RockyBlue
fully equipped rock polisher
Go U.K.
Member since June 2006
Posts: 1,719
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Post by RockyBlue on Jun 16, 2007 7:50:58 GMT -5
I1m just curious as to what makes a rouckhound,especially us newbies for me it was color,I was checking out some knife handles on another website and finally i ended up here at RTH,i checked out the photo section and a whole new world began for me,i became obsessed with their beauty.{still am} It was fascinating to see what you all have been able to do with a plain old rock to bring out the beauty inside and outside of it,so i became HOOKED and i`m glad i did,19 years ago i gave up the other things that i was hooked on,and now being a newbie rockhound my world now is pure happiness.Thanks to RTH.This is just some things i needed to say.Thanks So Much RTH............Rocky
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blarneystone
spending too much on rocks
Rocks in my head
Member since March 2010
Posts: 307
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Post by blarneystone on Jun 16, 2007 7:55:07 GMT -5
I think this board has a lot to do with keeping me interested. If it wasn't for all of the great pictures and information found here I would probably have become bored with it by now. My interest is rekindled here on a daily basis. I get new ideas all the time from all the creative RTH folks.
I've always been a rock hound but beyond just pickin 'em up there wasn't much else.... until I started tumbling... and now I'm a rock junkie.
Hey thanks everybody! Dan
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Post by deb193 on Jun 16, 2007 9:11:21 GMT -5
color, learning, creativity, enjoyable past time - but those are really not enough to answer the question. When I see a new rock, I almost have to have some. When I hear about a place to collect, I begin plotting to get there. Given the chance I talk rocks - with anyone. There is a gravity that keeps me orbiting. Not sure I understand it, but I know one when I see one.
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,787
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Post by adrian65 on Jun 16, 2007 13:10:06 GMT -5
For me it's firstly the joy of finding and picking a nice rock. It's like picking a nice flower, only the rock lasts forever and could become in most situations even more beautiful than it was in the moment when it was picked. There is also the pleasure of walking in nature. And, last but not least, the surprise that some rocks reveal after cutting them.
Adrian
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cleo12797
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2007
Posts: 279
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Post by cleo12797 on Jun 16, 2007 13:33:17 GMT -5
I have been a rockhound since I was a toddler. I grew up on the south shore of Lake Superior and as kids we pretty much lived at the lake -- picking rocks, building forts out of driftwood, etc.. With all of the cool rocks due to the glaciers and the Lake Superior Agates, it was just kind of natural.
The thing that keeps me fasinated now -- aside from the beauty of rocks -- is the history. I think about how long it has been here and all the different civilizations that may have walked on them and what that rock would say if it could talk, etc. ... Well, it is just mind blowing to me!
I'll stop rambling now. You shouldn't have gotten me started! LOL
Ang
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Post by Michael John on Jun 16, 2007 15:07:45 GMT -5
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Post by Lady B on Jun 16, 2007 15:35:59 GMT -5
I didn't know there was a name for this passion until just recently but I guess you could say I've been a rockhound since I was about 2 or 3--a very long time ago. I've been picking up stones and small rocks all my life, and being gifted with a very creative imagination, I had some of the best toys ever. Didn't realize it at the time but I grew up in poverty (as far as economics go). My grandfather told me that stones and shells were gifts from God and I could keep as many as I could carry. When my pockets got full I just filled up my cheeks before filling up my arms. My mother was always checking my mouth to make sure she got all of my hidden treasures out before I choked. I also remember asking my dad to bring home some of the boulders that would fall down onto the Parkway running beside the Wissahickon Creek in Conshohocken, PA. Afterall, the sign said "Watch for Falling Rocks" and once they fell I figured they were another gift from the heavens. (Dad always said there wasn't enough room in the trunk or that we'd get them on the way home--and then he'd find an alternate route to return to our home in Philly. :-) )
My economic status has definitely improved over the years but I still love rocks and stones and shells and fossils. Why? Have to give the answer to every child's persistent questions. Because. :-)
Lady B
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Post by Original Admin on Jun 16, 2007 17:07:55 GMT -5
Rockyone - for me it is shine.
