Christophe Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Hi everyone, I was wondering about the hardness of soapstone versus the hardness of bone. I do know the hardness of soapstone on the Mohs scale, I also know that soapstone is consider very tender to carve but I never had a piece in my hands. But bone, as far as I know, is not on any scale. I do, try to , carve bone but is ther anyone outhere who could tell me which one is the hardest? My understanding of soapstone would lead me to believe that it much softer than bone (knowing that according to the animal, which bone...etc etc the "hardness" of a bone will be different). But like I said, I never touch soapstone.... Anyhow, if any one of you has worked with both and could give me any precision regarding this specific detail, it would be much appreciated. I search the www but did not come with any useful information Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuri Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 While there is difference in hardness between different kinds of bone, it's still fairly much the same. On the other hand, soapstone can be really different. In any case, soapstone is a kind of catch-all name, really. The softest kinds you can literally carve using nothing more sophisticated than your fingernail. (OK, it will not thank you, but you can ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks Yuri, I knew about the different grade of soapstone, I was curious to know if my usual rasps, files and gravers would be enough to have a go at soapstone, or if I need something more specific.... Well, I guess I will order some soapstone and have a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 soapstone is very soft I have cut a few blocks with a hack saw for turning on lathe it was softer then the wood I use. you have carved bone then you wont have any trouble. bone is much harder. maybe look up the hard ness of calcium to get an idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezz El Sherbiny Posted November 8, 2014 Report Share Posted November 8, 2014 Hi Christophe Interesting thought, the one about actual hardness of bone. Apatite, aka calcium phosphate which is the mineral constituent of bone material has a hardness of 5 on Moh's scale. My guesstimate regarding bone hardness would be a tad less than 5 since bone tissue has a bit of collagen in it's composition. Hope this was helpful, although a bit late Regards Ezz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted November 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Hi Ezz, That's a very interesting bit of information and better late than never Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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