>>373006>Tell me about this pleaseSo far I just carve soft stones, like soapstone, which can be mostly worked with wood tools (just not the same set of tools I use on wood because it dulls them). Got some stone chisels to try limestone and maybe marble but I have to get some suitable stone -last lump of limestone I scavenged on a hike was Niagara dolomite which is harder than I wanted. Good art supply stores sometimes have blocks of soapstone, and sculpture supply places have more interesting stuff like alabaster or serpentine.
It's not that much different than wood carving, and in some ways easier because the stone has less grain and no knots. I rough out the shape with a hand saw and then a coping saw. Then I move to coarse files/rasps and a Surform to smooth it out. Also various carving tools, for detail work, but the chisel in the picture is my favorite (I almost never use a mallet with soapstone after seeing my idiot art teacher split a friend's sculpture in two trying to show her how it's done, back in high school).
Then smaller needle files and rifflers to smooth things out, and maybe some dental tools for really fine details and cleaning up. Finally sandpaper/sanding screen for final shaping (the screen is great because it doesnt trap dust), and diminishing grades of wet sanding to polish - more grades means less sanding to get out the scratches from the previous grade. Final polish by heating the stone a bit and melting beeswax onto it, I used to use oil but I like the wax better.
One thing I recommend if you decide to get into it is a good dust mask. Disposable masks are better than nothing but still let some dust in, so I bought a proper cartridge respirator and it's much better.