Undamaged crystals shining got me first - amythyst (sp?) quartz - then I got into the fact that I could polish rough and damaged stone and have it SHINE like the natural stuff.
A deep shine for me is the key to this hobby.
I also like fossils aswell.
Cheers Mark
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Post by larrywyland3 on Jun 16, 2007 18:41:18 GMT -5
I wish I did more rockhounding. I think of rockhounding as part of the lapidary arts. I like the simple honesty of it all. The rocks are there; no one is manipulating and planting them there is no marketing scam. They are simply where they have always been; long before any human foot trod a path. And one of us comes along; picks it up and we are connected to this great wonder all around us. All the B$ll s#%t in the world fades away and plain simple truths become more evident. It becomes our treasure to unwrap, work and be creative with. The final product is the result of mystery, hard work and our unique creative path. Tomorrow it will all start over again, but it will be a little different. The rocks seem as infinate as time itself; endless riddles, puzzles and educators in the school of hard knocks .
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Post by BuiltonRock on Jun 16, 2007 19:05:03 GMT -5
Hey Rocky and all! Nice topic ;D
I'm very new to all this, for me it started about a year ago! I too like the colors, the patterns, the shine... but when I read this tread I immediately began to think about my younger days as a deck hand. I worked out of Port Aransas, TX. mostly party boats but I did get to do some sport-fishing, they paid me but I would have done it for free.
The power of the ocean, the awe and vastness of the sea. The unlimited amount of life, the endless knowledge, no matter how much a guy knew, he knew he didn't know much. I never felt more alive, I never felt so small, I felt very close to my Creator.
Then there is the excitement of the hunt, the comradely of like minded people and the mystery of what is on the other end of that line, you never really knew what was going to come up and we did have our share of surprises.
Rocks are a version of this for me, I'm in awe of the one that created this rock we live on, the power at work that formed these beautiful and hard nodules we rub on. The endless variety, boundless knowledge, the fun of the hunt, sharing with other rock hounds (I think there is one in all of us) and the wonderful surprises every time I cut one open, hit one with a hammer or open the lid of my tumbler.
Thanks for the trip! I have to go wash my hands in bleach to get the fish smell off. John
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Post by Condor on Jun 16, 2007 19:45:14 GMT -5
I like this topic too. Ever since I was little I like shiny rocks. My parents could not afford to buy me a rock tumbler, but over the years I'd pick up pretty rocks. When my kids were little they'd pick up rocks too. I decided to get a tumbler for them, and gradually I was able to buy more and more rocks and lapidary equipment. Sometimes I go through periods where I don't want to cut, polish, or anything like that, but just like BlarneyStone, this board just keeps me motivated because of all the cool things about rocks that people talk about. The pictures are incredible, so I just continue to polish away.
Condor
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Post by cpdad on Jun 16, 2007 20:09:03 GMT -5
same for me here....started when cp got a tumbler for christmas....now we try to take a day every so often to go and find some cool peices....im more into it now than him...but being out in the country or just walking on the river bank looking for something that jumps out at us is cool also.
and yep...this board also keeps me tumbling...im in 60/90 for about the next 3 months....if i couldnt look at others stuff....i wouldnt see the reward of all the patience...maybe a rockhound i am...maybe not....but i think i come close anyway...kev.
