How is the jade we wear processed in jade carving factories?

There are now countless articles introducing jade on the Internet, but there are still no articles introducing jade polishing. For this purpose, the jade craftsman risked being hit by bricks and went deep into the jade polishing workshop to reveal the whole process of jadeite's transformation from a hard stone to a crystal clear jade to the jade lovers who value beautiful stones.

After receiving the goods, the workshop first puts them into the shock barrel. Purely manual throwing cannot be done with a vibration barrel, so the labor cost is naturally double that of using a vibration barrel. The particles inside are irregular "shock sand" particles with a gray-green color. The jade should be vibrated in the bucket for at least 2 to 4 hours.

Water needs to be added before starting. The amount of water will directly affect the post-earthquake effect. Generally, just enough water to keep the shock sand moist is enough.

After the vibration stops, take out the jade and rinse it with water. Because it was a candid photo, this part of the picture is missing and can only be described in words. After rinsing the jade, dry it, light an alcohol lamp, and use a brown solidified colloid to burn it over the alcohol lamp, then drip it on the fine parts of the jade carving.

To be more specific: for example, the face and fingers of a person, the face and claws of auspicious animals in the form of flower ornaments. This is to prevent these fine points from being blurred during the polishing process (the jade craftsman doesn’t know the name of the brown gel that is dripped on, it must be a trade secret).

Next, get on the flat knitting machine. Flat knitting machines are not only used for engraving, but also for polishing. The flat knitting machine has high stability and can be equipped with various tools. For example, a large grinding wheel can be used to grind the flat surface of the material. There is also the "brush". The black hairy thing on the ground is the "brush", which is round because it needs to roll on the flat knitting machine. Install the brush on the flat knitting machine.

The specific operation method is shown in the figure:

During the grinding process, you need to apply the prepared polishing powder. The exact ratio is an industry secret, and the jade craftsman tried every possible means to find out but was unable to.

After the jadeite comes off the horizontal knitting machine, a gong machine needs to be used, which is also a necessary machine for jadeite carving. The process of carving jade requires water, but the process of polishing jade does not. Through the secret investigation of the jade craftsman, it was surprising to find that the gong machines they used were installed with bamboo! That’s right, bamboo! The official name is moso bamboo, which grows uniquely in Guangxi, my country. I finally understand why most people in the polishing industry are from Guangxi. They have unique advantages. A brush is used to apply polishing powder to a large area. However, the yellow bamboo is used to carry out the fine details of the carvings. The specific operation is shown in the figure below.

From the pictures, students can see that the yellow bamboo is cut into shapes similar to carved corner nails and installed on the handle of the gong machine. As you can see from the photo, there is a small bottle next to it, which contains an off-white paste, which is the prepared polishing powder.

Next comes cleaning. As you can see, the surface and gaps between the lines of the jade are very dirty at this time, and need to be briefly cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner: after the ultrasonic cleaning, the wax is boiled. This process can perfectly show whether the jade is beautiful or not. Let me show you what the wax looks like first. Do you have the urge to take a bite?

Take an ordinary household stainless steel pot, similar to the one pictured below. As for the ratio of water and wax added, this is an industry secret and we outsiders cannot find out. Place the pot on a liquid gas stove and pour in the jade after the wax melts. The heat should not be too high, simmer slowly. It requires someone to watch over it, and the cooking time is about 15 minutes.

The jade ash after boiling the wax is often hot, but it must be taken out immediately. Otherwise, the wax will solidify and it will be troublesome. Then use a colander to scoop the jade out of the pot. Take a clean cotton towel and wait for the jade to cool down slightly before wiping it for the final time.

Jadeite that is well waxed will become brighter the more it is polished. Some details need to be picked and rubbed with a toothpick. There is still a "cold light" after wiping. Due to time constraints, the jade craftsman was unable to capture the so-called "cold light" process.

At this point a piece of crystal clear jade has been "unveiled". A jade friend asked: After reading this article, I still feel that there are many contents that I have not understood clearly. Well, that's understandable. Polishing is also a skill that requires apprenticeship. What Tao Yujiang shows you here is just a rough process. Jade friends who have a deeper interest in jade can look up the relevant knowledge about jade polishing and conduct systematic understanding and learning. This article is just a starting point.

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