Massage point

[southerly]

Well I was not sure where to post this. My physio asked me if I could cut a massage point for him out of a rock he found in South Australia. It is a lovely translucent dark green and nice and compact and very soft. Possibly serpentine or related minerals or possibly chlorite (due to the softness). On the plus side it was very quick to sand and polish. He gave me a chunk to carve, sure will be a change from chalcedony and rhodonite.

David

[Fullerton]

Whatever it is, the polish you've achieved is exquisite!  Fantastic work.

[asianfire]

Whatever it is, the polish you've achieved is exquisite!  Fantastic work.

Second that. Nice work there.

[mehoose]

Hmmm at the mo no idea. What do they do, poke you with it, rock your feet over it? So, suffice to say, clueless on all counts apart from it does look nice n shiny. Will try the books 2moro, did he say a specific area?

[ScarlettoSara]

Very nice.
How does it feel when you hold it in your hand?

[southerly]

Very nice.
How does it feel when you hold it in your hand?

It feels really nice, one of the challenges was sanding out every single tiny ridge without creating new ones so that it felt 100% smooth in the hand.

Mehoose, they use them to stimulate specific nerves, the point is used for poking. You will often fin them for sale with 'flat facets' for the handle giving a octagonal prism at the handle end before tapering to a blunt point.

For anyone who sells their work and wants to add massage points to their inventory, there were three important design considerations that he insisted on:

1. The shape did not have to symmetrical, in fact it is better if it is not so it fits in the hand better (it is also more 'individual')

2. The points at either end of the stone must be aligned down the centre of the piece.

3. The blunt point at the working end needs to be a specific shape, too pointy or too blunt is no good. He lent me his favourite point so I could match that.

David

[bobby1]

Thats a really neat object! Looks like it was fun and educational to make.
I also was wondering into what part of your body they inserted it.
Bob

[ScarlettoSara]

rolls eyes at Bobby....

David, I took my son to a acupuncturist one time and he had all these stones he heated that he put on places he was working on. And you know how long that medicine has been around.
And I know the body has pressure points cause I can stop a headache by pressing on the pressure point between my thumb and finger.
So if the massuer says they work, they work to me:)

[lithicbeads]

Very nice workmanship,very nice.My daughter and I were digging  a patch of about a thousand daffodils last summer with our tractor( it's easy to harvest them without damage by digging well under them) and we found a larger than your hand jade hide scraper in the dirt.We live on the first high ground above a coastal marsh in an area with 250 foot high vertical coastal bluffs so the natives had limited access to the woods and fresh water.this site had a spring and lots of game and  I guess that attracted an enterprising soul who shaped a massage tool that is superb. I have made them out of clear quartz but it seems jade feels best.thanks for sharing.

[mehoose]

Well there ya go, nothing wrong with custom orders in that department. Word of mouth is good. ;)

It  could be Serpentine, Eyre Peninsula has some. Are you able to do an SG test, narrow the field a bit.
Our Serpentines seem to range anywhere from 2 to 6 on the Moh.

[southerly]

Hi Mehoose, do not have sensitive enough scales for a SG unfortunately. It is a lot softer than the Port Macquarie 'seperntine' I picked up. I use the "serpentine" colons because I have read the geological reports on the port Mac serpentine and there is a whole range of dark green rocks found in the location that I found mine, including lawsonite, actinolite, serpentinite and glaucophane. Most are pretty close in chemical composition and physical properties to serpentine.

I may try a scratch test with some massive chlorite I have. It is a great translucent green but very soft, about 2-3 mohs.

David

[39don]

Enjoyed the background and related verbage of others. The polish you acquired for a soft stone is extraordinaire, nice. 

Don