Carving feather rock

Other than wearing gloves, does anyone have any tips on carving feather rock? I found out first hand, (no pun intended) that this stuff is jagged. I have an old wood chisel that I tried and there must be another way. I have tons of tools but would rather use hand tools to carve it, I listen to my equipment in my cabinet shop everyday and want an escape. My father carved a Moai from feather rock back in the 50's, it's one of my earliest memories. Any help would be appreciated.

Bamboo Ben's grandpa Eli Hedley carved a few 15-foot Moai from it for the Aku-Aku in Vegas!

I've tried it & gave up. It reaked havoc on my tools and rendered them useless afterward. Tiny jagged glass-like pieces of feather rock wound up everywhere. I couldn't walk barefoot on my patio for a couple months after. Eye safety would be key, though ya gotta admit, those pirate eye patches do look pretty cool. It is a tempting material because it looks nice and primitive and is very cheap (10-12 cents a lb.) Seriously, though - be careful!

Despite being one of the resident stone-monkeys Ive never even heard of feather rock!?? - does anyone have any images of something (preferably Tiki-like) made from it?

quoting A.Akua: "I've tried it & gave up. It reaked havoc on my tools and rendered them useless afterward. Tiny jagged glass-like pieces of feather rock wound up everywhere. I couldn't walk barefoot on my patio for a couple months after. Eye safety would be key.."

sounds great.. :lol:

T :wink:

Sorry, I should say "reaked havoc on my wood carving tools". (Back when I first started carving and didn't know any better :P ) Here is a pic...

And a close up...

It is a type of volcanic rock that is fairly commonly used for landscaping around here.

Tama, this would be child's play for you!