ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 13:51:09 GMT -5
So, these rocks were also in the huge lot of rocks I bought (all not likely from Missouri). Every bit of the rock is soft - I can easily scratch it with a stainless steel nail. They seem like they are the top layer, or a ledge of material. They have a light, thin, even softer layer at the top and bottom. Here are some pictured dry   Here is the top, very irregular  Here are some pictured wet. They are really pretty.  This one is not wet - I think the guy that had them tried to polish some areas. They have a dull shine in those ares.   |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 15, 2022 14:07:06 GMT -5
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 15:35:39 GMT -5
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 15, 2022 15:53:57 GMT -5
Isn’t root beer onyx actually calcite?
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 15:57:52 GMT -5
rockpickerforever Man, reading about this stuff online is confusing. Some websites call it Rootbeer onyx, some call it rootbeer onyx calcite, and I found an etsy seller who said it was "travertine onyx, or banded calcite". So, I'm assuming it's essentially calcite since it's scratched so easily?
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 15:58:31 GMT -5
Isn’t root beer onyx actually calcite? Oh you must have posted at the same time I did - I have the same question! =) |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,492
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 15, 2022 16:17:34 GMT -5
Yes, actually travertine, not agate type onyx. Takes a wonderful polish with ease but it fractures easily if you overheat it.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 16:26:39 GMT -5
Yes, actually travertine, not agate type onyx. Takes a wonderful polish with ease but it fractures easily if you overheat it. Thanks, that is so interesting. I'm so glad it will take a polish! |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,621 
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 15, 2022 16:35:18 GMT -5
Confirmed that it's calcite, we also call it root beer rock and I've sent a fair amount to RTH members. I got mine from an abandoned quarry where they were blasting road base out of a limestone mountain.   |
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 16:51:31 GMT -5
RWA3006 Wow, that's a huge chunk of it there! That's definitely the stuff. Thanks, everyone, for the info. I wouldn't know anything about the world of rocks if it weren't for this site. 
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 15, 2022 18:43:18 GMT -5
rockpickerforever Man, reading about this stuff online is confusing. Some websites call it Rootbeer onyx, some call it rootbeer onyx calcite, and I found an etsy seller who said it was "travertine onyx, or banded calcite". So, I'm assuming it's essentially calcite since it's scratched so easily? I'm glad Mel Sabre52 cleared that up for you. That's the problem when a rock has so many different common names, and also many marketing names. It can get so confusing! Too bad rocks/minerals don't get specific Latin names, lol. At least with plants and animals, they use Binomial Nomenclature to label them. When you say Macrocystis pyrifera, everyone knows you are talking about giant kelp. When you speak of Crotalus ruber ruber, you are quite obviously meaning Red diamond rattlesnake. Those are two specific Latin names my Biology teacher in junior college said he would teach the class, and we'd remember them for the rset of our lives, lol. So far, so good. Just read the definition - To denote species of living organism. Well, there you go, learn something new everyday. I guess they figured rocks don't need to have "full" names. But why not? It could be very helpful when attempting to idenify them, no? Show relationships to other rocks? Anyway... I have a single piece of the Rootbeer onyx that was partially tumbled when I got it. (I will always think of it as such, whether it's actually calcite, travertine, or onyx. That is what is has been called forever. Most people know what you are talking about.) It came in a bucket of rocks from the silent auction a local club holds annually. I've probably had it for more than five years and have not done anything with it yet. It is pretty soft. Should I get up the gumption, maybe I'll finish it up in the vibe. Sometime. |
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 20:17:05 GMT -5
rockpickerforever Yes, rocks really do need scientific names! I didn't realize until now that sometimes they have not-so-correct common names. I figured if a rock was called onyx, then it was onyx. But even that term means different things to different people. I dunno - is there a petition we can sign or something?? 
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 15, 2022 20:19:13 GMT -5
RWA3006 What do you do with your banded calcite? I'm thinking of slicing mine so it looks like a bacon suncatcher! LOL 
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,621
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 15, 2022 21:20:59 GMT -5
RWA3006 What do you do with your banded calcite? I'm thinking of slicing mine so it looks like a bacon suncatcher! LOL So far I haven't done a danged thing with it except let it sit in the yard. Probably use it for carving some day but I will have to be careful because it can delaminate along some of the lines. |
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Post by pebblesky on Oct 15, 2022 23:44:23 GMT -5
Beautiful band!
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 16, 2022 7:13:16 GMT -5
So far I haven't done a danged thing with it except let it sit in the yard. Probably use it for carving some day but I will have to be careful because it can delaminate along some of the lines. That will make a beautiful carving! Looks like I'll need to practice on a less complicated stone before I try to shape it. |
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 16, 2022 7:14:57 GMT -5
Thanks! Hopefully I can get it polished well. |
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