(Part 2) Best products from r/rockhounds

I'm not local, but here are some resources you may look into:

A list of gem/mineral clubs in South Carolina. I'm sure that other /r/rockhounds will back me up when I say that joining a club is a great way to meet people who know where to go to find the goods. Clubs also often go out on field trips periodically, including to spots you can't access as an individual.

Here is a general article on the geology of upcountry SC.

A list of upcoming mineral shows. Your best bet might be the Augusta, GA show in March. Shows are another solid place to meet some folks who might give you some pointers, and a great place to get your very early (or very late) Christmas shopping done!

GatorGirl's list for general-interest geology stuff in your state. You might cut your teeth on a commercial site, like the listed Diamond Hill Mine before venturing out on your own.

I couldn't find any rockhounding guides for your state, but Michael Streeter's A Rockhounding Guide to North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains seems well-received on Amazon. One of the reviewers mentions that it gives GPS coords for the sites, which is an absolute godsend. Rock, Gem, and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina is another option, but many reviews mention that several sites are no longer open to collecting. It might be worth a read, anyways. And as more of a general overview, you might try a "Roadside Geology" style book like Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas. Your local library may have a copy of some of those.

And, for all of your rock database needs: here is the full Mindat page for finds listed in your state -- towards the bottom, you can select a specific county to narrow things down a bit. Mindat's pretty comprehensive and often has great pictures to help you know what to look for when you hunt, although many of the specimens were collected from private land or closed sites.

If it's not too much of a drive, here is an older post I made regarding rockhounding in North Carolina.

Be aware of the local laws and always keep the Code of Ethics in mind!

With regards to tools required, that depends on exactly what you're looking for! If you're just digging in dirt, a shovel and/or trowel may be all you need. If you see yourself breaking open hard rock, you may need a geologist's hammer and safety glasses. In general, you'll want to bring proper outdoor attire, a buddy to hunt with (and drink your beer, find the good specimens, and go for help if you get hurt!), lunch, a bucket to carry your finds home, and paper towels to wrap delicate specimens in. I'd definitely recommend going on a couple club outings before striking out alone, though.

Good luck!

I knew you would have some mega response to that like the scholar that you are. Have you ever heard of a tube agate? Or an eye agate? A simple google search will educate you, but I have the feeling in some way you will continue to believe what you want to believe to make yourself feel better. If you can't tell what it is based on the picture, then maybe sit out the comment section or say "hey thats neat, i don't know what that is." and carnelian agate found in MN...cmon guy. Blue agate? Just give it up, they come in more colors than 3 basic versions. There are gray lake superior agates, white ones, yellow ones, yes even RED ones. I am sorry that they came in those colors and some of them tricked you.

In an effort to resolve this bizarre argument you conjured I am going to drop some links to books about Lake Superior Agates. Your local library is a good way to read about this stuff for free as well.


https://www.amazon.com/This-Agate-Illustrated-Superiors-Michigan/dp/0970734204/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-16&keywords=lake+superior+agate

https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Agates-Superiors-Banded-Gemstone/dp/0979200695/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-12&keywords=lake+superior+agate


https://www.amazon.com/Storied-Agate-Unique-Superior-Agates/dp/1591933099/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-7&keywords=lake+superior+agate

https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Agates-Minerals-Identification-Guides/dp/1591932823/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-4&keywords=lake+superior+agate


https://www.amazon.com/Agate-Hunting-Made-Easy-Superior/dp/1591933269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-1&keywords=lake+superior+agate


https://www.amazon.com/Agates-Lake-Superior-Stunning-Varieties/dp/159193303X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467952203&sr=8-3&keywords=lake+superior+agate

-1. Rock hammer

• Either get a pick type, if you go for hard rock hand samples,
  
  or a chisel type, if you want soft rocks and fossil beds.
  
  
• Either way if you have the $$ go Estwing, else whatever you can find at Home Depot.
  
  -2. Hand lens
  
  
• 10x is classic, sometimes 14x is nice for tricky mineral identification.
  
• LED lights are fun, but typically found on lower quality optics
  
• Best you can get? Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet 10x - $35. Probably can get something cheapo from China on Amazon for a few bucks.
  
  -3. Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks & Minerals Nuff said.
  
  -4. Got some cash to burn? A handheld GPS is pretty nifty.
  
  -5. Small bottle of hydrocloric acid. Can be handy for quick IDing of carbonates, but often not worth the hassle. Alternative: learn your mineralogy, bring a pocket knife.
  
  -6. Sharpies, pens, masking tape, and a field book. Keep notes! Label rocks so you can track your finds.
  
