Working jade

Lorien

Lorien

Nose to the Grindstone
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Hi folks;
I have a couple of nephrite jade slabs, about 3/8" thick, which I'd like to use for a knife project at some point.
Do any of you work with jade, or know of anyone who does?

Thanks for your time :)
 
There is a fellow here who does primarily stone handles. I hope he will chime in.

Working jade takes skill and equipment. Cutting, drilling/shaping/polishing requires some gear not in the knife shop. It has to be drilled with diamond tools, cut and shaped with diamond or SC wet grinders and saws, and polished with a variety of compounds.
 
I'm also interested in this - from what I know you can use diamond bits in a Foredom-type tool (high speed rotary tool) with a flex shaft and work the stone while submerged under water. The handpiece, at least on the foredom, doesn't carry electricity so you can submerge the bit along with the jade working piece underwater which keeps the bit cooled and best of all keeps that nasty silica dust out of the air. The diamond bits are great for carving but leave a semi-rough surface, so afterwards you can move to these silica-impregnated rubber bits (forgetting the name at the moment) as well as felt bits which you load with diamond dust or abrasive of your choice in successively finer grits depending on the degree of polish that you want. The felt bits also come in a variety of shapes for getting into those little recesses. Hope that helps, good luck! I'll try to find the link to a great thread on high speed rotary bits and the various types that are commonly used
 
I should also mention that the smaller bits are all great for carving and sculpting - For the bigger cuts and shaping you'll need some basic lapidary tools such as 1) A slab saw (big pieces) or a trim saw (smaller pieces) 2) A flat lapidary wheel or wet belt grinder for grinding out cut marks and making flat surfaces or simple curved surfaces 3) Some kind of lapidary wet grinder with multiple grades of abrasive wheels such as a Cab King grinder. It may be possible to use the standard 2" belt grinder for stone but without using water for dust control (think silicosis) I'd be really apprehensive to go that route.
 
Nick, I'm guessing that your advise isn't based on any personal experience in lapidary work. - You aren't going to get far working jade slabs underwater with a Foredom and Cratex.

I have cut and polished many pounds of jade. It takes full blown lapidary equipment and some skill. If you have a 6" wet wheel grinder with the right Cratex wheels, you can smooth it up a bit, but that is about all. Those Cratex wheels cost about $50 each. The crystalline structure of jade makes it extremely tough to abrade, so it requires diamond saws, diamond grinding wheels and discs, and wet cutting and grinding through all steps up to polishing. Polishing is with a succession of SC belts and powders and finally one or more polishing powders or diamond pastes. Any home-brew or short cut methods will almost surely end up with a scratched, mottled, or rough and spalled surface.

If you want a jade handled knife, or detailed info on working jade, the fellow to contact is Redrummd. He is a member here who does stunning work. Here is a set of jade handled knives he did:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...t-accepted-fo-quot-sculpture-quot-competition
 
I saw a show I think on how its made and they made golf putters out of jade maybe you can find that and get some ideas.
Gilbert
 
Thanks for the update Stacy. Sure, I have some experience with it albeit not a huge amount - while there may be better ways with the ideal equipment, I have had a good amount of success with using diamond burrs in a foredom for carving jade for doing the bulk of the carving. For the finer steps, perhaps I used the wrong name for the Cratex wheels (I was trying to find a thread where you had referenced these but was unable to), I was referring to the small rubber-like burrs that are impregnated with abrasive. They don't take off nearly as much as the diamond bits but along with the felt+diamond powder for the final stages I've been able to get a pretty good "polish" or as close to what a polish could be for jade.

I am curious as to whether people have used their belt grinders, as-is or converted, for at least roughing out the stone. While the dust is a factor, for someone who wants to do the occasional stone inlay in their handle it would be great to not have to invest in the full lapidary setup.
 
While I've never worked with jade I've seen much of it ,the old Chinese stuff.One of the hardest stones .The museum in Minneapolis used to have, and I would hope it's still there , a wonderful collection of beautiful things.Patience as the stone is so hard and without modern diamond tools it took a long difficult time to create these pieces.
 
thanks for all the feedback, particularly yours, Stacy. I met Mike Hoover and we actually talked about the jade that I have, but I needed the reminder of his name I guess cuz I completely forgot.
I think I'll drop him a line again :)
 
been in contact with Mike Hoover, and am currently working on two patterns for this jade I have.
Mike is super helpful, very well spoken smart dude.
 
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