Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 24, 2019 22:46:43 GMT -5
Yup, and nice Guadalupe too!!!!!!
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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 Feb 24, 2019 22:43:07 GMT -5
Wow, very cool. Were those Trancas geodes? Only time I've seen cool scepters like that in amethyst geodes was in some a guy was selling at Quartzite. They were from Brenda, AZ near a trailer park. Supposedly only residents were allowed to dig them. They excited me so much I bought several, including a few as gifts. Wrapped them very carefully for my Texas move but the movers banged them around and they took some damage. I was crushed when I unpacked them but I still have them cause I'd never seen anything like that....Mel
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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 Feb 23, 2019 16:52:57 GMT -5
Yup, definitely looks like Succor creek. Others are probably marcasite and hematite in jasper and agate....Mel
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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 Feb 23, 2019 16:50:30 GMT -5
Yep, Janos agate out of Mexico. The T-eggs have a huge amount of matrix and a nice but often small or narrow banded agate center so dealers often chip off most of the matrix. Otherwise a buyer would be paying a per pound cost for mainly matrix. Guy at Quartzite one year was trying to sell the unchipped t-eggs for like $5.00/ pound. Whole nodules were like 10 pounds plus in size. No one buying them much at that price.....Mel
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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 Feb 22, 2019 9:06:31 GMT -5
My rockhounding buddy from Mariposa is a Virgin Valley addict. About ten years ago he bought an unsearched scoop from one of the mines and was rewarded with a bunch of big crystal opal limb casts that were full of fire. Largest must have weighed more than a pound. Incredible finds that made my jaw drop when I saw them. Never saw anything like that before except in books. One was even a little branchlet that was solidly replaced in crystal fire opal. I posted pics here at the time of the find but damn fuggin crooked ass photobucket took all my photos hostage.....Mel
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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 Feb 21, 2019 19:52:49 GMT -5
I've cut quite a few jade cabs and had some advice from experts. Jade is very variable in texture and even in hardness in some varieties. Onion skinning is pretty common as is undercutting where there are inclusions of manganese or magnetite. Expert told me most of this problem can be solved by sanding with very worn belts or wheels with a very light touch. Fresh diamond wheels will gouge the heck out of the softer parts of jade. Again though, this varies from variety to variety. Some jades are very homogeneous in texture and hardness and some are extremely problematic with lots of softer zones. Cabbing them is a trial and error process. Heck, as Stephan has said, more than a few folks sell harder serpentine types as jade and some of then actually work up better than real nephrite.
Far as tumbling jade goes, most forms I've tried do not tumble worth a darn. I have seen good results with the jade from Mariposa county, CA. I had high hopes for some nice looking Wyoming nephrite I tried but in the fine grind it came out with a lumpy pebbly texture from soft spots and onionskinning. Waste of a tumbler full of jade that would have made nice cabs. Again it seems to take a lot of trial and error and a long learning curve.....Mel
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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 Feb 14, 2019 21:03:27 GMT -5
Definitely agate. It has the look of fossilized shell fragments from some kind of pelecypod like Coquina. Quite a bit of that in the Rio Grande gravels here in south Texas. Could also be a multi-fortification agate where the external membranes have broken loose. Lenz, in his Agate Book calls those fragmented membrane agates ( a type of brecciated formation) and those too have a lot of those curved semi circular formations. I'd lean towards it being the second type....Mel
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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 Feb 13, 2019 23:32:05 GMT -5
Really nice!!! Word of caution though. I was at a show a few years ago and Fish and Wildlife was busting folks right and left for jewelry incorporating animal parts like claws, talons feathers etc. I guess they were demanding documentation for the hunting trophy type stuff and just flat out busting sellers for jewelry with talons or bird of prey parts as that stuff is strictly a no no. All those laws usually use the sentence " or parts there of" when regulating wild animal parts. I'm sure if differs from state to state for state regulated critters of course ( birds of prey are federal). For example, here in Texas, you can pick up "shed antlers" but woe befall you if you are caught salvaging antlers and such from roadkill.....Mel
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 10, 2019 19:38:06 GMT -5
It does have a real jade look to it. Some of the Porterville jade looks a bit like that too....Mel
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 10, 2019 19:34:57 GMT -5
Wowser!!!! What an eye popping display and what a polish too....Mel
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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 Feb 6, 2019 20:59:29 GMT -5
Yup, Bull Canyon from Calif./ Nevada border area. That's a pretty one!....Mel
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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 Feb 2, 2019 23:00:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I've got one too, along with special breaking pliers. Works well on picture jasper and obsidian, poorly on jasper and agate. Stuff with bands or inclusions don't break well.
