Where to Get Reasonably Priced Soapstone or Pipestone

[nevadablue]

I want to make a pipestone or soapstone pipe. The only pieces I see for sale are WAY overpriced IMO. They cost as much as briar! This is ROCK, and isn't rare or exotic.
Anyone here know of a source for those or even alabaster? I would collect some myself, but I haven't found a location near me. I remember picking up a piece of alabaster in Colorado years ago and the area was ALL alabaster. I have seen soapstone deposits like that too. I suppose the market is too small for anyone to care if the suppliers overcharge for a chunk of rock.

 

[prairiedruid]

There are several deposits of pipestone in Minnesota mined by Native Americans of the area. Several sell chunks online, a simple google search will find them. As to the price it is what it is, sort of like the price of Esoterica tobaccos, people will pay market rate if they want it bad enough.

 

[nevadablue]

Exactly. I found the natives... now I want to find the rest of the folks who live near rock piles. The 'native' stuff is sold by a guy in Arizona and by the pipestone group in Minnesota. I don't begrudge their motives, but I do not like being ripped off either.
Thanks for the info though. Just thought maybe someone on the forum may live near a soapstone deposit or even pipestone deposit. I thought I had read about a deposit in my area, but I can't find the reference now.

 

[cshubhra]

I saw a couple in some online art and craft stores. Sample pricing - about 9$+shipping on a 32 cubic inch block. I guess your best bet would be to call up some local art and craft store and see if they have it. 32 cubic inch of soap stone weighs 4 lbs. I was searching on my phone so I could not copy the URLs, but one of the sites I think was soapstone.com where a larger block was 15$

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks again for the info. You made me go use my brain, LOL. I have a background in geology so I started searching by the mineral name rather than the common name. Now I have leads!
Could you post links for the sites you found please? That pricing isn't bad compared to what I saw.

 

[prairiedruid]

The pipestone quarries in Minnesota are in a national monument and only Native Americans of Lakota descent are allowed to quarry it. Canada used to have a few quarries but according to online sources they have been played out. So sources for pipestone are much more limited that sources for briar so it makes sense that the price would be higher for the same size of material as compared to briar prices. $35-60 will get you a block big enough for a small pipe. Another issue is pipestone that is currently quarried is formed in layers that tend not to be very thick; mostly 2-3 inches after you've trimmed off the non-pipestone layers. So most blocks for sale are 4x4 to 6x6 but tend to be only 1.5 to 2.5 inches thick. Occasionally thicker deposits maybe found but those get used by the native communities.

 

[prairiedruid]

After a discussion with my wife, who is native, need to add a correction. Any Native American tribe member can apply for a permit to mine but the wait list is very long, like 10 years long.

 

[nevadablue]

Interesting for sure. I learned a bit of Lakota language some years ago. We were lucky enough to get a wolf cub, from a pack that came from the pack that was in Dances with Wolves. I wanted the wolf to have a name that honored his ancestors. We named him Nakhota, which means 'alliance of friends' in the Lakota tougue. He was a magnificent animal and good friend for the 14 years he lived.
Back on topic, the pipestone from Minnesota is a red variety of catlinite. I am finding occurances of argillite in my area. This is the same stuff, but not red. If I find the deposit and it is as shown in the records, it will have layers that are quite thick. If so, I will make it available to folks here who may want to dabble in making pipes out of rocks. Grin...
After seeing your avatar, I thought I should post a pic of Nakhota. He died in 2012, and this shot was probably when he was 7 or 8 years old. Edited to add, after looking at the background in the picture, he was probably only 4 years old.

 

[mawnansmiff]

On a nearby beach there is a massive outcrop of soapstone (steatite) about two feet wide. I hacked off a lump for my mineral collection.
Unfortunately for you this is in Cornwall ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[oldmojo]

The red catlinite from Minnesota is, as others have mentioned, in very short supply, and expensive because of that, and because it takes back-breaking hand labor to extract.

I recall seeing some black catlinite from Utah some time ago, but don't remember the particulars about the source.

Catlinite is not an ideal pipe-carving material. It is hard, brittle and cracks easily, especially if there are inclusions in the piece. Soapstone would be much easier to work.

BTW note: The Nakota are a sub-nation of Sioux, as are the Lakota and Dakota people. All three speak a slightly different dialect which is reflected in their names. For example, the word for friend is kola in Lakota, koda in Dakota and kona in Nakota.