Buck 110 with Pietersite Stone scales

Joined
May 21, 2007
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Here are a few pictures of a Buck 110 done with a very rare stone - Pietersite.

Pietersite will always have brecciated, fibrous bands of blue, gold and/or red tiger eye type fibers in quartz. The fibrous structure in pietersite has been folded, stressed, even fractured and/or broken apart via the earth's geologic processes. The fibrous materials have then been reformed and naturally recemented together by quartz. Stones and crystals that go through this process are referred to as brecciated, creating a finished product with multiple colors, hues and superb chatoyancy.

While pietersite has the lovely chatoyancy of tiger eye, it is not found in continuously structured bands or fibers, more in swirls, swathes and fibrous (sometimes linear) segments. Thus the structure of the fibrous streaks in pietersite may appear rather chaotic, and can flow or exist in many directions side-by-side like bold paint strokes.

Colors include various blues, golds and reds, that may appear together or alone. Blue is the rarest color, followed by red. The blues range from a baby blue to dark midnight hue. All fibrous color variations will have a superb and striking chatoyancy, the bright and subtly changing shimmer of color that moves along the surface of a gemstone as it is viewed from varying angles.

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Very very nice. I'm not even going to ask how much it cost but I'd sure like to have one.

How did you come by it, if you don't mind me asking?
 
I got two slabs of Pietersite in a barter trade with a dinosaur gem bone/stone dealer for six custom knives. This dealer is getting big bucks for my knives - about double what I can sell them for. Four were sold at the big show in Tucson a couple of weeks ago and the dealer wants a bunch more for the next big show in September.

I get most of my very top end stone from barter trades now.
 
I really like that knife. I'm usually not too much of a Buck fan, but that knife is amazing. Whai is the blade steel?
 
That is quite possibly the most beautiful 110 I have ever seen. :thumbup:
 
I've said to myself that I would never own a knife I didnt intend to use(at least once) But that may be truly worthy of Safe Queen designation:thumbup:
 
Very nice knife. As a collector of both Jade and Quartz I am familiar with Pietersite because of its relation to Tigereye and its chatoyant properties. The blue in Pietersite is probably rebeckite (crocidolite) and is thus a form of asbestos. I trust you take great care in working with this material so you don't inhale the dust during sanding and polishing.

PS: I think I have seen your knives at the Holiday Inn at the Denver Rock and Mineral Show
 
Crocidolite is often replaced by quartz, forming the chatoyant semiprecious gems tigereye and hawk’s-eye. It is also replaced by quartz in Pietersite.

My shop is near dust free as I do all of my stonework in a water spray so my problem is "mud" splatters.
 
Redrummd, I know that you are kind of blazing some new frontiers in working with stone as knife handles because many thought that it could not be done. But I'm just curious as to what stone you find the easier to work with as well as which is the hardest?
 
Tin Sue - In regard to stone I use, the hardest (MOHS scale) to cut stones are the quartz stones and some of those are harder than others. Brazilian agates, Pietersite, Deschutes picture jasper and some of the petrified woods I have are all VERY hard quartz. I think the easist I have used is Lapis Lazuli as it is soft and takes a brilliant polish real easy.
 
That Pietersite is some amazing looking stone. I would imagine you put it in place and then grind and polish it to match the height of the bolsters?

Nice work,
Peter
 
peterinct -

Most of the grinding is done before adhering. The basic grinding: shaping and tight tolerance fitting is done before it is adhered.

The finish grinding, sanding and polished is done with the stone adhered.

If you follow the link below my signature you will get to my web page. From there I have a link to a large tutorial with a lot of photo's that shows every step I take and the equipment I use.
 
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