Bryan Davis Minerals

I added this page because I thought I might have some useful knowledge to share with new collectors.  I know when I first started collecting I was a sponge soaking up knowledge from every book, website, and fellow collector I could find.  So I figured after the last few years, I must have learned something useful... 

What I will try to include here though, is some information that is perhaps not obvious, or often said, or perhaps where my opinion differs from others.  If you have a tip that hasn't been beaten to death, feel free to email it to me.  As always any questions/comments or malicious verbal bashing can be sent to my email address blimer4evr AT yahoo.com.  There are some opinionated screwballs out there, and I would love to laugh at your ridiculous reasoning and poor use of grammar.

On to the tips!

1.  Don't leave specimens at the site.

Often when collecting minerals final cleaning and trimming is saved for when you get home.  If you find a big pocket, or a big boulder of fluorescent minerals you will undoubtedly take home what look like the best pieces. Don't leave the rest!  If its complete junk, then by all means leave it.  Think about it this way though, say you get home clean off a few of the specimens in your bag and realize what you found is actually much better or much more rare than you thought.  Now you remember the pile of specimens you left there on the ground right next to your find instead of taking them home.  You go back in a mad dash a week later to see what you left, but realize someone cleaned out your find.  You want the rest of your boulder?   Now you can buy it on eBay, and pay $10 for shipping.  This is not a hypothetical situation, it happens.  After you have removed your foot from your own butt just once, you will thank me for this tip and say why I didn’t listen the first time.  This is especially true for fluorescent minerals.  You may not realize how good something is until you can get it home clean it off and look at it in complete darkness.

You might say to yourself, but I shouldn't take more than I need, I might as well leave it for other collectors to find.  If you want to be nice, bring a few specimens to your local club meeting and share them with other collectors, or bring them to a show and sell them for cheap, or trade them.  If it will help, imagine some newbie at the site smashing what you left into little tiny pieces of unrecognizable powder.  Convinced?

2.  Don't be a hoarder.

I know I told you to take everything home, but I didn't tell you to put it in a box in your closet and never open it again!  I have to admit guilt here.  I am a moderate level hoarder.  When you first start out collecting, it’s good to keep a lot of what you find.  Having a lot of minerals will help you practice trimming, identification, appraising the value of minerals, and with comparing quality, color, etc.  When you finally build up a "display" collection, try to get rid of some of the excess.  Anything that doesn't make it to the display collection, or the "rare/unusual" collection should be sorted through semiannually and traded, sold, given away, or tossed.  Boxes hidden away that don't see the light of day are a waste of minerals.  It is especially hard with minerals because no two are the same, making it difficult at times to pick the best specimens.  In these cases I will often keep a few variations of the same type of specimen, but at a point you will see that enough is enough. 

Keep the best specimens and sell, trade, or give away the rest.  There are many collectors out there, especially newer collectors who would be jealous of even your crummiest piece of leaverite.  I know, that was me a very short time ago.  You would make their day if you gave them a cool specimen of which you already have 5 better.  This is a fact.  One day when they have a great find they may be willing to return the favor.  If you have a box of minerals that hasn't been opened or looked at in over a year, it is safe to say those specimens hold little interest to you and are safe to get rid of.  You will eventually regret getting rid of a specimen or two, but overall it is better than having a shed full of stuff hidden away that your family will have to rent a dumpster to dispose of after a boulder crushes you to death.

3. Have a lot of tools, and bring them all!

It’s good to have a wide variety of tools.  All rock is not created equal, and on most occasions one tool will not work well in all rock types.  A wide variety of tools from mason hammer to heavy sledge, small screwdriver to 18" screwdriver, small chisel to large chisel, gad pry bar to 4' pry bar will cover almost any type of collecting. Don't carry them all to the site though!  Go with what you think you will need, but have some backup in the trunk!  Tools can get expensive, so don't buy them all at once.  Start out with a few tools.  See what other collectors use on trips, ask them how they like their tools.  Most collectors, especially veterans, will have opinions on what type tools work in what situations.  Maybe ask them if you can try their tool, to get a feel for it and see if it works and is comfortable for you.  If you can’t swing a 16 lb sledge, there's really no point in buying one.  So in cases like this it’s better to try before you buy.

