Alright, let me tell you about this thing I tried recently, called ‘aburak’. It’s not something you hear about every day, at least I didn’t until my old neighbor mentioned it ages ago. Found some weird looking, patterned stones he made in a dusty box in the garage and thought, ‘Huh, maybe I should try making these’. Looked simple enough.
Getting Started with Aburak
So, the first step was figuring out what the heck ‘aburak’ actually involved. Neighbor’s notes were just some doodles, honestly. Looked like carving soapstone or something similar? Finding the right stone was the first headache. Went down to the craft shop, they looked at me funny. Ended up just grabbing some soft-ish looking carving blocks they had. Probably not the real deal, but I had to start somewhere, right?
Needed some tools too. The notes showed some specific knives, but I just used my old pocketknife and some sandpaper I had lying around. Figured close enough.
The Messy Middle Part
Okay, so I got home, cleared a space on the workbench. Grabbed the first block. Tried to copy the patterns from the old stones I found. Man, it was harder than it looked.
- First attempt: The stone was brittle. A chunk just broke off. Oops.
- Second attempt: Tried to be more gentle. Started carving a simple spiral. My lines were wobbly, looked like a kid did it.
- Dust everywhere: This stuff makes a mess. White dust covered everything. Should’ve done it outside maybe.
Spent a good few hours just scraping away. My hands started cramping up. The pocketknife wasn’t really cutting it, literally. It was dulling fast and hard to control for the fine details shown in the doodles. Kept trying to get that specific ‘aburak’ texture they had, kind of smooth but with deep lines. Mine just looked scratched up.
Figuring Things Out (Sort Of)
Got pretty frustrated. Thought about just chucking the whole lot. This ‘aburak’ felt like one of those things people pretend is easy but takes years you don’t have. But then I remembered my neighbor, how patient he was with his garden. Maybe I just needed to slow down.
So, I took a break. Came back later. Didn’t try to copy the complex patterns anymore. Just focused on making simple shapes, getting the feel of the stone. Used the sandpaper more to smooth things out after rough carving. Started to get slightly better results. Still not great, but not complete garbage either.
Found that using water helped keep the dust down a bit, and maybe made the stone slightly easier to carve? Not sure if that’s the ‘proper’ aburak way, neighbor’s notes didn’t say anything about water, but it helped me.
The End Result?
So, after a whole weekend, what did I have to show for it? A few lumpy, uneven stone things. They vaguely resemble the original ‘aburak’ stones if you squint. They definitely don’t have that professional look. More like primitive versions.
Was it worth it? Eh, maybe. It was something different. Kept me busy. Made me appreciate the skill involved in the real thing. It’s definitely not some quick craft you pick up in an afternoon, despite how simple those finished pieces look. It takes patience, the right materials, probably the right tools too. My setup was clearly just a clumsy workaround. But hey, I tried the ‘aburak’ thing. Got my hands dirty. Made something. That’s the point, I guess.