  -7. Camera!
  
  -8. Sample bags - anything tough but soft should do. Pros often use canvas.
  
  If you're feeling ambitious, raid your garden shed for anything good at moving earth. I've had a lot of luck recently with Estwing's prybars, chisels, and crack hammers with popping sediment beds out, but there's no need to go for name brands for these items. It's all about what you're going after...
  
  Happy hunting!

I tried to look for you, but it was a couple years ago and it won't even bring up the page now. I'm so sorry. They looked something like this, but you could buy them individually for $5 a piece.

So this could be a no-go for you, and they might not do it, but the absolute best geodes I've ever gotten came from this rock shop in Moab, Utah. Here's their website. It's a family owned place, so they might be willing to send you some. You might want to call soon though, they usually close for winter.

And while I'm plugging stores, that place is my absolute favorite store in the whole wide world. They have everything. Just, everything. The last time I was in there they had a six foot split geode filled with two inch purple amethyst points for a couple grand. Ammonoidea fossils with pyrite in the chambers. Anasazi pottery shards. Multitudes of trilobite fossils starting at 1/4 inch and $.15, up to 6 inches for several dollars. Dinosaur bones of every shape and size. Sharks teeth. This bin full of pebbles for $.10 a piece that has everything from ruby bits to bismuth to perfect tiny quartz tips to gem quality jade. Rock eggs made of picture jasper, agate, smokey quartz. Amber with spiders, beetles, mosquitoes, flies. Petrified wood. Pristine white alabaster. Moqui marbles. Rough opals. Moonstone in roughs, tumbled chunks, polished cabochons, set in hand made sterling. Calcite in squares and clusters. Agate slices in every color of the rainbow. Holy freaking turquoise, Batman.

I've been going to that store every time I've been to Moab for almost thirty years, and my heart still flutters just thinking about it. If anyone ever gets the chance, it's on the top of the hill in the last big bend on the main road headed towards the Arches. The son of the couple who used to run it heads the operation now. I didn't get to talk to him last time I was there because he was busy helping a group of children....breaking open their geodes.

http://www.amazon.com/Labradorite-Upright-Stone-Joyoung-20-24/dp/B00LBCO7R8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1419137490&sr=8-3&keywords=labradorite

I bought the last one but it looks like they are back(for $3 more). Still, the shipping is free and was well packed in bubble wrap and the stone nicely polished. It definitely has a good side. These were flattering pics but it is clearly imperfect and not quite worthy of making tile, jewelry or whatnot. I think it was a great paperweight and conversation piece for the money.

Start with Gem Identification Made Easy, it is a fun read if you like sciencey things, and detailled enough to serve as a reference book as your knowledge grows.
Perhaps a better title would have actually been "...Made as Easy as
Possible If You Have Proper Instruments", but still a great book. The Gemology Online Forums are pretty good, and the Gemology Project wiki they're working on is a great quick reference.

Look for a local rockhound club, many offer lapidary classes. Learning to cut a stone (faceted or cabochon) only takes a few hours, and expands your understanding dramatically. You might also get a chance to try out a few gemological insturments before you buy them.

For opals, you are going to want to go to Virgin Valley which is in the NW corner of Nevada, so definitely more than two hours away, but worth it. The House Range in Utah is Famous for its trilobites, and IIRC that's probably less than two hours from Great Basin. The Battle Mountain area is known for turquoise. Probably want to pick up a guidebook like this one. Have fun, Great Basin is an awesome park!

OK I am home from work. So....I see someone linked you to minedat. All the locations I was going to mention to you are in there. If you go to Big Brook, this is what you want to look for as far as fossils goes (we collected these ourselves): https://imgur.com/VgWjTnR..

The tube shaped things are fossilized phragmocones from belemnites.....a squidlike animal. You can see a fossil shark tooth on the left. The curved horn shaped things are oyster fossils and the round-is objects are fossilized brachiopods. These are also pictured on the Big Brook website: http://www.njfossils.net/invertebrate.html..

I suggest you take along many towels (muddy sometimes), a change of clothes, a bathingsuit (the water starts to look reeeeeally inviting on a hot day. We just sit in the water and sift). And one of these (This is the one we got. I think there are size restrictions so dont get a bigger one): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008B0T5Z2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1..

There is also a place called Poricy Park in Red Bank. We have never been but a friend of mine had great success there. Same situation as Big Brook, bring lots of towels because its muddy as heck. I feel like I am forgetting to tell you something but if I think of it I will comment again on this post. Feel free to ask any questions, we probably live less than 20 miles from you, so we know the area well. My husband is also a Geologist so feel free to pick our brains. