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Post by kk on May 18, 2014 19:54:14 GMT -5
Thats a whole new ball-game altogether! My favorite materials are Fire Agate, Spectrolite,Pietersite and Montanas. Largely because no-one has found a way yet (save for Montana) to "enhance" or artificially make them. While, I respect people for their ingenuity and craftsmanship, I have not come to this hobby to work with man-made stuff. Regardless how beautiful it might be. Its just a personal no-no. James cooking his coral, is as far as I will ever go. That is also part of what has always turned me off from Jade. There are way to many ways to tread that stuff, and opens up for a whole lot of cheats to reign freely.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2014 21:28:22 GMT -5
180 degree opposite opinions! And we'd still share a few beers too. That is what I am talking about!!!
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Post by kk on May 18, 2014 21:56:51 GMT -5
Would be absolutely boring if it where not so. Can you imagine a world where everyone has the same taste? Media, corporations and governments do their best to guide us towards uniformity, yet we shall prevail in our uniqueness all on our own.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2014 21:59:51 GMT -5
OK. Beers on me. RTH trip to Hong Kong!
Hell, I'll be close in July. Hokkaido Japan is a lot closer than Los Angeles!
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Post by kk on May 18, 2014 22:37:51 GMT -5
Wonderful place. You will enjoy the beer there, I'm sure. Lots of culture to marvel at (if you got the time) But still 4 hours flight away from here. Plus, I will be hiding within China during most of July on assignment with a few schools on summer-camps.
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Don
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Post by Don on May 19, 2014 10:50:18 GMT -5
I have always loved fire agate, since I first saw it as a child attending the local rock show. I have a huge collection of rough but unfortunatly the material is so time consuming to work, I have only produced a few finished pieces. I hope to work on more some day. There's something about "going digging" for those bright layers of color and bringing them up to a high polish that is magical. So much good fire agate is ruined by the tumbling and windowing... www.dlcgems.com/fire-agates.html
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Post by kk on May 19, 2014 11:04:48 GMT -5
Don, nice to see that you go for both; regular shapes as well as freeform, just following the stone. Windowing is a necessary evil for lazy bums like me. Tumbling is a sin in itself for that stone. But I would say that more fire is lost due to people trying to cut regular shapes, than any other way.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on May 19, 2014 11:09:02 GMT -5
Hi Don, are the cut stones at the link your work? If so I'd say you have a great understanding of this difficult material.
I totally agree about good rough that's ruined by tumbling, etc. Half the windowed pieces I see are pre-ruined.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 19, 2014 11:37:05 GMT -5
I really love fire agate and I'm enjoying this thread with all of the eye candy. I just want to chime in that you guys are so talented!!! I can't imagine the patience and understanding of the rough that you have to have. kk, I share your desire for natural stones, however, there are a few manmade ones that are divine- Gilson opal and Victoria stone comes to mind.
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Don
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Post by Don on May 19, 2014 11:46:59 GMT -5
Hi Don, are the cut stones at the link your work? If so I'd say you have a great understanding of this difficult material. I totally agree about good rough that's ruined by tumbling, etc. Half the windowed pieces I see are pre-ruined. Hi Rick, yes those stones in the link are my work. If someone ever wants to torture me, all they have to do is take me down to quartzsite and force me to go through the bins and bins of pre-ruined windowed fire agate... Not all windowed material is bad, sometimes you'll find someone who knew what they were doing, but the majority of the stuff was ground down with abandon, cutting through good fire looking for something that wasn't there in the first place.
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Don
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Post by Don on May 19, 2014 12:16:54 GMT -5
Don, nice to see that you go for both; regular shapes as well as freeform, just following the stone. Windowing is a necessary evil for lazy bums like me. Tumbling is a sin in itself for that stone. But I would say that more fire is lost due to people trying to cut regular shapes, than any other way. Thanks Kurt. As you know, shape and form just comes down to the rough stone and how mother nature made it. if there's a nice uniform nodule with good color, it's easy to just grind out and polish cabochon style (more or less). but the more complicated roughs nearly always require carving to bring out the best that the stone can offer. Beyond cutting and carving, I've found that the other critical element to good fire agate work is getting as high of a polish you can. The fire really only start to 'pop' at around 3000 grit, and just gets better as you progress to 100k for the ultimate shine. The chalcedony turns clear and the fire layers get maximum exposure. Finished fire agate work with a poor polish is as bad as poorly windowed rough as far as my pet peeves go.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on May 19, 2014 12:17:09 GMT -5
Don, I've been through the "Quartzsite Torture" several times. It's really a sad thing, especially since good rough is usually hoarded these days. I can't afford to pay for a run of Dave Penny's Monster Machine at Deer Creek and Mexican material seems hit-or-miss -- mostly miss.
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Don
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Post by Don on May 19, 2014 12:38:45 GMT -5
I've often daydreamed about Dave's deer creek mine run...I have a friend who owns a claim out in deer creek and offers to take me out, but I don't know when if ever I'll get the time to get out that way. Seems like mexican rough is nearly impossible to get; it's all windowed out these days. I hear that the best rough never comes to market...
One day I was out rockhounding on the utah/nevada border and found a small piece of fire agate float with some color...one of these days I'll track down the source and have my own fire agate claim and keep the best roughs for myself...that's the dream anyway. keep dreaming.
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Don
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Post by Don on May 19, 2014 12:52:30 GMT -5
Here's a piece of rough I'd love to get my hands on...
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on May 19, 2014 13:02:49 GMT -5
Wow! Not too much glyptic work to be done on that piece! Beautiful stuff.
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Post by kk on May 19, 2014 17:06:48 GMT -5
I will say! This piece does not need much work t all. Alone the polishing process will bring out pretty much the best in it.
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Post by kk on May 19, 2014 17:14:27 GMT -5
kk, I share your desire for natural stones, however, there are a few manmade ones that are divine- Gilson opal and Victoria stone comes to mind. Absolutely agree, they are gorgeous. Yet we are in the lucky position to choose from such a huge diversity, and for me, as soon as I find out that something is man-made, I don't want to wear it any more. Have always been that way, even before this hobby came along. Hong Kong is paradise for copies of virtually anything, but, I rather save for the real thing for years than go out and buy a copy.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on May 19, 2014 17:39:05 GMT -5
I feel the same way Kurt. While I can appreciate synthetics my interest in gems stems from wonderment at nature's ability to create beauty. I don't wear much jewelry -- odd for someone who cuts stones and makes jewelry. I made a gold ring set with the first fire agate I ever cut, a red beauty I wore for years then lost. I have 3 other rings, a fine lapis, a Taiwan nephrite and a Montana agate I made years ago and rediscovered yesterday. That's about it and I wear them only now and then. I think the Montana's my favorite but I've picked out a fire agate for a new ring ASAP. I also have a big blue Ceylon sapphire for a gypsy-style ring if I ever get around to it.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on May 20, 2014 9:59:55 GMT -5
All my rough is still in the white quartz faze......Do you cut the quartz/agate off first than work the fire agate??? Seems you would have a better grip with the whole rock,than with the smaller agate...(I have a whole box full of this stuff)..
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Don
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Post by Don on May 20, 2014 11:41:53 GMT -5
Yes, in general the white quartz cap must come off first to get down to the color layers, unless you want to incorporate it into an artistic carving. as far as finding the color layers go, I work an edge a little and see what's there. if I see something promising, I'll start exposing that layer through the stone by careful grinding and carving. If fire as already visible, I'll work any extra material on top of the color as close as possible. Once you have all the fire exposed and carved out, it's a matter of polish, polish, polish.
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