Op 10/09/2021 om 22:36 schreef Samuel B.:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> Op 10/09/2021 om 01:26 schreef Samuel B.:
>>> Hey, is that a classic Estwing hammer I see? (...)
>>>
>> Yes sir, it is! Modelled on my own, old, specimen, which has accompanied
>> me for the last 55 years or so. Got it for my birthday after I had
>> revealed to my parents that I intended to be a geologist.
>>
>> It is also worn down, probably not as much as yours.
> 
> You can be the judge of that... I've attached a photo of mine for your viewing
> (dis?)pleasure. As you can see, it's fairly worn. Not too bad, but reshaping it
> means losing some length from the pick. But the worst part is the condition of
> the handle... It needs the for the lacquer to be removed and some oil applied.
> I've dug underwater in creeks with the thing, to loosen rocks and get at
> gold-bearing clay, so it's no wonder it looks like it does. (One time when I was
> doing this - my chin partially underwater - an otter popped its head over some
> boulders, saw me, and quickly went the other way, lol.)
> 
Well... except for the handle, mine is in the same condition, with some 
serious dents in the head additionally (from hitting too many quartzitic 
rocks in Scandinavia and the Alps iirc). That handle of yours needs some 
refurbishing indeed. As you say, some oil for the leather to absorb. 
After a hot field summer in Spain, the leather had started to shrink and 
crack, a bit like yours. I used to dip it in a water pool for a couple 
of hours... Otherwise, your Estwing still looks pretty operational. I 
don't know about reshaping the point. Generally, it doesn't need to be 
too sharp (or it looses its sharpness pretty soon anyway).

>> Its most intensive
>> use was during my studies when fieldwork was in hardrock countries
>> almost exclusively. Later, as I switched to softrock specialisation, it
>> gathered mostly dust. Trowel & spade took over. :-)
>  > Yeah, a rock hammer isn't often the best tool for everything, that's 
for sure.
> My other main tool is a long, flat-headed screw driver. Perfect for prying apart
> rocks that would otherwise be difficult to budge. (But I've chipped a bunch of
> quartz crystal terminations doing that...)
> 
Screwdrivers, chisels, whatever is available. Hardware stores are little 
paradises for that ;-)

>> However, it is still there, sometimes to be used when a rock passes by.
>> Never took it on a plane though; you can imagine why...
> 
> Tomorrow is one of the reasons why, I'm guessing?
> 
Yeah...

>>> Not many minerals around here except for granitic rocks, (...)
>>>
>> The Sierra Nevada, I assume. Fascinating geological history over there.
> 
> Yep! It's just too bad there's not much interesting going on in my immediate
> locale. I'd really like to spend some time in some of the more interesting
> places, like Fresno Country, Inyo County and even San Diego County, even though
> the latter has been heavily prospected. Inyo seems like the best bet for
> undiscovered treasures.
> 
Not sure but I guess areas on the fringes/just ouside of the granite 
outcrops would be more promising, and the metamorph, ancient sedimentary 
rocks?

>> You did some perfect modelling of jasper and topaz.
> 
> Oh, that reminds me. I know your specialty is more on the geological side of
> things, but a great tool has just become available for free: KrystalShaper (
> http://www.jcrystal.com/products/krystalshaper/ ) It provides a catalog of
> hundreds of minerals, plus tools to analyze and export geometry. Might be worth
> checking out.
> 
I shall do that.

>> Your Europan vacation shot still fills my background screen here, btw.
> 
> Haha, cool. I still want to update that scene with a camping tent, RV or
> something.
> 
>>> What do you plan to use the granite for, if anything?
>>>
>> No real plans at the moment. My primary intention was to finally put
>> Daniel Mecklenburg's code to good use after all those years.
> 
> I'm out of the loop, so I'm not sure what that entails, but I'm looking forward
> to seeing it.
> 
Sorry, my bad, you are already ;-) What I meant is that the Granite_21 
macro is the result of wanting to turn Daniel's code into proper 
granites for a number of years.

-- 
Thomas

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