I am about to start on a mother of pearl handle knife. I have read the few posts on page 4 or of 5 about working with mother of pearl but still have questions. Mother of pearl looks 3 dimensional. Can you remove to much of the front side (out side) of the pearl to the point you would loose the 3 dimensional look and it's beauty? Can you contour the scales without loosing the look of pearl? Is it better to fit (get the correct thichkness) the scales by grinding on the reverse side?

Any other information would be greatly appreciated.

Terry

Just found some good information on page 4 of the S R Johnson forum. Sure would be nice to cross reference like information between forums and pages.

Mother of pearl slabs usually have one side that is better than the other (fewer or no flaws, better color, pattern, and so on), so if you have to remove material to change the thickness, it is best to do it on the less-desirable side.

Better yet is to buy slabs that are very close to the thickness you need for the project at hand, since you won't be paying for as much scrap that way. Shaping the exterior slightly does not usually damage the depth or appearance of the pattern in the pearl.