m!b$ Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I just can't decide what to do about this big Onion that I recently bought. It's about 2-3/16" diameter, and out of round by about 1/16". It is literally covered with scratches and pits, and I'm not sure how much of them are as-made. It has what looks like a bubble pop crater, and several small flakes and circular hits (or something). Also two side-by-side flat spots. Naturally, the surface is dulled by all this. There is very little glass to spare at the pontils, and polishing would likely open up the ends, thus ruining the marble, in my opinion. So what about reheating? What would that do to the value? And what is the value, if left as is? Thanks for any comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedidoll Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I thought they could buff or polish and leave ends alone? As far as value goes,did you buy it for money or to keep? Thats the question you have to answer I think. ( I would try and fix it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 If it could be repaired without ruining it, I would keep it. If not, I would sell it. I don't see how it could be polished without making the marble even more out of round, or, worse yet, leaving it with pointed or opened-up ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FeelingMarbleous Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 looks like most of the damage is surface wear, so i think a good buffing and polish "By Hand" to leave pontils would deff do it some justice, but if you did that you would want to keep it lol.......... Is it lobed ? kind of looks it to me........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted December 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I'm not sure if it's lobed. I was kinda hoping some expert would give me all those kinds of details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTAndrea Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I picked up this big (almost 2") onion at one of the rare local auctions offering marbles. It was so beat up I couldn't even tell it was an onion. Sent it off to Leroy who did his usual magic. Yes, it's lost the pontils, but now I can see the deep lobes filled with mica. Worth it? Absolutely. On the other hand, if I were to have this 1" Leighton-type polished, I'd lose the incredible colors and oxblood on the surface, so it remains battered and still appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVVmarbles Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Polish it, and do it by hand so you will keep the pontils. The damage is very superficial, so it will be quite an easy job. I've restored marbles in much worse condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 This is one of the many great losses with the passing of Larry Castle!! Larry could hand polish this marble, keeping whatever may be still there for pontils.... The damage does look to be pretty shallow, so polishing would be a good move... It looks like it may have spent some time in an aquarium, or someone may have rolled it around in a stone polisher (I experimented like that, many years ago... The surface looks familiar!!) It could be that even the natural rough look of the pontils has been lost. I think it's definitely in the "damaged beyond holding it's value as-is" stage... The question now becomes... How to restore?? It could go to Leroy and be beautiful... The ends may open up, depending on how deep Leroy has to polish and how deep the color of the pontils is... If it's naturally out of round, larger at the pontils, that's a down side for machine polishing... But, it is the easiest and least expensive route... Then, the question becomes... Would a more expensive, not as easy method retain more value?? I think so..... Even if the pontils can't be restored to look natural, they won't open up, if done by hand. JVV is right... His method is probably the best... Yes, it may end up a little more out of round. But, that's what it is anyway, so not so much of a big deal.... Some have tried J's method of working with the pads and had difficulty... So, J... When will you offer that service for sale??? LOL (It may be worth the cost of shipping to Netherlands!!!) Other than the pad use... My thinking would be, to try and find someone who can polish as Larry did (By hand on a polishing wheel....) Is there anyone still doing this?? Anyone know?? I'm not seeing lobes in this marble.... But, the best way to check it out is... put it into water and look at it from the pontil view... It should show a lot more, like below.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted December 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 By "stone polisher" do you mean a rock tumbler? What is a rock tumbler, and why would anyone do that to a marble, especially one like this?? Whoever did that to this marble ought to be arrested! Here are a couple Onionskins that Marblealan recently sold, and he called them "lobed". They don't have deep lobes, but they have lots of shallow lobes, so maybe my beat-up onion is lobed after all...? Lobed Onion Lobed Onion #2 Attached is another huge 2-1/4" Onionskin that I recently bought, repaired by reheating. I think whoever did the repair job did fantastic work! It even has the pontils. I want my beat-up one to end up looking just like this one The color at the pontils on the beat Onion is very shallow, and is right at the surface with practically no glass to spare for polishing. So maybe reheating would be the best option...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 By "stone polisher" do you mean a rock tumbler? What is a rock tumbler, A rock tumbler is like a barrel, partially filled with a wet sand-like substance (varied grit size for varied fine-ness of finish) that rolls around like a cement mixer. When stones or glass are added, any fractured pieces are chipped off and sharp edges are smoothed. and why would anyone do that to a marble, especially one like this?? To attempt to remove damage... Now that I can see the "Out of Round" better, it does not look like the original shape of the marble... I'm betting this had a LOT more damage that has already been removed... Probably by hand, just because the pontils have been spared. And, either the person doing it gave up at this point, or just didn't have a way to polish it any finer.... Whoever did that to this marble ought to be arrested! Your right!! Ignorance of the law is no excuse!!!! LOL It was probably done by someone who was experimenting... It may have been a plain white ball of fractured glass when they started... When I tossed marbles (NOT like this one!!! LOL) into a tumbler, it was pre-1973 (I was still in school...) Not too many people I knew had a clue of how to fix severely damaged marbles. So, I experimented.... I never really learned a lot about how to do it. But, I DID learn a lot about what NOT to do!!! LOL (Scratch rock tumbler OFF the list..... :Sad_headshake_tweetz: ) If this really looks like a lemon (Or, is that an illusion of the picture in the top right corner?) it may be just fine to send it to Leroy.... The ends will open up a lot. But, it will be as beautiful and as round as it can possibly be... That may be as much as you can hope for.... Now I can see the possibility of MANY small lobes... If the color surface really looks distinctly, evenly scalloped, it is... I've heard of as many as 24, or more, lobes. This looks like it may be a lot more than that. (It's still kinda hard to be sure with the pictures... But, it does sort of look like it could be.