Also, those little geology picks are a waste.  I have never been collecting (at least in traprock, shale, limestone, marble, etc) and thought to myself boy I could really use a tiny lightweight hammer with a point on the end, never.  The smallest hammer I own is a mason hammer with a chisel back, and even that one doesn't see frequent use.  If you are doing serious collecting, small hammers will only be used for field trimming and whacking the guy next to you to let him know he is getting too close to you.

4. Do only moderate trimming at the collecting site.

Don't try to get a perfect trim on a specimen with a sledgehammer.  I have done this and regret it every day of my life.  There is no foolproof way to trim a specimen without it turning out badly, but trimming on site with improper tools is a surefire way ruin a great specimen, and be the butt of jokes for years to come.  At least take it home and destroy it while no one is watching!  In all seriousness, before trimming any good specimen you need to practice, practice, and practice.  Remember those boxes of leaverite you won't throw out, even though I told you to stop hoarding them?  Now is the time to put them to use!  Practice trimming them.  After you destroy them you will see how hard trimming really is.  Trimming tools are expensive.  I have resorted to not trimming, my better specimens.  I need a hydraulic trimmer, and until I get one I have decided to stop trimming good specimens, because the death count has risen too high.

Tools for trimming specimens include, but are not limited to:
Tile Nippers - take little chunks off, good for light trimming, but only work on thin specimens, sometimes the shock can knock crystals loose
Diamond Saw – It eaves ugly flat sides which should not be shown near display faces unless absolutely necessary.  It can vibrate specimens and cause crystals to pop off, or unseen cracks to worsen.  An angle grinder with a diamond blade attachment is a cheap alternative to buying a big saw, and can be purchased at most hardware stores for about $70. 
Hydraulic Trimmer – The good ones are expensive.  I don't have one, and haven't used one, so I can't really comment too much.  Though I do know there is a limit to the thickness of the specimen that you can trim, and I imagine the shock could cause crystals to pop loose.

With all trimming methods there is a chance of destroying a specimen.  Specimens should be checked for loose crystals, cracks, or any other weak point that could be exploited when trimming.  Sometimes if a specimen is just too big, a hammer must be used to get it to an appropriate size first.  Cross your fingers!

5. Leather work gloves suck.

You can’t feel anything.  I use stretch cotton gloves coated with some kind of rubber or latex.  Something like this:

http://www.labsafety.com/store/Safety_Supplies/Gloves/Coated_-_Dipped_Gloves/24530799/

You can get them at the hardware store too.  When you are working in a pocket or doing delicate work, you want to be able to feel what you are doing, while still protecting your hand from getting torn up.  Plus some leather gloves can give you blisters along the seams if you are doing a lot of digging or similar work.  Leather gloves will last longer, but when you have to take them off every time you want to pick up specimens, you will see why they are not worth it...  At about $3 a pair, you can use the cotton gloves for several trips before needing a new pair...

 
6. It's important to listen to people who tell you collecting localities no longer exist or are picked clean...

...because that is the first place you should go and collect.  Someone is either not working hard enough, or trying to keep you out of there.  Either way check it out, and when you find something awesome send me a piece as a thank-you.  I will happily give you my mailing address; I might even send you something in return!  Just remember that when you do find something spectacular make sure you tell those people they were right, and boy was that site a waste of time! 

I won’t recommend going into areas that are illegal or off limits, or destroying private property to get minerals.  If you want to get arrested that is your business...

 
7.  Mineral storage

I see all of these people using beer flats for mineral storage.  I thought this was the best idea ever.  Then I collected a specimen that was over 2 inches tall, and realized that it doesn't fit in the box!

Do you sit in a cubicle all day and listen to the guy next to you punching the copy machine because it is jammed?  Me too!  After fixing it for him take a look at the boxes the paper comes in.  Does it look like this?

http://shred-911.com/img/Copy%20Paper.jpg

 I bet it does!  If you have a box cutter you can slice and dice this baby to be a mineral flat anywhere from about 4" tall to 12" tall by cutting the top edge of the bottom of the box.  As far as I am concerned that fits everything.  If you are trying to put a mineral specimen over 12" tall into a flat, stop reading now because these tips are wasted on you.  Sure you can buy "Mineral Flats" for between $2 and $5 a piece on the internet, but why?  Why not reuse, save the planet, and hoard more minerals while saving money...  Win win.