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I Forge Iron

Cutting Granite


Chris C

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Thomas,

In the decorative stone industry there is "granite" and "marble."  Anything that isn't marble is granite.  A possible exception is soapstone.  After touring a lot of stone yards looking at slabs for counter tops I discovered that there are all kinds of stone, gneiss, quartzite, many different high grade metamorphics, etc. that come under the heading of "granite."  There were even slabs of honest to god granite.  And some of them were so expensive that you'd think it was 100 ounce to the ton gold ore or diamondiferous kimberlite.  While a diamond counter top would wear well the cutting and polishing would get interesting.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."   

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15 minutes ago, George N. M. said:

Anything that isn't marble is granite. 

My part of the world was a center of sandstone production, both for millstones and for architectural uses; indeed, the town just north of me bills itself as "The Sandstone Capital of the World". So yeah, stone is anything that isn't granite, marble, or sandstone.

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Yes, with a degree in Geology,  I remember how surprised I was to see Labradorite sold as "blue granite".  I would think Masonry & Stone  would be sufficient with perhaps a "soft stone" vs "hard stone" .  (I cut soapstone with a hacksaw and turn it on an ex-woodlathe to make viking era spindle whorls based on the finds at Birka...)

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Nope.............that's not me getting electrocuted !  It's my wife "thinking" I'm going to be electrocuted ! :lol:

Cut my 12" x 24" piece of granite today............with water.  Came out a whole lot smoother than the installers did with my cooktop opening.  No chips to speak of.  Took a piece of 180 wet/dry carbide sandpaper and gently eased the edges and corners and I've got myself a great work surface to stamp leather for my knife sheaths.

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There's a big difference between the stamping work done on a granite surface vs wood.  It's an amazing comparison.  Didn't believe it myself until I saw it with my own eyes.

So much for leather working.  I've got to get back to work on the knife I've been working on.  Customer is going to be hollering in the next week or two. :lol:

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Chris:  I'm glad it went well.  You can use any hard surface, e.g. a slab or an anvil, but since much leather embossing work is done wet something that will rust is probably not the best choice.  IIRC Tandy sells marble slabs for this purpose.

Now, you can start forging custom leather punches and embossing tools, e.g. Norse runes.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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