Stone

The sculptors in this section model natural stone by the controlled removal of stone forming a three-dimensional shape. Some of the most popular materials in stone carving are marble, travertine, and onyx with a Mohs hardness of 6. An easier to work stone with a 2 in the scale of Mohs, is the soapstone, commonly used by beginning students. Alabaster and serpentine are in level 3 in the scale of Mohs while limestone and sandstone reach level 4. Granite is one of the most difficult stones to work with ranking at about 8 on the Mohs scale.