Can anyone tell me about the stone made from St Helena ash? The
hardness, whether it is cuttable or not? thank you Bob Goll
This stone was popular a few years ago. It was made by fusing
the ash into slabs. It is still sold and is a kind of "artifical"
obsidian. I have not worked with it myself, but it is supposed to
resemble obsidian in properties. Heck, obsidian is essentially
the same material that “nature” has fused. Obsidian has a
hardness of 5-5.5 (Schumann) and is a little brittle but quite
cuttable.
TOM (OWL1)
Can anyone tell me about the stone made from St Helena ash? The
hardness, whether it is cuttable or not? thank you Bob Goll
Bob: I bought a tube of that blue/aqua colored glasss from St.
Helens ash at a rock show. Yes its cuttable I think its hardness
is the same as glass and don’t remember if it has a special name
or not. Its pretty much a man made odddity…Dave
Art Jewelry for Conscious People
http://www.opendoor.com/stephensdesign/crystalguy.html
Bob said,
Can anyone tell me about the stone made from St Helena ash? The
hardness, whether it is cuttable or not? <<
If it’s the dark green stuff your talking about, it can be cut.
There’ been a company selling the stuff cut & set in jewelry at
Tucson show (Holidome Ballroom) the last couple years. Their
booth is usually quite crowded.
I’ve not checked the RI or hardness of the material, but from
everything I’ve read or heard, it’s basically a glass mixture to
which a little St Helen’s ash has been added. Don’t know if the
ash provides the color or if it’s just a marketing gimmick.
Assuming it’s basicaIly glass, the RI could be anything from
1.46-1.70 & the hardness 5-6, depends on what type of glass it
is.
Sorry, I don’t remember the name of the dealer.
Dave
Can anyone tell me about the stone made from St Helena ash? The hardness, whether it is cuttable or not? thank you Bob Goll
Mt. St. Helens glass is a farce. I say this because I know the
two men that produced it. I did a considerable amount of work for
both of them. They took the silica rich ash and had it refined,
then added green coloring and had things made from it (overseas).
It sold well. The two men disagreed later on and split up, now
both are retired.
Yes it is cuttable. It is just normal, ordinary, glass.
Jeffrey Everett, jewelry craftsman
Handmade 18K, 22K, and platinum gemstone jewelry.
Diamond setting, rubber/metal molds, casting, lapidary
Die and mold engraving, plastic patterns for casting.
Jewelry design, cad/cam, milling, scroll, filigree, & more.
P O Box 2057 Fairfield IA 52556 515-469-6250
Hello Robert,
Can anyone tell me about the stone made from St Helena ash? The
hardness, whether it is cuttable or not? thank you Bob Goll
Mt. Saint Helens stone, also known as Helenite by some dealers
is actually a “man-made” (from volcanic ash, silica and other
chemicals) volcanic glass, and has the hardness of glass. It is
fully facetable and comes in red, emerald green and a blue that
looks like swiss or electric blue topaz. It is actually a neat
looking material. The rough, as I’ve seen it comes in a slab (the
man-made part). If you or anyone else would like a full
breakdown from the testing lab, let me know and I’ll dig out a
copy and e-mail it.
Ron