Why does nobody talk about using a simple rock hammer instead of buying a $300 fossil extraction kit?

I spent 6 months trying to pry trilobites out of shale with chisels and brushes before my grandpa handed me his old rock hammer from the 70s and I got 4 complete specimens in one afternoon, has anyone else found that fancy tools are just a scam for beginners?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael_green4417d ago

Ever try smacking a rock with a hammer and having it split sideways instead of down the middle though? That happened to me last week and I almost lost a perfectly good trilobite tail to the gravel...

davidkim17d ago

Wait a side split? How'd you not shatter the whole thing?

cooper.drew16d ago

@davidkim yeah that's the thing with fine-grained material like some shales or certain limestones. The bedding planes let the rock split along weak lines instead of straight through. You gotta look at the grain before you swing. If it's got a natural seam or a hairline crack running sideways the force will follow that path every time. I've had it happen with a couple trilobite pieces too. Best way to avoid it is to give the rock a light tap first and listen for a hollow sound. That tells you there's a hidden plane in there. If you hear that, switch to a chisel and work along the edges instead of smacking the center.