Best Tools

I was curious to know where the cheapest and best rock hounding tools are to buy. I know that ESWINGS are good but is there a site to go to and buy their products? If anyone knows that would be helpful, thanks!

Aaron Miller

Aaron,
Yes, Estwing has the finest made rock picks available. I have sold them in my shop for decades. They do not sell to individuals, only to distributers (i.e. in quantity). Many rock shops carry them and I am one of the few who also brings them to the shows I do. I have not yet had time to add them to my website but someone out there may have. Try google or let me know if I can be of further asistance.
Gary

Thank you Gary. I would like to take you up on your provided help. I really need to know what all tools I should have, how much and where are you located? I have regretfully never been rock hounding. I have collected rocks since I was 5 years old and am 24 now. I will be going into the goldsmithing/jewelry trade this April. I know a lot about rocks but "shame on me" I have never went rock hounding. I've always bought mine. If you could help that would be great, thanks! Aaron

What you actually need at any given time will be determined by the type of sites you will be collecting at. I would feel very ill equipped if I did not have my 3# crack hammer, a chisel or two, a garden scratching tool, a small shovel, a plastic bristle brush to clean off caked on dirt and clay, and lots of newspaper for wrapping specimens in the field. Be sure and include gloves and eye protection as other essentials. I won't mention pry bars, sledge hammers, buckets, boxes, long bladed screw drivers, small mattock, large mattox, note pads, screens, magnifying glass, hard hat, . . . Start with some basics and build from there.

If you do an internet search for Estwing you'll find plenty of dealers. Hardware stores will carry lots of other basics. Have fun!

Steve

Hi Aaron
Maybe you should try out collecting with a club group first and borrow from fellow field trip members to see what tools work best for you..most members
don't mind helping out a newbie with one of their extra tools. This also gives you a leg up regards seeing how best to use the tools in their natural collecting environment. I have been on field trips where I saw other collectors just whaling away on a rock with no regard to the ultimate damages they would cause to the pocket of crystals, move away in disgust when everything was damaged and leave the wrecked remains for others to bemoan. Better, in my view, to learn how best to prise crystals and specimens with the least damage to them, from people who have been doing it for a while...the knowledge once gained, will be invaluable for the future collecting. After a while you develop an eye for what crack to attack first and after that, it all becomes much easier.

Thanks everyone!

I know what you mean Ray in the understanding of what you said. "I saw other collectors just whaling away on a rock with no regard to the ultimate damages they would cause to the pocket of crystals, move away in disgust when everything was damaged and leave the wrecked remains for others to bemoan."
I've never seen anyone personally do that but I know when I go rock hounding I will feel very regretful even to crack a little bit of a beautiful specimen. I wished when I was younger when I started collecting that my dad was into it and would have taken me rock hounding. But he sure did have an interest in taking me to shows all the time. He's a great father! I am anxious to go rock hounding, I need some good people to come and show me. Speaking of clubs, I will be attending a club in South Bend soon. I do appreciate your help.

Aaron Miller

I carry as much as four different size hammers several chisels including wide bladed and straight bladed, two crowbars, a bucket, a small shovel, a loupe, and a notebook
having feathers (use leaf springs) are useful but can lead to specimen damage. but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty your most useful tools are your eyes so keep them protected. in the field I find my self leaving most of the tools in the car and
carrying a rock pick

Aaron,
I do not feel right posting my contacts for comercial purposes and I know Jolyon and mindat frown upon it. However, since you asked, if the message is not deleated, you can contact me through gary@garysgemgarden.com.
Hope I can help,
Gary

Aaron,
24 years of age is not too old to start fossicking. Some people don't start until they're in their 40s,50s or even 60s and still have plenty of good finds.

Nothing beats finding nice specimens. The self collected ones always take pride of place in my collection.

The one tool I seldom leave at home is a short 5 foot Bar with a point on one end and a chisel on the other. It has so many uses, but as stated it depends where you're looking.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2008 10:48PM by Mark Rheinberger.

Hey also check on Ebay. well made Estwing tools will last forever and the "used" patina that you may find on a pre owned tool will separate you from the greenhorns.
Dave

Estwing tools are a little pricey for me; a $25 chisel snaps just as easily as a $10 chisel when you hit it with a sixteen pound sledgehammer.

Every tool you need is probably available at your local hardware store. Start with a selection of hardened steel chisels and a crack hammer of a couple of pounds, and a wood-handled light sledgehammer of 8-10 pounds, and see where they take you. Don't go spending $60 on the classic little pointy geologists pick... they're almost entirely useless for serious collecting.

Join a local club and go on organized field trips, there's no better way to learn!

T

Actually, the little geologist's picks are very useful... for putting in photos to give a sense of scale.

