Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,494
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 8, 2009 10:47:16 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Just a few buckles I've mounted. All 30 x 40 stones. None have a mirror polish as jade is just a tough one for me to have a lot of polishing success with. Still interesting stones though. Thanks for looking....Mel Wyoming Pink Jade ( actually pink zoisite and green nephrite)  Old Janoko Jade mine jade from Porterville, CA. This always has those black inclusions.  Wyoming Flower Garden ( rainbow) Jade. Another nephrite/zoisite mix of some sort with some other stuff thrown in.  Washington Jadeite Jade. Swapped this slab from a stone quarry operator rockhound I met years ago at the Montana Dryhead digggings. This is one tough monkey to work, hard and tough material.  |
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Post by Toad on Sept 8, 2009 10:55:20 GMT -5
I love jade. They go well in their settings. Nice.
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Post by bobby1 on Sept 8, 2009 10:57:58 GMT -5
Mel,
Some great cabs and buckles. It looks like Zoisite and Nephrite are commonly associated. I've noticed a lot of this material over the years and have questioned the "Jade" moniker that is often used by the sellers.
Bob
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Post by tkrueger3 on Sept 8, 2009 11:17:13 GMT -5
Those are all great, Mel. You did a fabulous job finishing those finicky stones!
I've wondered often how to tell the difference between "JADE", "JADEITE", and "NEPHRITE" ... or are they all the same thing? I have a few pieces and a couple slabs that all resemble your Janoko, except they are a lot more "streaky" looking - look like they have a parallel grain to them. They are pretty soft to work, and hard to polish. Don't know what to call them.
Tom
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Post by Toad on Sept 8, 2009 12:16:49 GMT -5
Jadeite and Nephrite are the two types of jade. Jadeite is a bit harder and a lot more expensive. All the old Chinese carvings are made of nephrite - because jadeite was a more recent discovery (in Burma).
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
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Post by adrian65 on Sept 8, 2009 12:20:40 GMT -5
Beautiful belt buckles, the second one is my favorite stone. The jade is tough to mirror polish indeed.
Adrian
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,494
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 8, 2009 15:21:17 GMT -5
Bob: I agree, most these pink materials should be probably called thulite or a nephrite/thulite mix as thulite is the proper term for pink manganese zoisite. The pinks parts of the material are definitely softer when worked. Funny but the pink and green *jade* type stuff we used to find at Porterville near the jade mines, was called thulite, not *pink jade* like the Wyoming stuff.
Tom: Jadeite jade has a bit different mineral makeup than nephrite and is indeed harder and tougher than nephrite. Most the jade looking but softer stones are in the serpentine group. Those do tend to be more layered and often break along those layers. Generally we differentiate between the two by a scratch test with a sharp knife blade or nail. Serpentine is easily scratched by a common nail while most jade is not. Jade boulders also ring like a bell when struck with a rock hammer while serpentine makes a much duller sound so jade hunting involves a lot of rock smacking to listen for the right tone in addition to color and scratch tests.....Mel
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Post by tkrueger3 on Sept 8, 2009 17:45:26 GMT -5
Hey, thanks for the info, Mel. Now I might be able to actually tell the difference once in a while!  Tom |
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mc2
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2009
Posts: 1,147
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Post by mc2 on Sept 8, 2009 17:49:51 GMT -5
Those are very nice. I have been wanting to do some buckles, where is a good source for blank buckles like those?
Mike
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Sept 8, 2009 18:16:42 GMT -5
These look great Mel!
I want to make a buckle for my Dad, I'd also like to know where ya got them.
Thanks,
Nate
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,494
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 8, 2009 19:17:04 GMT -5
Mike and Nate: So far as I know the type buckle in pics 1-3 with the screw on bezels with prongs are no longer available and those are really nice ones too. The kind in the fourth pic ( also a screw on bezels) comes in lots of types and the best prices I've found are at www.eloxite.com. Eloxite folks are top notch and I've dealt with them for years. great prices and fast shipping.....Mel |
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Post by moondragon on Sept 8, 2009 19:27:04 GMT -5
Fantastic Mel:) Striking combo with the copper:)
All i got for a belt buckle is a fender washer on a piece of twine:( The washer is stainless steel though and my ex husband, the bull rider, did carve my and his initials in it:) He told me money was no object when he wanted to express his love for me:)
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Post by bobby1 on Sept 8, 2009 19:29:20 GMT -5
Jadeite has a crystalline appearance where Nephrite has a fibrous appearance.
Bob
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Post by frane on Sept 9, 2009 18:46:45 GMT -5
Fantastic buckles Mel. I love the buckles as well as the cabs. They look perfect together!
I am going to have to check out eloxite.com and see if I can attempt to even come close to getting a cab to behave and shape just right for me.
Fran
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Sept 9, 2009 21:48:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the link Mel.
Nate
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
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Post by MikeS on Sept 13, 2009 22:32:27 GMT -5
very cool, nice work! We collected several decent pieces of zoisite/thullite last weekend, cool stuff for sure!
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Post by sandsman1 on Oct 5, 2009 21:45:42 GMT -5
dam Mel lookin good man
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Post by montanamuskrat on Oct 12, 2009 1:31:15 GMT -5
Very nice jade belt buckles. I looked over them several times and like them all, maybe the last one the best.
Tom
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