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Terry664
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2005
Posts: 1,146
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Post by Terry664 on Jun 17, 2007 11:02:25 GMT -5
I am not sure if I am a true to form rockhound yet, I have picked up rocks ever since I was a kid, but never did anything until I was 58. I started because I wanted to shine a Ruby, my birthstone, big mistake. I was ready to quit before I hardly started. After that mistake I found RTH, learned how to do a lot, experimented(still am), and won't believe a stone won't shine until I try, and believe me some won't. I have done dull colored local rocks that shine like crazy. Am I a rockhound? Well for the 1st time in about 3 years I had a chance to get out of the house for a full day, except for work. What did I do, drove 45 minutes to find the road closed to the place I wanted to look for rocks, then decided to drive to Lake Huron to find rocks. Well I found a spot, spend about 2 hours looking, got a bunch of non-descript rocks, anxious to see if any were any good, then drove home. It was a total of 7 hours, 160 miles, no great rocks, but I had a blast. Terry
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 17, 2007 11:15:37 GMT -5
Hmmm. Think I got started as a little kid when my folks used to drive an old Chevy Nomad cross country to Oklahoma every year. The car would always break down in some godforsaken hunk of desert and dad would have to walk/hitchhike to the nearest town for help or parts. I'd be left to wander the desert badlands and pick up pretty rocks, pet wood etc while we waited for him to get the car fixed. Later I reached the point where I made dad take me out to the desert especially for rocks or would rock hunt while he deer hunted. Then, in sixth grade, I had a great teacher who was into rocks and he taught me about identification, how rocks form etc. Been hooked every since....Mel
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Post by texaswoodie on Jun 17, 2007 11:29:27 GMT -5
I picked up my first rock and carried it home at age 5. For me, it's the hunt. I would much rather be out hunting rocks than polishing them. Alas, I cannot be out there all the time, so I have to do something with the ones I find. Pet wood and fossils are my favorite. To pick up and hold something in my hand that was alive millions of years ago just blows my mind. I feel the same way about American Indian artifacts..... just blows me away.
Curt
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raqy
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2007
Posts: 799
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Post by raqy on Jun 17, 2007 12:57:57 GMT -5
I first started back in grade school. My teacher taught us about fossils and took us to the Carlsbad Caverns. I was amazed then and to this day still am. This board has opened a new world to me tho. I love the pictures and the wonderful, kind people here too!
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Post by MrP on Jun 17, 2007 16:52:52 GMT -5
I have always picked up Lake Superior Agates and in that process I would pick up and throw down other JUNK rocks. Never did it on a steady bases but one day I was at one of our electric substations and another guy picked up one of MY Agates. I go there once a week and would take my break looking for MY Agates. All I took home were Agates then I found this website and found that there were other rocks that were just as nice inside. Good thing I found that out because every rock you find and take home is one less you will find on the next trip and I was running out of Agates. And Then............Thanks to this website I found other places to "buy" rocks. Have been broke and HAPPY since then. Thank all of You....MrP
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jun 18, 2007 12:07:08 GMT -5
2 words- Pet Wood
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Post by Tonyterner on Jun 18, 2007 12:17:32 GMT -5
I've always been interested in rocks to a point. I'd always bring one home from vacation or buy an interesting piece if I happened across one. My wife has been doing beaded jewelry for a few years now and I always found the stones she used interesting. What really got me going is my 6 year old daughter. She has always liked picking up interesting rocks and for a school project she had to bring in a collection of anything she wanted, she picked rocks. I gave her some of mine and her curiosity was piqued. Now we go to rock shows, visit natural geologic features and rock hound in the local streams. For us rocks are now a family hobby.
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Post by Jurrasic Jonje on Jun 18, 2007 21:15:44 GMT -5
It all began last summer with a trip to Wisconsin. Joi and I had just started making wire jewelry with no stones. While in Wisconsin I got to visit a natural gravel pit. This pit was created by a glacier it had stopped right there and deposited millions of rocks. So I brought some home.
Having no idea what to do with them I did a google search for rock tumbling and found my way here. I was blown away! I simply could not believe that rock could be turned into such wondrous things. So it began.
Now working with rock is my stress relief. Cutting, grinding or wrapping it all helps me unwind. I have also found a great sense of family here on the forum. I never tire of seeing what others do with there talents. So thankyou all for being a very large part of my life.
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