"It takes 60m years and about six hours to make a curling stone, shouts Ricky English above the whine of the lathes. The operations manager at Kays Scotland is surrounded by wheels of ancient granite in varying states of refinement. It is a small business with a big responsibility: the only factory in the world to supply the Winter Olympics with curling stones. Competitors don't travel with their own stones, which weigh about 18kg each, and with 16 required for a game."
"The body of the curling stone is made from a single piece of common green granite. It's got elasticity and when two stones hit together it acts like a spring, says English. The running band, the only part of the stone that touches the ice, is an insert made of blue hone granite. It's basically a waterproof granite, which makes it perfect for running across ice."
Kays Scotland is the only factory worldwide that supplies curling stones to the Winter Olympics. The family-owned firm in Mauchline, founded in 1851 and employing about 15 people, began supplying stones for the Winter Games in 1924 and has provided every set since curling became an Olympic medal sport in 1998. Each stone weighs about 18kg and teams use 16 per game; 132 stones were shipped to northern Italy for the current Games. The stones use rare Ailsa Craig granite: common green granite for the body, offering elasticity, and blue hone granite for the running band, a waterproof insert uniquely found on Ailsa Craig. Production combines handcrafting and traditional techniques with machine work.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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