I tried a few times to carve out shapes until I realized that I needed a way to secure the bone so I didn’t slip and cut myself. I purchased a small vice. We affixed it to a loose shelf and set a folding table up outside so I could work.
I started with a square. I had been able to scrape away a few layers of bone before deciding to wait until the vice came in. I then shifted my plan of attack to cut a deep channel border before chiseling the inside. Going along the length of the bone was very easy as I was following the natural lines of the bone. Going against the grain proved more complicated and progress was slow.
The process is slow going and I have no fine motor control yet. I get into a rhythm as the bone scrapes away that is easy…until I need to move to another section, then I have to start all over again, and I can’t quite get the angle right. Still, The square is getting there. I don’t want to remove too much bone material.
I don’t carve when it is too hot outside, so I haven’t been able to get much done. I am shifting my main focus back to research. I am reading The Excruciating History of Dentistry by James Wynbrandt. Some of his information on the toothbrush is out of date (the book was published 23 years ago), but his bibliography is promising. I found myrrh referenced in the Papyrus Ebers from 1500 BC. Myrrh, if you remember from my earlier research, was used in 17th-century tooth washes.