This is another nice piece of black pipestone or steatite! It measures app. 6-1/4" long x 4-1/4" tall and it is 1-1/4" thick. This is a type of stone where the finished product will turn nice and black after beeswax is applied to it. We currently have pictures of several pipes made out of this stone on the website, so if you want to get an idea of what your completed pipe might look like, just take a look at a few of our finished ceremonial black pipes.
This piece of stone is large enough to get 1 nice-sized ceremonial pipe out of, as well as 1 or 2 smaller ones, or it could be used for a couple of medium sized ceremonial pipes. (if the pipes are laid out correctly)
This type of stone is
harder to carve than the red Sacred Pipestone in our estimation and probably compares more to the pipestone that comes from the private quarries. Quite often with this stone you will find that there are small pyrites, or hard spots, in it. This piece however looks like it does not have them. It's a nice piece, and it's about the right thickness where you should have very little waste.
This type of stone has been carved into pipes by Native Americans for literally 1000's of years. It holds up exceptionally well to intense heat. Steatite carves the best using a furrier's rasp or other wood carving files. This stone is soft enough that it can be cut quite easily with a regular hacksaw or a bandsaw if you're using a new and sharp woodcutting blade.
If you are interested in this piece of stone and have any questions about it, please email us or give us a call. If you have a specific size piece of steatite in mind you can also
Contact Us and we will gladly see if we have something on hand that will work for you.
Shipping for this item to anywhere in the continental U.S. is $13.00 and if you purchase more than one piece of stone from us, the price of shipping remains the same, as long as all of the items can fit in one of the U.S.P.S. flat rate boxes.
