G’day, I have worked with paua shell, It is very brittle and
breaks easily, but can be cut into shapes with a fine toothed
jeweller’s saw, and it is easily drilled with a sharp twist drill,
but one has to use a light touch or it will chip as the drill breaks
through. The dust from paua is very unkind to lungs, and one can
get a lung disease like silicosis or asbestosis if the dust is
inhaled. A mask is essential. The shell as it is found has a thick
crust on the outside which isn’t at all pretty, and must be ground
away with a coarse grindstone, but often when the ugly crust is
ground away, the shell left is so thin as to be translucent when
held up to the light. It is a very noisy and messy/dusty job; the
shape of the shell seems to act like a megaphone and amplify the
sound of the grindstone. It is very durable and doesn’t deteriorate
with age… In New Zealand they are found on most of our coasts, up
to about 8 inches long, and people dive for them at weekends, and
practically all our jeweller shops have samples of work for sale
using paua shell. I have no idea where you would obtain paua shell
in your country.
Cheers for now,
John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of Mapua, Nelson NZ
