Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Rock Talk => Topic started by: Jw on April 10, 2022, 08:59:33 PM
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I am looking for some jade that is in slab form preferably semi small slabs. Serpentine is an option too
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Bad jade , schistose or with indifferent color, is pretty common on ebay while decent jade is very expensive.A lot of junk jade on ebay is expensive also. Poobas jade on ebay often sells serpentine and it is fine quality , not broken up .His pictures are horrible but all of his prices are cheap but the quality is all over the place which is the nature of jade .
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I have a lot of jade of varying quality. What grade and color are you looking for?
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Not looking for really any grade or color in particular just something that’s not wildly expensive
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Bad jade , schistose or with indifferent color, is pretty common on ebay while decent jade is very expensive.A lot of junk jade on ebay is expensive also. Poobas jade on ebay often sells serpentine and it is fine quality , not broken up .His pictures are horrible but all of his prices are cheap but the quality is all over the place which is the nature of jade .
got a link can’t seem to find it
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? What do you consider not expensive? Are you looking for slabs or rough material. I have purchased and worked the better part of 1,000 pounds of mostly BC Jade and a little bit of Alaskan Jade. There is so much variety in BC Jade. Some is hard as nails and other foliates just looking at it. But some pieces which shred apart at the sound of a metal grinding wheel have had the most exquisite chatoyance.
Many people are disappointed with bad jade they purchased cheaply. Jade that cuts well is often $30 a pound and $100 a pound is not uncommon. But you get a lot of cabochons out of a pound of jade. A lot of less expensive jade also has a directional layering. You can cut it one direction and get great cabs that polish. Cut it against the layers and it just blows up in the saw and you get a pile of little tiny jade crumbles. Believe me, I am still learning and enjoying most of it.
If you give some specifics such as slabs, rough, price per pound you want, color and translucency, many of us here will gladly help. Everyone wants to help the others here to succeed and have a good time.
PS: Top quality Cassiar is among my favorites as it cuts and polishes easily. Very hard and by easy I mean it takes a long time but most people can get great results without the problems jade is known for. Cut, polish and enjoy.
The picture I included is of some Jade that will explode if cut one direction and makes beautiful cabs when cut 90 degrees off.
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I don’t really know anything about jade I’ve just heard it’s good for carving I’d prefer slabs or small rough and around 30-50$ a pound would be in my price range
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Also any info regarding carving jade and getting started carving jade would be greatly appreciated I mean carving as in carving little animals or flowers or pendants but making cabochons too. what are cabochons used for ? And how do you sell them?
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55Fossil - Thanks for posting the jade photo.
Are you saying the side shown in the photo would cut, and "turning the corner" at either side would yield poor quality?
Or is the 90 degrees you're referring to parallel with the uncut surfaces above and below the marked face?
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1: You can get quality Jade for 30 to 50 dollars a pound. Defining good quality will take a whole page and I will put in my two cents worth another day.. soon
2: Cutting on piece shown above: the slice I took off this rough went into a million pieces. If I drew a line from left to right as it sits I would get cuttable slabs. So I could get 4 or 5 nice slabs that would cut. This Jade is only properly felted in one direction and weakly felted in the other. You can see the schictose on the outside of the rough where it just wants to come apart. A lot of jade can have this crappy outside and still be usable but I take it as a warning sign. I will try and post some other pictures and my understanding of the Jade I have on a separate post.
Proper felting is simply jade that has bonded solidly in every direction. You can often tell this by the clarity of the jade, but not always. Weakly bonded Jade will just go to pieces in the saw or when you try to shape it. IMO from cutting a lot of cabochons
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Thanks for the reply on the cutting direction. That's what I was hoping you'd say.
Have cut a small amount of jade, but nowhere near as much as you.
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You should not be starting out with jade it can be a super pain through the whole process. A compact limestone is an excellent way to start carving then if you want more go to a solid chalcedony or quartz. Jade has recently found a huge amount of fans who do not know the first thing about rock cutting and hordes of people are showing off crap jade they found saying they will get rich when they can carve a dragon out of it. When you can carve and polish obsidian your ready for the frustrations inherent in jade cutting.
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You should not be starting out with jade it can be a super pain through the whole process. A compact limestone is an excellent way to start carving then if you want more go to a solid chalcedony or quartz. Jade has recently found a huge amount of fans who do not know the first thing about rock cutting and hordes of people are showing off crap jade they found saying they will get rich when they can carve a dragon out of it. When you can carve and polish obsidian your ready for the frustrations inherent in jade cutting.
ok thanks for the info where can you get compact limestone ?