Prov
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2020
Posts: 116
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Post by Prov on Jan 5, 2021 11:16:38 GMT -5
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,237
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Post by quartzilla on Jan 5, 2021 22:25:08 GMT -5
Gorgeous stuff. May have to get some of that if I manage to make it to Quartsite this year. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by Pat on Jan 6, 2021 0:32:40 GMT -5
Such a lot of pretty in such a small space. Thanks.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 6, 2021 8:24:51 GMT -5
I suppose it's most likely because green is my favorite color...but there's just something so eye catching to me about Kambaba Jasper! Great job on some beautiful material!
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Jan 6, 2021 8:32:26 GMT -5
Such a lot of pretty in such a small space. Thanks. That is an excellent way to describe it! Beautiful colors and patterns, and it does not seem like size makes one bit of difference. Beautiful rocks!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 6, 2021 10:40:05 GMT -5
Nice tumbles...
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Post by Bob on Jan 7, 2021 11:48:47 GMT -5
I like the striking looks of this material also and you have a very nice batch!
This stuff can be frustrating. I have tumbled a lot of it and found wide variation in lots purchased and individual rocks. Maybe 1/3 or less seems hard and tight enough to do well to the very end and even with that--never a high shine polish for me.
This, dalmatian stone, and turritella "agate" all seem to be in a category of gorgeous yet touchy and frustrating tumbles--yet all very worth it when it works.
I am tumbling a piece of this now about the size of an orange and should post a photo. My polish results improved on this material significantly after doing a 1,000 SC step after 600, before going to polish. It also improved again after Opticonning before polish. The literature says tin oxide is best for it, but I can't remember at the moment which polish I used which worked best.
By dipping pieces in water after 220, I have learned that the darker the rocks--both the green and black parts--the better the final results will be. I don't bother to tumble it only with itself--that seems to not matter after some experimentation.
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Prov
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2020
Posts: 116
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Post by Prov on Jan 7, 2021 23:46:31 GMT -5
For the record my process with this was a whole load of Kambaba only. 2 weeks in 60/90 grit rotary 2 days in 220 grit vibe 4 days in 500 AlO + 1 tsp of sugar 1 day in AlO Polish + 1 tsp of sugar 2 hours in a squirt of dawn as a burnish
I have another batch of Kambaba running with assorted jaspers and agates I got from that Madagascar bag, so we'll see how those turn out in a couple weeks.
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Post by Bob on Jan 8, 2021 12:01:34 GMT -5
I read a lot about this material a few years ago, could never reach a true conclusion as to what is really is, but it's not jasper. It goes by many names, including:
Kambaba Jasper Eldarite Crocodile Jasper Kambaba Stone Nebula Stone
Some literature would suggest it contains mineralized stromatolites, but I found that most mineralogists have debunked that. Normally when I run into such inconclusive information, I just keep digging deeper and deeper into the scientific literature until I finally nail it. This is one of the few materials for which I gave up though.
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