Mother of Pearl

oldanvilyoungsmith

oldanvilyoungsmith

Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
427
Well, you might have seen my question about Jantz kits, and this one has to do with the same project. I want to do mother of pearl for my handles, and have never, ever worked with it before.

Has anyone here worked with mop before? Any special handling tips or remarks? I read the article about it on USA knifemaker (here) and it doesn't seem too difficult, but I thought I'd ask around some also.


For instance, finishing it. Is it as simple as sanding it to high grit and then buffing it nice and shiny? Do I apply any wax, oil, etc?



Thanks for all the help guys. Stephen
 
Pearl is pretty easy to work with. You do have to be very careful with pin holes because it will crack if you peen them too much. When drilling it helps to use some water as lube and back it up with something fairly hard. drill until the tip of the bit just starts to come through, then flip it over and finish the hole from the backside to prevent chipping out around the hole. Oh yeah and don't even think about using a bit that isn't sharp. I always bust out a brand new one for drilling pearl.

For finishing, I just sand to 1500-2000grit, or 9 micron on the grinder then buff with pink compound.

Don't breathe the dust. It's bad stuff!
 
The dust from MOP is commonly labeled as toxic, but it is just calcium carbonate dust
Breathing any fine dust with sharp particles in it is bad, ........so wear a respirator. A simple paper mask will work for MOP.
 
Was talking to Ed Caffrey a couple weeks ago and he was emphatic about how bad pearl dust is for you.. He's had part of a lung removed due to his profession, so I tend to take his word for it. He also mentioned a friend of his dog was killed from pearl dust in the shop.. So I would be doing everything I could to minimize the dust and remove it from the area after as well. Maybe I'm too cautious, but when it comes to your health why take the chance?
 
Sorry to disagree Stacy. I have some experience in this genre so I feel compelled to chime in.

MOP is not pure calcium carbonate. In fact MOP from various parts of the world have heavy metal contaminants of varying types and degrees. MOP (oyster shell) is no longer used as an mineral supplement for livestock (at least in California) for this reason. If you ingest the dust orally or thru your lungs you can get heavy metal poisoning. No guarantee, but unless your stuff is chemically tested heavy metal free you are taking a chance. I am not aware of any such testing in MOP for ornamental work.

Wet sanding is best and then a respirator over your face is in order.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top