need some tips on making a hematite ax

[all_atv]

I found a nice piece of hematite that i'd like to make into my an ax. I started by rubbing on a rough cinder block (concrete) that works alright but my piece is pretty big @ about 7"x3". So I went to the bench grinder which works good! I did about a half hour of grinding and probably need another half hr to finish. And I am going to put the final finish on it all by rubbing on the brick.
I showed a friend this and he said the indians chiped hematite first before the grinding. Is that true? it seems like it may shater if that was the case. And is there a heat/cooling technique to harden it that I can do? Is there another way they would grind this down? I thought with sand maybe on the rock then rubbing it on that.

 

[blindpig]

Hi there All-Atv,.. and welcom to T-net !! Yeah ,.. I know what you mean ,.. I didn't know that you could knapp hematite eather !! So I was a bit surprised when I found my "avatar" [Hematite Adze], didn't know what to make of it . In fact this artifact was the first thing I posted here at T-net . It was confirmed here "yes " they did , and mine maybe done a bit "nicer" , It just hasn't been ground/ polished yet .

I don't think I'd try to "harden" it any ?? But to polish it , being a mason I use PVA wheels [made to polish marble edges] on a 4 in. grinder , they come in 80 , 120 , 2?? ,400 , 600 grit . You use these wheels dry [should use mask] I've found the best price on 'em at a tile store here in Ca, $3 ea. Work slowly on your down , little things really start to show when your on the blue ones [2??] grit
Anyway ,neat idea you have there ,and good luck with it !!,... Hay !! , you better post it when your done !!
Maybe you could try make'n a Hematite ball-peen hammer , ....many would just LOVE that !!

Joel