Carving with Catline (Pipestone)

"Many ages after the red men were made, when all the different tribes were at war, the Great Spirit sent runners and called them all together at the "Red Pipe". He stood on the top of the rocks, and the red people were assembled in infinite numbers on the plains below. He took out of the rock a piece of the red stone and made a large pipe; he smoked it over them all; told them that it was part of their flesh; that though they were at war, they must meet at this place as friends..." George Catlin, 1844.
The stone is Minnesota Red Pipestone, quarried in Pipestone, MN, a sacred place for Native Americans. Pipestone, a red rock also known as Catlinite (named after George Catlin), was and is used to carve pipes and other sacred objects. Legend has it that the stone was made from the flesh and blood of the ancestors. Pipestone from Minnesota is quarried in the traditional way - by hand. Only hand tools and sweat are used to get through the up to 5 feet of quartzite which lays on top of the pipestone.
Catlinite is amazingly soft, only a 2 on the hardness scale. It can easily be carved into beautiful pipes, jewelry and other objects using only hand tools. Minnesota catlinite is the only true pipestone, much softer than that mined from Utah.
In this photo, the background is the raw catlinite that this pipe was carved from. See the veins of pinks, purples and shades of red? This is a very desirable piece of pipestone because of its thickness. Most pipestone is mined about 1 1/2" thick. Expect to pay much more for thicker pieces. But many fine things can be easily carved from smaller pieces.
Add some vintage beads to make interesting and unusual jewelry.Just use your hand tools to carve, then shine it up with fine sand paper. (Don't do it in the house - it creates a fine red dust that gets on everything!) You can polish catlinite using bee's wax or even vaseline!
There are many outstanding catlinite carvers/artists selling their goods on okay. You can also buy raw pieces to give it a try yourself.