Thread: Working with abalone shell

Hi All,

I live over in the San Francisco bay area and go abalone diving every so often and will have a buch of shells sitting around. The shells look okay in their natural state but when used in straight razors or on guitars, they look superb.

Does anyone here know the proper/safe way to cutting, flatten and polishing them are? I have read in the past (haven't looked in a few years) online that working with abalone shells, the dust that it creates and breathing it in is much worse than asbestos.

There something about the dust that it has microscopic barbs or something to that matter.

Have a great day and God bless.


Thanks,
kelly

I know a few guys who use it in their knifemaking and they insist there are two precautions you must take with MOP, abalone, etc.
1) Wet sand it. Keep it wet while sanding on it. This keeps down the dust, and keeps it cool.
2) Wear a respirator. A dusk mask ain't cuttin' it.

Originally Posted by kellykungfu

Hi All,

I live over in the San Francisco bay area and go abalone diving every so often and will have a buch of shells sitting around. The shells look okay in their natural state but when used in straight razors or on guitars, they look superb.

Does anyone here know the proper/safe way to cutting, flatten and polishing them are? I have read in the past (haven't looked in a few years) online that working with abalone shells, the dust that it creates and breathing it in is much worse than asbestos.

There something about the dust that it has microscopic barbs or something to that matter.

Have a great day and God bless.


Thanks,
kelly

I don`t know about barbs,I may be wrong but my understanding is that the lime in the shell sets like concrete in your lungs so the body cant remove it and becomes carcinogenic over time , bad stuff
Kind regards Peter

Also consider that working with MOP is a real specialty skill. The stuff is really brittle and you can break or ruin it in a heartbeat. I know in the watchmaking business they use MOP for watch faces and even with all the right gear the breakage rate is very high.

Originally Posted by kellykungfu

Hi All,

I live over in the San Francisco bay area and go abalone diving every so often and will have a buch of shells sitting around

Mother of pearl is nice stuff, but watch out for those sharks when you collect those shells!