Have you ever peeled a pearl -We Have and look what we got

[pattye]

I do have a selection of really ugly large pearls, so perhaps on one of those boring afternoons in January----------??

 

[J Marcus]

I just got off the phone with Charles Yousling and he's going to weigh in on this pearl peeling thread. (Keep your eyes peeled. . . )

 

[laurenb]

The tools look like wood carving implements. Do you think the curved chisels would be useful?

 

[knotty panda]

I just got off the phone with Charles Youslinig and he's going to weigh in on this pearl peeling thread. (Keep your eyes peeled. . . )

My wee Scottish lad zinged a zapper! LOL

 

[J Marcus]

The tools look like wood carving implements. Do you think the curved chisels would be useful?

Although the concave side of a curved wood carving tool might be useful, one would need to use care. Like the usual gravers used in jewelry, they are sharpened at a very acute angle and could dig in to the next layer. The thing that I favored in the tools that NZNP showed was the obtuse angle that they were sharpened at. Other than that, I think that the similarity between the jewelry tools and wood carving tools is largely the shape of the handles on the ones pictured. The graving tools used in jewelry are usually smaller.

 

[nlerner]

(Keep your eyes peeled. . . )

George says he'll take a cornea, anyone want a retina or some vitreous?

 

[J Marcus]

I haven't heard back from Charles Yousling yet, but I think that he has registered on PG. We'll just have to wait and see.............

nlerner: I'll take some vitreous if it's clear. I've got too many "floaters".............

 

[pearl-man]

I have just finished reading a 1950's manuscript chapter that describes the pealing of pearls during the turn of the century.
It was written by a clammer and relates that most of the processess were the experimentation by individuals who clammed the rivers of the midwest at that time. Most of them soaked the pearls for sometime in water or tried locally available chemical. Lye? I don't remember. I know that the key is the edge of the knife. One side should be flat not tapered like a kitchen knife. That way the edge can be trued on a very flat surface like a table of a table saw using 600-1200 grit black wet or dry sand paper. The edge must been keen. A razor blade has a tapered edge and is less suitable than another type of blade. hardness is also the key.

pearl-man

 

[seadancer]

If you are looking for pearls to practise peeling on, go on to the Ebay advanced search, type in pearl, and tick 'located in' New Zealand.....then go to Ebay stores. Follow the pages and you will see what I mean....they are worse than awful.....
these pearls are rough!!!!......and I mean rough! But cheap, and who knows you might end up with a swan from a very ugly duckling indeed.

 

[pearl-man]

peeling

peeling

Well I guess you have turned a sows ear into a silk purse. ) How abut gold?

On second thought...at a recent exposition I was shown a material that is graded to 25000 for polishing whatever. If a steel of suitable grade..hard..is polished flat on one side and beveled on the other it would slip between the layers...if soaked and made soft..

pearlman

 

[Josh]

Fun thread. I have pealed pearls but it's been about 15 years. It's definitely about which pearl you peal if you want a chance at results. I have been lucky enough to see the ugly duckling transformation that started this thread with a gold Kamoka Tahitian but before everyone rushes out to buy up stocks of trash pearls on Cook Island beaches, know it aint easy. For success you need to go four times slower than your patience will allow, use a new razor blade then have some 4K grit sand paper for finishing up. Good luck!

 

[Mka4972]

I have recently peeled a pearl it is certainly a job that requires alot of patients, I wouldn't want to do it too often. The results were interesting. Half of the pearl was beautiful and half of the pearl was worse than what I took off. It did take a pearl that was otherwise useless to me and turn it into something that someone could use in creating a piece of jewelry that could hide the half of the pearl that was no good. I will look for the pearl and try to post a picture of the results.

 

[pattye]

That will be interesting to see. Maybe a few more of us will be inspired to try this in our spare time-------- sounds like a good way to spend a boring Sunday afternoon----------

 

[laurenb]

Has anyone tried tumbling with a very fine abrasive?

 

[Caitlin]

What would a fine abrasive be?

 

[laurenb]

What would a fine abrasive be?

I haven't tumbled anything since my childhood hobby kit went kaput, but I was envisioning the highest grit possible, ideally one that wouldn't react chemically with the pearls.

 

[pearl guide]

I know nothing about tumbling. I mean like a fine pumice or bamboo chips? Or walnut shells?

 

[Josh]

Tahitian pearls are tumbled after harvesting to remove a layer of organic gunk that often sticks to them. We use broken walnut shells but like Lauren, I would not mind trying out a gently abrasive to strip a layer or two. Could be good for refinishing nuclei too maybe??

 

[laurenb]

Hmm... What about powdery sand, maybe mixed with nut shells? Think that would be too rough?

 

[Josh]

Don't know but I'm sure someone here does. There's someone out there that will stop us from the mess that will come with trying sand, etc. I bet George Ventouras knows. George, you out there?