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 The person I bought the Onionskin from swears up and down that it has never been worked on, to his knowledge. He says it has been in the family for at least 60 years. I guess I believe him, since I have no reason not to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 If that's the case, I'd try my best to save as much of it as you can and hold out for a better method than the machine... I'm thinkin' the picture is an illusion of the stretched color making it look lemon shaped? (Top right of new photos)... How bad is the out-of-round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 It's really not noticeably out of round except for the flat spots (top, left photo), and that is the side of the marble that appears to be shrunken, so there is lots of extra glass there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FeelingMarbleous Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I was bout to say looks pretty round to me, just that the color didn't fill certain areas giving it that illusion...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Has anyone heard of T. C. Robertson? What kind of job do you think he did on this reannealed marble? Reannealed Marble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 That name sounds very familiar, but I think it may just be a similarity, as I can't place why it's familiar. I did find this website.... Due Vetro Studio WOW!!! It sure looks nice!! I wonder what the success rate is on a job like that? Obviously, this one was a great success, but I've seen and heard of others that didn't turn out so well... I'd love to hold it and see how it looks in-hand... It brings around the old question... At what point of restoring something back into it's original state, does the restoration no longer effect it's value? And.... If the restoration is undetectible, is it relevant? That's a mental speed bump!!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTAndrea Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I've sent one or two marbles to Robertson to be "cooked". As mentioned, it isn't cheap but sometimes the only solution for restoration without losing a lot of glass. It also took quite a lot more time to get it shipped back than a polishing job. I was pleased with their work though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FeelingMarbleous Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 m!b$, ive heard that it depends on the glass, older soft glass can explode and do many things when heated back up, they may not even attempt it, my guess is if your going to keep it, have it done by hand, if you want to have it annealed send it off and see if they will even do it, but don't be surprised if they send it back because they said they didn't want to do it, or they may even say ill do it but im not responsible if it turns into a bomb lol........ Hand Polish IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m!b$ Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I'm beginning to think my beat-up onion is more trouble than it's worth. Anybody interested in buying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Kevin, I posted about having a conversation with Larry Castle about Sulphides exploding... That would probably be because of the inclusion... But, I don't remember ever hearing about solid glass having that problem... That's not to say they don't. I just wanted to clarify, if your comment was based on my statement... I have seen some funky lookin' stuff that was presumed to be due to cooking... But, that was before contemporary marbles became as popular as they are now... A lot more tools, skill and knowledge are out there, now... Andrea, you say you were satisfied... What more can you tell us? If you were to see your marbles and not know they were cooked, would you suspect anything?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FeelingMarbleous Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 No Sue, i was told that buy a guy who blows glass here in town.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinkybus Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 I just can't decide what to do about this big Onion that I recently bought. It's about 2-3/16" diameter, and out of round by about 1/16". It is literally covered with scratches and pits, and I'm not sure how much of them are as-made. It has what looks like a bubble pop crater, and several small flakes and circular hits (or something). Also two side-by-side flat spots. Naturally, the surface is dulled by all this.There is very little glass to spare at the pontils, and polishing would likely open up the ends, thus ruining the marble, in my opinion. So what about reheating? What would that do to the value? And what is the value, if left as is? Thanks for any comments. Mib$~~Here is my 2 cents worth about your marble. I am certain your onionskin is in its original condition, that is, not ever polished. It has been played with on rough ground, which produces a lot of small damage, and hit a few times, which produces the larger chipped areas. I used to polish a lot of marbles, but have kind of fallen off the vine because I felt it was giving me arthritis, and also felt the dust might be dangerous. I will, however, do something that is rare and beautiful, so the effort is worth it, but don't find many prospects anymore, alas. Perhaps if I got out there and looked, I would. I would, for starters anyway, just hit this marble with a worn-out 600 grit emery paper on my (wet) wheel, that makes it shiny but removes almost NO material. You can really see what you have then, and do more if you so desire. A great trick I discovered to protect pontils was to cover them up with fingernail polish, first one, let it dry, then another color (red and white work well) so you can monitor your progress and not get too close to the glass. FNP is fairly tough stuff, and comes right off with FNP remover, of course. There are other tricks of the trade to prevent very much shrinkage or out-of-roundness problems I can't go into here for space and time considerations. Heck, these things were not very round from the mathmatical standpoint anyway, so don't worry about that too much. I was a friend of Larry Castle and am devastated he is gone. He "healed" a sulphide and an end-of-cane onionskin (OK, an end of day) for me and they both came out great, but it is an intense process, and the marble must be polished afterwards. I recommend it only for desparate cases on rare marbles, since 20 years ago it was $75 each. Anyway, if I owned that Leighton marble posted a couple places down from yours, I would also probably do it with the 600 grit I mentioned above. I did exactly that on some I had years ago, and they came out great. I sold them to Bert Cohen and he loved them in full knowledge of what had happened, I made a few bucks and I bet he did too, which is fine with me. Wish I could find more........I'd keep 'em! If you have any questions, email me directly, I don't know everything, but have polished a lot of marbles. Dinkybus Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now