Bluestone belongs to the marble category. In China, among various stone materials, bluestone is considered a high-quality environmentally friendly material. It is wear-resistant, weather-resistant, and radiation-free. In recent years, it has been widely used in antique-style buildings and rural courtyard paving, making it very popular with modern people.
Bluestone processing has several modern and antique-style methods: Currently, commonly used in modern landscape gardens are bluestone with a bush-hammered finish for slip resistance, as well as brushed and axe-hammered finishes. In antique-style street design, hand-hammered pineapple-shaped bluestone is commonly used. This effect resembles the work of ancient craftsmen using traditional hammers and chisels. There are also chiseled slabs, which are also processed by modern stonemasons using traditional hand-hammering methods, thus creating the antique stone effect.
The rise of antique-style bluestone and old stone slabs in recent years has led to the application of old stone slabs. Antique-style bluestone pursues the style of old stone slabs, which has resulted in more processing methods. The stone is hand-hammered and then fired. After high-temperature firing, the surface has the appearance of being weathered by wind and sun. Further processing can be done by using an antique-style brush to polish the surface of the stone, which creates what modern people call patina, like the black and shiny surface of a stone slab worn down by people walking on it in ancient times. Antique-style stone can also be processed further, such as acid washing and soaking in antique-style water, which creates patina and weathered patterns with a sense of history.
