Abalone / Pāua

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button_man
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Abalone / Pāua

Post by button_man »

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I picked up this knife a few months ago. Recently I showed it to a Jewelry Person to seek advice on preventing the abalone from drying out and cracking over time. "I don't think it's abalone," she told me. "I think it's paua." Um.... what? I had never heard of it. She spelled it for me, and told me that it was native to the waters of New Zealand. Today I got around to doing a search; and have discovered that 'pāua' is actually a type of abalone that is known for its especially brilliant green and blue colors.

Apparently there are over 100 species of abalone worldwide; and only 3 of these are native to NZ. Americans use the general term 'abalone' to refer to all the 100+ species (of the genus Haliotis). Pāua is the indigenous Māori term for the native species Haliotis iris but some sources indicate that the word is used for all three of the NZ native species.

I'm always interested in learning new aspects of the hobby, and thought others might find this information worthwhile as well.
As for prevention of cracking, my friend advised me to apply a light coating of wax occasionally.


https://sciencing.com/differences-betwe ... 62762.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81ua

https://www.arikinz.com/range/paua-shell/
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sammy the blade
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by sammy the blade »

No matter what it is it's sure good lookin!
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john
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by john »

Beautiful blue/green abalone!
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frosolone
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by frosolone »

Sounds like alot of A bologna
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by Bill DeShivs »

That is a composite of genuine abalone pieces glued together to form a larger piece.
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jim d,
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by jim d, »

Very informative post button_man, thank you for the information. I'll admit my previous ignorance; prior to reading your post, I thought there was just the one species native to our West Coast.

I seem to remember someone (Bill D. I think) commenting on the fact that abalone is very brittle and prone to cracking. Given that, it seems a composite abalone knife would be better, just my thought...

Jim
KrisNZ
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by KrisNZ »

Being from New Zealand I can personally vouch for not only the beauty of our Native (Blackfoot Paua) abalone but they are absolutely delicious!
Of our 3 native species the Blackfoot is the one used for jewelry etc, we've also perfected Blue Pearls grown in the Paua,
button_man
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by button_man »

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Bill DeShivs wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 6:06 pm That is a composite of genuine abalone pieces glued together to form a larger piece.
Bill, the surface appears to show at least eight separate pieces on the reverse side. However,
I've looked at the edge of the scale with a 5x lens and then a 60x lens, and I can't find any lines
or break marks on the edge that indicate separate pieces joined together. Can't feel any with
my fingernail, either.

Here is a photo showing the brass liner, a layer of (probably) synthetic material, and the pāua
layer -- the horizontal 'grain' of the pāua appears to be unbroken.... just like it appears under
magnification. This is completely at odds with the surface appearance. I can't figure out why
there are no break marks showing on the edge of the pāua material.

All I can say is that whoever did the work certainly seems to have been very skilled.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Abalone / Pāua

Post by Bill DeShivs »

If you look closely straight on at the handle, you can see lines where the pieces are joined.
I don't know the process used, but it works well.
I use a similar product frequently.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
http://www.billdeshivs.com
Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
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