.20-0.50" long and are incredibly thin and compressed. There is nothing there to drill or wrap around with metal wire. The only large genera available on the market is the very rare Dakotaraptor and Itimerus and these teeth are also not very large. As @Danielb has mentioned, you will not likely find a Velociraptor tooth on the market, at least, not on the open market. And even then, there's no way to be sure you even have Velociraptor and not one of the many other dromaeosaurids from Mongolia. Acheroraptor and Saurornitholestes from the USA are the closest genera to Velociraptor on the market. But again, these are too small for what you are trying to do. Most of the better sized teeth around 1" you see sold as "raptor" are not really raptors/dromaeosaurids. These are generally abelisaurids (cf. Rugops) and young carcharodontosaurids (Carcharodontosaurus/Sauroniops) that are sold as "raptor" from Morocco. The tips of abelisaurids are not very durable and will likely break off. This leaves carcharodontosaurids as the best candidate, but at that point, you've deviated away from dromaeosaurids. 1 hour ago, Scotty-Bhoy said: Would their be a preferred material between a tooth or claw? Claws are more "suitable" are far as size goes, but these are much more rare and will likely be less durable than the enamel in teeth. They are also a lot more expensive than teeth, and it would just be a disaster all around in my opinion. Getting a cast of a claw is much better for making a necklace. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frightmares Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 As others have said, any dromaeosaur teeth would be too small to do that with. I definitely wouldn't recommend using a real claw for a necklace, as they are (1) expensive and (2) fragile. You can find a nice replica of a Velociraptor claw that would be an ideal candidate for what you're thinking of doing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Kikokuryu / Frightmares - thank you both! What an awesome helpful forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 +1 for the replica claw idea. There are several really nice replicas on the market at reasonable prices that would be ideal. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 If you are open for idea, I believe you can find ready to go neclaces made from silver, bronze or steel. There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB003 Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) My two cents. Make/buy a necklace out of a replica (claw or tooth, your choice) AND gift her a hell creek raptor tooth. You won't have to worry about destroying it and, as a raptor/dinosaur fan herself, I think she would appreciate having a replica necklace and NOT having to worry about bumping it around/wearing it in water and the eventual heartbreak if it gets destroyed. I know I would appreciate the gift but not wear it due to worrying about breaking it, losing it, getting it wet, etc... There are also many "raptor" teeth out there so it would not be hard to get your hands on a piece of real history she can appreciate in the safety of home and display somewhere while wearing a replica when out and about. Edited October 23, 2023 by FB003 1 *Frank* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted December 26, 2023 Author Share Posted December 26, 2023 Thanks for all the good advices folks. I eventually settled for a Deltadromeus type tooth, and set it in epoxy resin within a band I had machined out of a chunk of Muonionalusta meteorite. it came out pretty well - my only schoolboy error was in not ‘sealing’ the tooth before setting it in the resin (there was micro bubbles within the tooth that released themselves and only showed up in the resin when it was too late to do anything about them). Took a crash course in silversmithing and adapted a nice pendant to set the finished article in. Some pics… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted December 26, 2023 Author Share Posted December 26, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty-Bhoy Posted December 26, 2023 Author Share Posted December 26, 2023 The keen eyed amongst you may notice the small repair I had to do to the tooth (a small piece flaked off when I was shaping it to fit in the band 🥴). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobites_are_awesome Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 Good job! 1 Cheers! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyBoy Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 (edited) Nice necklace That tooth you have is not a Dromaeosaurid it's most likely a Abelisaurid and looks like from Morocco Edited December 26, 2023 by TyBoy 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 Great job! Very nice looking and the tooth seems well protected! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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