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If you are a new subscriber, welcome to my newsletter and thank you for subscribing! I hope you enjoy this issue. This issue gives some information about a little known stone, pietersite, and for those readers interested in metalsmithing - I have some tips on how to choose the right blade for the right sawing job.

Barbara Kay Jewelry News

I had hoped to share pictures of some new additions to my shop, but I have had a bit of a creative slump since my last newsletter. This does happen on occasion, and seems to be a post Christmas thing each year. So I focused on orders, and other odds and ends in the studio. Thankfully, I am back to feeling creative and motivated, so I will be sending a between-newsletter follow up in the next week or so.

Featured Stone: Pietersite

You are probably familiar with shimmery golden (and sometimes blue) Tiger’s Eye, but have you heard of the equally shimmery and very beautiful Pietersite?

Pietersite was discovered in 1962 in Namibia, Africa by miner and mineral dealer Sid Pieters. It is a fairly rare stone that is only found in a few places in the world. Most still comes from a small area in Namibia, while some has come out of China. I’ve read that there is no more Chinese pietersite, but I am not sure how accurate that information is.

Pietersite is a type of quartz, formed through a process called pseudomorphism, meaning that it started as one mineral and slowly changed into another one while still keeping the same shape and internal structure. This stone started out as crocidolite, which is a fibrous mineral. The fibers are what give us that shimmer - also known as chatoyance. Over time, quartz formed around the crocidolite, and the fibers were gradually replaced by silica in the quartz. The silica retained the fibrous structure of the crocidolite. Based on what I’ve read, there is still some crocidolite in the stone, together with silica, quartz and various other minerals which help create its blues and golden browns, as well as the occasional bit of red.

It is also brecciated, which means that it is made up of small bits which broke up over time, likely due to the earth’s movements, and which were then “cemented” together by a fine grained matrix (basically rock of some kind). This causes the “chaotic” - yes, this is the geological term - look of the patterns, and the swirls of shimmery chatoyance. This is one way you can tell pietersite from tiger’s eye, which generally shows the shimmery fibers in a linear and smooth pattern. Both of these cabochons have blues and golden-browns in them - as well as nice chatoyance. Can you tell which one is pietersite and which is tiger's eye?

Pietersite makes beautiful jewelry. It is fairly hard and tough. It can be more affected by some household cleaning agents than some other stones and direct sunlight can cause the colors to fade somewhat as well. Keeping all jewelry away from harsh chemicals and too much direct sunlight is really best practice, no matter what the stone.

For those interested in the metaphysical properties of stones: Pietersite is known as the "tempest stone". It is said to be a powerful protection stone, in particular against negative energy. It is also supposed to help boost one’s willpower, courage and determination.

Finally - a note for people who work with pietersite. Crocidolite has many of the same properties as asbestos. Once the stone is polished, there are no issues at all. However, breathing in the dust while cutting, grinding or polishing (or sanding, which we metalsmiths sometimes have to do to fit a cabochon into a too-small bezel) is not a good idea. Wear a respirator when doing lapidary work on pietersite, and a good particle mask if you're a metalsmith needing to sand it.

I love the chaotic and sometimes turbulent look of pietersite. It is difficult to capture the shimmer in photographs, so without seeing it in person, you will never get the full effect of its beauty.

Here are a couple of pendants I have in the shop currently that are made with pietersite. Clicking on the pictures will take you to the listing in my shop, where you can see more pictures and information.

Metalsmithing Tips: Choosing the right blade for your jeweler's saw

Most beginning – and sometimes even more experienced – metalsmiths aren’t always sure which sized blade to use in their jeweler’s saw, so I thought I’d offer a few tips.

First, for those true beginners, saw blades are sized based on number of teeth per inch. Each size has a number. Numbers above zero (1,2,3 etc.) are gradually thicker and coarser with fewer teeth per inch. Numbers below zero (sized as 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 etc.) are gradually thinner and finer. As you can imagine, the finer the saw blade, the more easily it will break. The coarser the saw blade is the more it will ‘grab’ at the metal while sawing. So how do you decide which blade to use?

The rule of thumb is that there should be at least three teeth against the metal being sawn at a time. That will keep the teeth from grabbing and chattering. So the thickness of the metal is one way to determine blade size. But... who wants to count those tiny little teeth? To help with that, here’s a handy chart showing blade sizes recommended for different metal gauges (for thicker metal, you can select size 0 or 1).

This is a good starting guide, but the type of sawing you plan to do should also be taken into consideration.

The coarsest blade recommended in this guide is great when you want to saw straight lines (or very gentle curves), and want to saw fast. Because the blade depth is greater, it will move through the metal more quickly. However, this greater depth also means it is more difficult to saw sharp curves and angles. I usually go with an even finer blade than is shown on this guide when I have detailed sawing to do, especially when there are a lot of curves and angles. My go-to blade is a 4/0 for any detailed work, no matter what the metal gauge; I may even go to a 6/0 for really fine designs.

Because the coarser blade is also thicker, it removes more metal as you saw. This doesn't usually matter much, although it may when you use expensive metal such as gold - or even silver. However, if you are sawing something like a jump ring where you want the sawn ends to fit without changing the round shape, the less metal removed the better.

To summarize:

To end this, here are a few final sawing tips:

• Never force the saw forward!! Always let the saw do the work.
• Except when you are beginning a cut, always hold the saw so the blade is vertical - perpendicular to the metal you are sawing.
• When you come to a curve, especially a sharp one, be sure you are not pushing at all; saw up and down in place as you slowly turn the saw or the metal.
• Always keep the blade facing in the same direction as your frame; never twist the blade.
• Lubricate the blade often. You can use a bit of beeswax or "bit and blade" lubricant.
• If the sawing seems to be really slowing down - if you feel you have to push to move forward - your blade may be dull. Change the blade and see if that helps.
• Don't worry if you break blades. We all break blades!! That's why they are sold in packs of a dozen (or more)!

I hope this is helpful!

You can also learn a lot more about using your saw, as well as other metalsmithing tools, in my Beginning Metalsmithing course. It is currently open for enrollment. Click to learn more and to enroll.

I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think, and what you’d like to see in future newsletters.