Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 15, 2021 8:19:22 GMT -5
Yep, sure does look like Goldfield material. The rhyolite from that site is super full of silica so it does polish much more like a jasper.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 15, 2021 8:05:18 GMT -5
Very fine polish on that orbicular rhyolite. That material can be a tough one to get a good shine on.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 9, 2021 16:46:53 GMT -5
That last one is incredible and very well agatized. That grape formation in the first example is called botryoidal agate but the second is what I would call a tube agate as the formations are almost like stalactites. I've not had my hands on a lot of Summerville agate but that last one is freaking awesome and likely very rare. I'd either leave it as a specimen or "very carefully" cut or grind, and polish it across the tubes so as to display those wonderful concentric patterns.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 2, 2021 11:58:49 GMT -5
Orbiculat rhyolite for the first one. The second is a rhyolte too and looks like the chrysanthemum or flowering rhyolite from Nevada. There is a redder form from Mexico called starburst rhyolite.
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 31, 2021 16:45:27 GMT -5
Wow that is old stuff. Haven't seen any in years and years.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 31, 2021 16:42:36 GMT -5
Looks like it to me too. Hardness usually varies even within the same piece. For me, it always seems difficult to get better than a good satin finish.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 26, 2021 13:10:56 GMT -5
Yup, classic Lavic brecciated jasper
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 5, 2021 13:02:17 GMT -5
That first specimen might be Rio Grande Gravel material as it is common to find booth orbs and mossy inclusions in those agates.
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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 Aug 2, 2021 6:28:13 GMT -5
Arg!!!! Poison Ivy roots! I made that mistake one time when digging a vein of poppy jasper. Nurse took me around displaying me to other nurses as they'd never seen an arm as badly affected by poison oak as as mine was. Really had a bad reaction to the juice from those roots. Cool video though.
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 31, 2021 12:27:55 GMT -5
Yeah, that's actually a travertine which is calcite hardness. It should polish well on tacky leather with optical grade cerium. Just enough pressure to drag against the pad but be careful of holding it too long as too much heat from friction will often fracture travertine.
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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 Jul 29, 2021 17:20:22 GMT -5
Most of those are not Needles Blue but a few may be. Needles Blue is usually quite blue green-more blue actually and is found as fairly thin sections through a brown matrix. Most of what you've pictured is as others have said malachite or chrysocolla infused chalcedony. Large shots #1 and 14 look closest to Needles Blue to me.
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 23, 2021 6:42:29 GMT -5
Awesome! I especially love the color and pattern in #4 ad the last one.
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 15, 2021 11:24:08 GMT -5
Dang, you know when I was a kid on the wrong side of the tracks, there was a custom motorcycle and hotrod shop on the outskirts of our neighborhood. In the ally outside the shop there were racks with huge stalactites of hardened paint hanging from them and us kids use to break them off and collect piles of them because of the wild colors. Who knew folks would cab that kind of stuff someday.
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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 Jul 15, 2021 11:18:15 GMT -5
Oh yeah, gotta love that first Fairburn but that Brenda is pretty nice too. There is some very nice plumy stuff from that location.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 12, 2021 12:05:37 GMT -5
More of a dense mossy agate. No clear cellular structure to indicate it's bone.
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Sabre52
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Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 12, 2021 12:03:39 GMT -5
Jeez, What a waste of time. That type of limestone formation is found all over Texas. Don't need a bunch of testing to figure out it's natural less you are a bumpkin. I thought this guy is a geologist. Must have a diploma from a Crackerjack box.
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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 Jul 9, 2021 9:03:53 GMT -5
Glad to see it was just lack of education and not a rip off artist. See a lot of both on E-Bay. That was the main reason I quit buying stuff I can't see in person and dry.
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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 Jul 7, 2021 15:49:38 GMT -5
Nice! I lie small spheres. I ran into a guy on a rockhound trip one time that kept his rock collection in a pouch in his pocket. He had him one of those marble machines I guess, and would make a marble from the best example of a particular material he could find. Basically a small sphere collection. I thought that was pretty cool.
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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 Jul 3, 2021 12:37:57 GMT -5
We're having a mild summer heat wise this year in the Texas Hill Country but the humidity is bad enough I have to change clothes several times a day. Wet and sticky seem to be the current state of affairs this year.
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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 Jul 3, 2021 12:14:43 GMT -5
There is a somewhat similar dendritic agate from several locations in Wyoming and another from near Valley Springs, CA but the pictured type is definitely Parral.
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