Cutting

All stone originally is formed in boulder shape.  These boulders could range is weight to between 20 and several hundred pounds.  Normally you will not find small single stones under the 10 to 15 lb. range; therefore the smaller sizes are cut from the larger boulders.  The boulders are first cut into slabs and then cut again into the respective 4, 8 and 10 lb. pieces that can be easily handled in the lighter weight range.  The cut pieces are usually flat on at least two and even three sides and will always be irregular in shape. 

Stone Hardness

Stone for carving is gauged in four hardnesses: soft, medium, hard and extreme.  Soapstone (talc block) is considered the softest.  Alabaster (a gypsum base stone) is in the medium along with limestone and sandstone. Marble is considered hard; granite is the extreme.