When I'm walking around a site, my bucket usually has a 2-1/2 to 4-pound hand sledge, depending on how easy it is to break the local rocks (a fiberglass handle is nice, it'll never break and the yellow color is easy to spot on a rockpile); a couple chisels, flat utility types, one about 1-1/4" wide and the other about 3", with the foam holders to keep you from smacking your hand with the hammer (been there, done that, got the scar); gloves; goggles to protect the eyes when hammering and set a good example for kids and newbies; a water bottle, to avoid dehydration so I can spit on the dirty rocks; and a roll of paper towels (plus some tissues, jack knife and loupe in my pockets). And a hard hat on my noggin if there's any danger of rocks falling on it; otherwise a hat is useful to keep the sun off (much more essential in New Mexico than Michigan!).

Back at the van, I leave my 10-pound sledge, a BIG prybar, a shovel, more buckets or milk crates, egg cartons, flats (if there are any empty ones around, which is not that often), maps and the GPS unit, UV lamps and flashlights, more drinks in the cooler, food, sunscreen, and black plastic trash bags for multiple uses (emergency rain poncho, portable dark tent, and holding trash, even). Plus whatever makes sense for vehicle maintenance, depending on the remoteness and ruggedness of the road (using the term loosely) to wherever the rocks are.

See you out there in the field!

Bill

I think that tools may differ depending upon the material you work with and with the person handling them. I once had a 4-lb crack hammer which was a bit too heavy for my wrist (I'm a lightweight guy), got a 3-lb which was just right. I also had, for a while, a sledge hammer that was slightly too heavy (for me), a friend had one a bit light for him, so we traded, both pleased with the trade. I have several old but good tools that I have had for some years now. Sometimes I have to put the ends into water to swell up the wood to reduce looseness in the hammer heads.
I don't know whether a mason hammer works (a carpenter's hammer is NOT suitable for rocks, but I don't know about a mason hammer). I had never tried one, but recently on the dumps of a mine I found the rusty head of one (apparently the handle had broken just below the head and a bit of wood was in its "eye" hole). I used this hammer head to scrape a bit of snow from the dumps where last fall I had left a 3-lb crack hammer that someone had left behind (I had written a note "Remember where you left it" in graphite lead pencil, on paper, covered it with a piece of mica to protect from rain, and put the hammer on top of that, hoping that the owner would come back in a few weeks to get it, and get the note as well as the hammer!). The hammer was still there (and the note, though soggy by now, it fell apart)! I hope several months of waiting is sufficient.
I went to store for handle for the mason hammer. They had hickory ones, but the grain was wide and a defect near the head end, so I didn't buy it there. Another store had better hickory handles, fine-grained, direction parallel to head, so I fitted it with aid of a wood rasp and sandpaper and some glue (the wooden wedge provided helps but the metal wedges tend to split the wood). Don't know what I'll do with a mason's hammer but I wanted to get a handle on it.

I know folks who collect in hard-rock areas tend to frown on the pointed rock hammers called "geologist's picks". But it's a perfect tool in some situations. For example, for collecting pyrite nodules in weathered shale, very nice specimens are found in North Texas just by raking that point through the shale until the "tink" of a nodule is felt or heard. Ditto for titanites and feldspar in soils formed from weathered calcite at Bear Lake in Bancroft, Ontario. (And, I read a news story yesterday about someone able to take out a rabid bobcat with one after it attacked him and his wife while on a hike).

-Kelly

Pyrite shales and rabid bobcats notwithstanding, I'm one of those who tends to frown on the "rock ticklers" that beginners buy as a collecting hammer. In particular the light ones with a wedge rather than a point.

I have one of those I've had for many years which is very handy for doing things like putting in nails to hang pictures up at home, but has zero practical use as a collecting tool.

Real collectors use the heaviest hammers they can conveniently swing, along with sharp, strong chisels. If you use anything else the you are in danger of being mistaken for a beginner or, even worse, a fossil collector, so be careful!

Having said that I have a roofer's hammer as well, which I use in many cases instead of a geological pick for scraping through tailings, dirt, etc. It's proved very effective - been using it for 15 years or so and it was cheap.

Jolyon

ps. We also laugh at collectors who go out with buckets. Strong, heavy duty (metal framed) rucksack and lots of paper for wrapping your finds, plastic bags helpful too is what you need. Buckets are for making sand castles.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2008 01:36PM by Jolyon Ralph.

Yes! Finally Jolyon agrees with me on the bucket fetish. If it's a drive up site, I use the bucket to carry the tools, then I will wrap specs and carry back to a box in the 4X4. But if any type of hiking is involved; the backback comes out.

As for preference; rather than a geopik, I love a good mason's hammer.

Another member of the non-bucket gang here. I usually carry baggies and paper towels in the pack, keep flats in the car.

Oh yeah and tools... unless I'm sure what I'll need I bring along pretty much everything in the car. Basic tools going into an unknown area with no hints from locals would be a geopick a 3-pound and chisel, screwdrivers and possibly a digging bar.

I use a bucket, because it makes a nice stool.

And I also use a credit card when field collecting isn't feasible.

Steve

I tend to buy masonry hammers at garage sales. I typically pick them up for a dollar or two so i if the hammer or something breaks on them i dont fret much. Plus i can but so many of those before i can reach the price of an estwing... I would like to know where to pick up some feathers though so i can put them to use with chisels and wedges to pry and open up cracks.

