so im over my gradpas house the other day and he has literly hundreds of these from his diving days. the insides are very nice color wise from deep blue to purple and various other colors. So im looking at these and going hmm wonder if i can incorperate some of the nice parts of the shell into a knife handle. My question is can this be done? and how would i go about doing it. most pieces are round obviously but i notice the lip part has about 1/4 flat on it. I was thinking maybe i could inlay part of a handle with this or maybe make some kinda spacer out of it. Any1 ever work with this stuff before.
abalone shell/uses?
- Thread starter Dakota 11
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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I cut abalone when I was doing a lot more lapidary work (30 years ago). I still have a stack of shells my brother got when he was an abalone diver.
Yes you can use abalone shell as a handle material on folders and an inlay on Fixed blades.
There is a health risk with abalone. It has to be cut under a water spray (lapidary equipment vs knife equipment) and you HAVE to wear organic filters on your respirator. You MUST wear the respirator at all times when working abalone shells.Dust off your clothes before going in from the shop and vacuum up all dust.
Now ,that is said, How to work abalone:
Cut out the desired section with a hack saw. Grind the back side(inside of the shell) flat.Start grinding the outside down until you get a pretty display of colors. Stop there .If the piece is too thick reduce the back side more. You can grind right through the best pattern if you aren't being careful.Sometimes the inside can be prettier,sometimes the outside,so watch as you grind from either side.
Sand to 400-600 and buff with white rouge.Takes a fast and glorious polish.
If you start to get a headache or upset stomach when working abalone, STOP, go get fresh air and don't return until you are feeling better.Some people seem to be more susceptible to its effects than others.The biggest risk is in grinding down the shells. You are removing a lot of material and making a lot of dust.Once the slabs are cleaned up there is a lot less risk.
Be safe and have fun.
Stacy
Yes you can use abalone shell as a handle material on folders and an inlay on Fixed blades.
There is a health risk with abalone. It has to be cut under a water spray (lapidary equipment vs knife equipment) and you HAVE to wear organic filters on your respirator. You MUST wear the respirator at all times when working abalone shells.Dust off your clothes before going in from the shop and vacuum up all dust.
Now ,that is said, How to work abalone:
Cut out the desired section with a hack saw. Grind the back side(inside of the shell) flat.Start grinding the outside down until you get a pretty display of colors. Stop there .If the piece is too thick reduce the back side more. You can grind right through the best pattern if you aren't being careful.Sometimes the inside can be prettier,sometimes the outside,so watch as you grind from either side.
Sand to 400-600 and buff with white rouge.Takes a fast and glorious polish.
If you start to get a headache or upset stomach when working abalone, STOP, go get fresh air and don't return until you are feeling better.Some people seem to be more susceptible to its effects than others.The biggest risk is in grinding down the shells. You are removing a lot of material and making a lot of dust.Once the slabs are cleaned up there is a lot less risk.
Be safe and have fun.
Stacy
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 3,816
Stacy hit it on the head about the Ab shells and precautions. When i was a teenager I made a bunch of Ab shell jewelery with no resparator. I got so sick, could hardly breath and had all the symptoms Stacy mentioned. Abalone is beutiful stuff just be careful working it.
Chuck
Chuck