barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 5, 2017 19:38:08 GMT -5
Also called swirly rhyloite. There are some pinky tones in this that didn't get picked up. This looks exactly like some of the "squirrely rhyolite" I picked up out at the Hauser Geode beds last Thanksgiving. Some of the pieces I picked up have some nice agate areas. If you would like some slabs they will be for sale at our club show in November
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 2, 2017 18:42:49 GMT -5
My bet is chrysocolla with a touch of malachite
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 28, 2017 19:43:00 GMT -5
New cab photos added
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 26, 2017 19:08:54 GMT -5
i am the last person to criticize anyone for housekeeping Neat looking shop, you are definitely equipped to rock! Some day when I win the lottery, or learn to be a successful bank robber, I will have a shop like that
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 18, 2017 23:16:20 GMT -5
I got a very good deal and am happy with it. This is all going to be slabbed by my club, El Cajon Valley Gem & Mineral Society to be sold at our show in November. Come on down if you want a piece.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 18, 2017 22:21:05 GMT -5
Disaster Peak looks like a winner. Is this stuff particularly valuable?
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 18, 2017 21:25:45 GMT -5
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 16, 2017 23:07:18 GMT -5
I agree with the general trend of the comments. A lot of the cab shapes are uneven. You can do an asymetrical shape, but it has to look like you meant it to be that way. I mark my girdle once I have the stone shaped to the desired size. I make a series of dots at 1 mm or 2 mm above the bottom of the cab and then connect the dots. Having that girdle line helps you make a consistent dome no matter how round or flat you want. I also make "test" cabs of materials i have not worked before. That first slab off of the rock may have some cracks or boring design, but I make a rough cab out of it to see how fast or slow the rock works. The next cut off of the rock will give me a consistent slab to work with and i will have a better understanding of soft spots in the stone or other defects to work around. Certain stones polish best with certain polishing media. Soft stones like the rhodenite look better if you use the right final polish media. One of the equipment companies has a chart of which polish media works best with which stones. It is not all inclusive, but it covers the most popular ones.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 8, 2017 19:58:18 GMT -5
Great idea! Love that dacite, what a neat rock. Dacite reminds me of the new Army digital camouflage. I call it Mother Nature's camouflage. It makes really neat knife handles.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 4, 2017 18:56:47 GMT -5
I am starting to think about new places to go in the Ludlow/Mojave area with my rock club. We have been to Lavic, Hector Hills, I-40 thulite and Christmas Tree Hill. Looking at other places in the area people have gone I have found Broadwell Dry Lake, Ship Mountain, Kel-Baker Rd, Marble Mountain, Turtle Mountain, Bagdad obsidian, and Flat Top Mountain. Does anyone have other places in the Ludlow area that would be good to visit?
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 4, 2017 9:17:34 GMT -5
I know NOTHING about your area or materials, but perhaps something like this? - - - - - - - FAKE MAP - - - - - - - Perhaps the name of the material should be with each cab? That is pretty much the idea
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 3, 2017 22:22:12 GMT -5
I came up with an idea to help get folks to join our rock club. I would make a map showing all of the places we have gone in recent years and attach cabs of the stuff we found there. I figured that is the ultimate thing people want to know about rockhounding trips, what will we find and can I make jewelry out of it. Anyway here is the latest batch. On the left is Dacite from Yuha Basin by the Oyster Beds. On the right is fossilized palm bog from Calico Ghost Town area. IMG_20170803_132427236 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Left to right; Orange agate/green opal from Kramer Junction, Chapinite from Hector Hills, Red agate from Calico Ghost Town, Epidote and Peridot from Wrightwood, Purple agate from the Cadys gathered on a field trip with Shotgunner IMG_20170803_132527749 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr The map project continues. I got some nice free maps from AAA and they are getting laminated at Staples for $12.00 each. I think I am getting close to having enough cabs. I am hoping you all won't complain too much if you see a cab for a second time in a group shot. I did most but not all of these. These are the singles. DoBell Ranch Petrified wood, McFall Mine garnet, Lithium Queen Mine lepidolite IMG_20170827_145540901_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Wrightwood area: Yellow crystals in marble (still haven't figured this one out yet), epidote and peridot in marble and stabilized actinolite IMG_20170827_145451171_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Afton Canyon Chineese Writing stone (quartz and feldspar in basalt) IMG_20170827_145324941_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Victorville Tricolor Marble IMG_20170827_145113767_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Calico Ghost Town: Three agate/jasper mix. The last one is palm bog IMG_20170827_145017779_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Lavic: Two Lavic Siding jasper and two Christmas Tree agate. I think i need more Lavic to show the range of color with material from that area. IMG_20170827_144908223_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Palen Mountains: Chrysocolla/cuprite/quartz and green quartz (I think) IMG_20170827_144803350_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Hector Hills: Two white chalcedony, two thulite (epidote), lavender rhyolite with quartz crystals, chapinite IMG_20170827_144708115_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Hauser Geode beds: Yes there are things besides geodes there. Two "Paisley jaspers", one "Pseudo Bruneau" jasper, black agate, and two "Squirelly" rhyolite. IMG_20170827_144506533_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Indian Pass/Ogilby Rd and Yuha Basin: Dacite, two dumortierite, two gold jaspers. IMG_20170827_144348897_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Cady Mountains: jaspers and #2 on the top row is flourite. IMG_20170827_144216246_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Kramer Junction: The green is opal, the rest is agate and jasper. IMG_20170827_144042699_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 3, 2017 16:38:47 GMT -5
Dog tooth calcite?
