No.  Buttons were cut by using something like bamboo with tiny
notches (teeth) and containing very fine sand.  The Core saw -
like they cut core samples with (think ICE and rock) - was turned
with a bow.  Likely brass was used in commercial production.

I'd suspect that buttons were made from whatever was handy.
I have seen them made from Abalone as the beautiful peacock was showy.

The shell of choice due to the massive and quick body growth was
the Trochus niloticus  the Commercial Top.

The shell was dipped into HCL and the red color on the outside
gave way to mother of perl as the inside was.

The thick layers provided a lot of surface to work with.

The Marshall Islands - and Kwajalein Atoll were 'salted' with these
to grow as a commercial crop.  As were slugs and such.

Then two or three holes were drilled with common drills for the thread
loops.

Today, I'd use brass tubing and a drill press or hand drill.  Standard grit
is all you need - shell is soft.  Diamond dust is a modern enhancement for
use in cutting stone.

Martin

Keith Zeilinger wrote:
> Weren't pearl buttons "punched" out of the shell without breaking the
> whole
> shell?
> Keith Zeilinger
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin H. Eastburn" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:16 AM
> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Stump the conchlers: nautilus hickeys and Hepler's
> violet snails
>
>
>> I'd reconsider the position.  My experience with brittle or in
>> specific -
>> glass.   One can hit it with a rock or ball peen hammer and it shatters.
>> Shoot it with a BB and a conical hole is produced.  A high force over
>> a small area can snap open a hole (e.g. a tooth point) whereas a broader
>> surface bends and shatters.
>>
>> Martin
>>
>> Andrew Grebneff wrote:
>>>> Curio shop Nautilus shells are frequently drilled by octopus, but I
>>>> don't
>>>> recall seeing any with two octopus holes. To my knowledge, Marion
>>>> Nixon
>>>> discovered shell-drilling by octopus (Journal of Zoology, 187:291-296,
>>>> 1979).
>>>>
>>>
>>> Holes made by octopuses are conical in section and are irregular in
>>> plan view. They may show radular scratchmarks around the edges. I have
>>> Oliva, Prunum ande Nautilus with clear octopus holes.
>>>
>>> Shells are brittle objects. Despite all the rubbish published about
>>> fossil ammonoids showing tooth-punctures caused by mosasaur bites, an
>>> shell will never show such damage... they can't. If something bites
>>> them the shell will BREAK. Pieces may be broken out, but they will be
>>> angular, never circular, and much more likely is that much of the
>>> shell will shatter. The thicker the shell, the larger the pieces` will
>>> be relative to the size of the shell.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Regards
>>> Andrew Grebneff
>>> Dunedin, New Zealand
>>> Fossil preparator
>>> Mollusc, Toyota & VW van fanatic
>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Martin H. Eastburn
>> @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot
>> net
>> "Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
>> TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
>> NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
>> IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/
>>
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--
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/

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