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.)

> 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...)

> 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?

> > 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.

> 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.

> 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.

Sam

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