Post #273137 by Tamapoutini on Sun, Dec 17, 2006 1:21 AM

CHOICE bat Tikigap. Could you show a few different angles of it. Seems very 3-dimensional & fairly adventurous for such a small carving. It all seems solid/sturdy enough to hold together; all comes down to the stonetype & carefully handling. Seems to be a reasonably amorphous (no real grain direction) stone, probably a greywacke or similar; Paip..? Should achieve a reasonable polish if not too porous.

Nothing wrong with your set-up. Believe it or not, 90% of jade workshops Ive seen are similarly butchered together affairs - including my own! Its just part of it. :lol:

Re: the Paua eyes. Yes, the patterns are a part of the shell. The shells are usually 1-3mm thick & made up of 100's(?) of thin layers/patterns. I usually grind the surface to get them flat & in the process the colours & patterns constantly change. If Im watching carefully enough I can stop when the patterns are looking good. *Handy hint: I often grind a piece of shell big enough for two eyes so that the pattern is better matched; easier than trying to find two random pieces with matching patterns.

Keep us posted on the Pekapeka/bat!

Tama :)