Cathy Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hello. I am new to the whole carving world, and have not mastered anything as YET. I have joined The Carving Path to learn from the very skilled members that are here. My carving style is what I refer to as 'Rustic' . I joined the other week, but have been hesitant to introduce myself and add pictures of my work as compared to what I have seen, I have a LONG way to go. I find carving therapeutic and intend to ' whittle' away until I improve , so it looks like I will be sticking around for a while. Here are a few things that I have made so far... A native American style flute made out of Bamboo and the bear totem is cypress. I have made a few friendship bracelets with the amulet being carved from jade, but am yet to find the tools to produce the effect I want (smooth engraving). All I have for gem carving is a Dremel with a few diamond bits and a sheet of 2000 emery paper , so I need to add a few tools to the kit hey. Looking forward to learning all the terminology of tools and techniques and how to carve jade etc… successfully. Cheers. PS:still trying to work out image sizes.I did read the thread about how to do this, but my computer is a dinosaur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hello Cat, Welcome to you! Thank you for your introduction and for the photos. Every journey is begun with the first step, so by now you are certainly on your way with learning about carving. There is much to read if you take the time looking at the information gathered here during the past 6.75 years of the forum. Read, ask questions, and learn. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted September 28, 2011 Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hi Cat Good to see another Aussie on the forum, nice carvings, carving jade is a challenge for most people when they start, is your jade nephrite or jadeite, there are so many materials and methods that can be used to carve and finish jade, I still use a dremel also a micro motor. Looking at purchasing a good air handpiece, 65k unit, I only carve gemstone, mostly jade and rhodonite from Australia, to get a good finish on stone you must finish it by hand as power tools can leave chatter marks that need removing. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy Posted September 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2011 There is much to read if you take the time looking at the information gathered here during the past 6.75 years of the forum. Read, ask questions, and learn. Yes, there is a wealth of knowledge here Janel, that's for sure. Great Forum. is your jade nephrite or jadeite, there are so many materials and methods that can be used to carve and finish jade, I still use a dremel also a micro motor. Looking at purchasing a good air handpiece, 65k unit I don't actually know what form of Jade it is. I buy small Jade slabs here and there and have various colors to choose from. There are so many variations in Jade, which is why i am drawn to it.I have seen an air-tool hand piece on ebay but i don't have a compressor.... maybe later. At the moment, i am trying to find some different grades of diamond bits. Before modern technology, Jade was carved using dowel and grit???, and here i am complaining about not having many tools,lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Cat Jadeite and nephrite are usually quite easy to identify, jadeite has a granular crystal structure that can be seen through a loop or magnifying glass, sometimes this can be seen without these, nephrite has a felted fibrous structure, is tougher than jadeite, jadeite and nephrite are the toughest naturally made stones on earth, jadeite is heavier than nephrite, 3.25 to 3.35 sg, and hardness 6.5 to 7 for jadeite, nephrite sg 2.9 to 3.3, and hardness 5.5 to 6. Jadeite and nephrite are true jade, there are many others that are sold as jade but are fakes, e.g sun jade prehnite, a nice stone, chrysoprase, Australian jade, very nice stone, but they do not have the carving quality of true jade, can not be carved in thin sections, they will crack or fall apart. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy Posted September 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Ah, OK michael, i will go and have a bit of a look at the jade that i have and see if I can work out the difference between nephrite and jadeite. I have some Cowell jade which is mined in South Australia. I also have some black jade(which is really dark green) and it is from Aus'. I did buy some other black Jade and after paying for it i was informed that it wasn't TRUE jade, (but apparently it polishes up like a mirror). I haven't tried to do anything with it as yet, but am always wary now when i see Black Australian Jade for sale.Like how can they even call it that when its not true Jade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Cat The Cowell jade is nephrite, true jade, there is black jade from Cowell that is nephrite, high in iron, that makes it very dark, there is a black Jade from Western Australia that takes a very high polish,I think this the one you refer to, it has very low content of nephrite mixed with hornblend, not as tough as pure nephrite, have a look at my fish hook carving in show and tell, it is the WA material, I had to be very careful when carving this, I live near Tamworth NSW, I use nephrite jade from this region that I find myself. If you have any questions on shaping and polishing be very happy to help. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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