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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 Feb 2, 2019 22:57:46 GMT -5
Looks like jade to me too, Do a scratch test with a knife blade to make sure. Serpentine will scratch, jade should not. Jade also clinks when struck by steel while serpentine goes more a dull thud.....Mel
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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 Feb 1, 2019 8:18:02 GMT -5
Snakeskin agate is a real thing. Odd nodules from around Rome, Oregon that are pastel to gray chalcedony inside and kind of crackled, scaly looking on the exterior. Make neat specimens but not too great for cabbing. Cool looking partially tumbled. The trade named "snakeskin agate" is , I believe, a created material but I really don't know much about it....Mel
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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 Jan 30, 2019 17:27:08 GMT -5
I like it. Looks like a high silica dendritic limestone to me. At the Lambert Rch in San Saba Texas, most the crinoidal limestone is pretty hard but in some areas, the limestone is opalized and is even harder. Thinking what you have may be a harder limestone heavily impregnated with silica. Usually, that happens when the limestone is overlaid with silaceous diatomaceous or sponge spicule deposits....Mel
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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 Jan 30, 2019 17:19:25 GMT -5
Very cool cab. Pattern is awesome! Somewhere, I have a big block of similar material from the jade beds at Darrington, Washington if I've not slabbed it up yet....Mel
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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 Jan 25, 2019 12:04:17 GMT -5
My 6" Genie is probably almost 40 years old. In that time frame I did have to get one new arbor unit as the motor caught on fire and burnt up. The pump is a little weak now so I use an aftermarket geyser along with the Genie one. My main complaint is the base is some kind of crap chipboard which eventually warped and bowed in our hot humid Texas weather. I find the idea of overhead cooling and a stainless tray very appealing on the Cab Kings....Mel
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Poppy
Jan 24, 2019 19:39:49 GMT -5
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 24, 2019 19:39:49 GMT -5
Friggin awesome and very unusual!...Mel
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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 Jan 21, 2019 17:40:00 GMT -5
Guess it depends on whether or not you are someone who just likes pretty jewelry or someone who collects. For the collector, ID and location are pretty important. To my wife, shiny and pretty are important. Though I will admit, a lot of jewelry wearers want to know ID and collecting location too. Even the wife had to have a blue topaz from Mason, Texas. But it had to be a sparkly Lone Star cut too.
Kind of like taking my wife into a gun store. I like brand, price, performance features etc. She likes the $18,000, shiny, fully engraved, gold and silver plated, Colt revolver that is too fancy to even shoot. Different things are important to different folks *L*....Mel
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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 Jan 18, 2019 12:57:31 GMT -5
I went on a trip there years ago. At the time, there were some huge logs showing and lots of diggings. Material was very pretty with lots of tumble sized hunks around. Bigger stuff was pretty but often very fractured. Tge opal is pretty brittle compared to agatized wood. Was in a VW at the time so could not carry a lot back so we only took tumble stuff which proved a booger to polish past a satin finish. We did find one wash near Tonopah just loaded with agatized wood in earth tones. Virtually tons of wood locations around Tonopah. Real pretty late springtime trip as long as you don't hit windy days....Mel
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