Yowah nuts

Jewelry Discussion
1

Sorry, my last E-mail didn’t completely post, I must have had
"happy fingers" and sent prematurely. Anyway, the following is
the complete E-mail:

I have a Yowah nut which I am currently working on, and would
appreciate any advice as to the best way to polish the thing, as
it appears to have some very nice fire and it would be a bad time
for me to “learn from my mistakes.” The opal is a chocolate
brown, oxidized hematite, I think, , with pinfire throughout
rather than the veins and blobs which seem to be typical of Yowah
nuts. I tried a leather buff with tin oxide, but this did not do
a satisfactory job. Again, I would appreciate any suggestions as
to how to get a good shine on this stuff. Also, does anybody
have reccommendations for finishing rainbow obsidian? My 600 grit
carbide belt seems to put scratches in the stone that don’t
polish out.

Thanks,

Lee Einer

2

I’ve never worked with yowah nuts, but perhaps my method for
finishing catlinite would work for you. I work completely by hand
using every possible step from 220 grit to 800 or 1200 paper. The
final step is to use a well worn piece of 1200 paper and work it
from wet to dry. The paper will form a glaze and by working
vigorously I can achieve a high polish that no-one else seems to
get with pipestone. I don’t know if this will work for you but it
may be worth a try.

Loveland
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3

perhaps my method for
finishing catlinite would work for you. I work completely by hand
using every possible step from 220 grit to 800 or 1200 paper. The
final step is to use a well worn piece of 1200 paper

I, too work with pipestone occasionaly, I stop at 600 wet , dry
throughly, then heat the stone and coat the surface with candle
wax . When the whole piece is coated and while the wax is still
liquid, wipe as much off as you can. Cool the piece, and then
hand buff (just like you were shining shoes) and you will have a
high shine.

Be nice to your kids. They’ll choose your nursing home.

Bobert

4

I’ve found that Kiwi Neutral shoe polish works just as well. I
used it on the antler knife handle I made, and the shine was VERY
nice. A little elbow grease was all it took.

Penny