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 24, 2017 21:53:08 GMT -5
They are all beautiful! A fine skill making them fit the knife blank, that's for sure. Mike Hoover does really amazing work. Jay Fisher is the guy who takes knife making to a whole new level, metal work, leather work and stone work. If you can cab then you can make stone handles for knives. I think people are concerned that knife blanks cost a lot. You can pick up a number of smaller knife blanks for $20 or less. Garage sales/flea markets are great sources for knives. So what if the handle is cracked or missing, you are going to replace it anyway. Those polishing wheels you use on stone can also take the scratches off metal. The biggest change for me was learning to think in rectangles instead of ovals. Knives usually need a design that looks good in a linear fashion. It is a smaller and more narrow surface to work on so it is more challenging to find a design in the stone that looks good in that smaller window. There is the additional challenge to try and get the two sides of the knife to look the same or as close to same as possible. And of course there are two of them.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 22, 2017 11:30:10 GMT -5
Dust masks are really about taking care of larger particles in the air. OSHA does not consider them "respiratory protection" as dust masks have gaps and do not form a seal with your face. For exposure concerns you want a real live respirator which may be tricky to get and hard to validate that you have the right one.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 21, 2017 11:14:53 GMT -5
Those are really nice. Now I want to try to make one. I see you've already given your source for blanks, do you have any other tips? Michael Hoover used to have an excellent tutorial in making knife handles, but it seems to have been taken down . He gives a great step by step presentation from taking the old handles off to putting the new ones on. The only thing i do differently is I prefer to do most of my stone work on a dop stick. He prefers to work the stone in the knife blank. For me working the stone in the knife is just an opportunity to damage the bolsters.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 21, 2017 9:23:13 GMT -5
I've collected custom knives for almost 30 years, when I started I was drawn to the use of stone but never acquired any knives with it. You've done a nice job with these, a lot of talent to fit the stone. Not many totally custom makers use stone. Scott Sawby is one, look up his pieces if you get a chance. You are right, he does beautiful work! Way above my level. If i was getting $900 - $1,000 per knife i would be a very happy man
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 13, 2017 0:18:46 GMT -5
One of the first folks I traded rocks with after joining this forum was Barclay, and not surprisingly, I was rewarded with a great variety of stuff from California way. Some has long been worked up and some is exotic enough that it resides in the special slab drawer awaiting more knowledge, confidence or an application justifying the exkperiment. I hope he was equally satisfied with materials from New Mexico and my largesse. Variety is the spice of life. Thanks. Dittos. The stuff I got from you is in my area for when I want to make something special. Funny how the only jewelry you see in New Mexico is turquoise with a little jasper thrown in when they have all those pretty Rio Grande agates and other stuff.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 11, 2017 23:29:37 GMT -5
I have become inspired by all of the auctions for cool material folks collect in other parts of the country and am considering joining in. Do most people prefer boxes of a single material or would a variety of material from Southern California be of interest to folks? Are chunks of rock more popular or are slabs? I know some folks don't have access to a slab saw.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 11, 2017 19:34:46 GMT -5
Awsome stuff as always! When I look at your cabs I keep seeing material that is new to me. My wish list is getting quite long now
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