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

reading through after my post i noticed the word box. I find milk crates good and sturdy, plus they have handles. They are also good for fixing onto the rack of an ATV =) and as Jolyon mentioned rucksacks. I pick those up at garage sales too. Any kind of canvas or heavy duty bag is great especially dealing with sharp rocks like quartz and stuff that cut up material real easy

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

Matt,

I would love to know where to get a set of feather chisels from also... Let me know if you find any. I know a guy who had a set cut from leaf springs from a truck. If I dont find anything soon I might go to a junkyard and try that route.

Bryan

[www.stonetooldepot.com]
[www.sculpt.com]

Although probably cheaper as a DIY project.

I have to fully agree with Matt, Aaron, as I have found a lot of excellent tools in auctions, garage sales and flea markets. Espcially now that the market is flooded with cheaper, poorer steel, chisels and hammers.... those old timers were made well and have already stood the tests of time, and they ARE CHEAP.
As for packing along things, one of the best things I have found is old dry cleaners film and cheap saran wrap type wrapping materials. They are soft, see through and they don't add sulfur to the specimens as paper does. They also have the advantage of high levels of resilience for protection. Wrapping a note inside about the find and on the outside under an elastic band is doubly protecting the information about your specimens later on, when memory fades...and it does.I hope you find a club that likes to field trip a lot, and then you will be on your way to many years of collecting pleasures and excitement.

I find the favoring of buckets kind of funny, fine for others although I use a backpack, and some appear to think me funny to use a backpack instead of a bucket, which seems to be a sort of image thing (real man type). I'm a slight guy and just find that a large bucket is bulky and lopsided (unbalanced) for me (though a small bucket is handy at times for certain purposes, especially to carry water, and for certain types of beach collecting). As for the geopick-beginner idea, I have not noticed any respect to me using old tools over the years (I just never had or kept a geopick, finding the stuff I'd gotten at yard sales handy). A friend who has done geology for years, and is a real mineral man, has had for years one of those "geopicks" with such a worn point that it has but a nubbin left, the point-end about half its former length! Apparently it works for him.
I find those little plastic compartment boxes handy for small specimens; pack some paper towelling in the holes beforehand.
I once bought an offset chisel (?) at a sale, and sharpened it up (I think it was some other tool but I don't know how else describe it). It once came in handy as a chisel for a place that a hammer just wouldn't have been able to reach its end.
Once I had some delicate specimens that were a puzzle. I came with an eggbox and some silicone cement and glued it in (later easy to peel off the glue). A friend introduced me to plastic bags, which are better perhaps along with that small bubble-wrap, although sometimes even aluminum foil has proved useful. It is nice to know ahead of time what may be needed so to save carrying a hardware store in backpack all the time!

Aaron,

Unfortunately, it was only glossed over, that the most important rock collecting tool is a proper set of certified safety glasses, or goggles. I can't count the number of times my sight has been saved from shards of rock flying at my face.

Tool-wise, Estwing is the way to go. Mine have lasted me for over 30 years. They can be found at any decent hardware store, or outlet.

......................

OK evereyone, what did I say wrong. LOL.


TTFN

my rockpick has a three and a half inch point and weighs 16 oz so it is more than sufficient to split pretty heavy pieces of rock plus it makes a great chisel I knows its not a three pound crack hammer but
it does its job and yeah I do own a three pound crack hammer no I am not compensating

If you prefer NOT to have shards of metal embedded in your skin or eyes, I would avoid using ANY hammer as a chisel. Hammers are not (in general) designed to cope with that kind of abuse.

Jolyon

Jolyon

Perhaps it would be a good idea to explain why a heavy hammer is better than a light hammer. It seems simple, but it might save someone a lot of frustration. From my perspective, a reasonably heavy hammer is best since it requires less hits on the chisel and sets up fewer shockwaves or stresses within the specimen. You have a better chance at getting the crystal etc; intact. A light hammer would require more hits on the chisel thus creating more shockwaves and stresses which may very well destroy what you are after. Not to mention wearing yourself out.

Al

Aaron,
I prefer leaf springs easily made from older truck springs (harder steel) cut to length, that you can heat to red-orange then quench to harden. Using the largest hammer you can repeatedly lift with one hand easily and connecting it solidly on the end of the chisel/springs seems to give the best results. Once opened enough a good wedge will suffice for an 8 to 9 pd. sledge evenly connected, being sure that as you raise the sledge up, your upper hand slides up to the steel to lessen the strains on the back. Especially on Walker Valley andesite!

I have swung a estwing professionally for 35 years, a 16oz finsh hammer, I am a semi-retired builder. I swore by estwings for most of my life... until a sweet woman bought me a Stanley hammer with a tunning fork in the handle. I can't tell you how much this tool has reduced the pain an old carpenter gets from swinging a hammer all day. In the feild I still carry my estwing masons hammer and a estwing 3lb sledge and a long chisel. Jolyon is tottaly correct, never use a hammer for a chisel, they are made for delivering the strike, not for recieving it.

thats why I keep polycarbonate between my eyes and my work the rest of me is usualy covered in heavy clothes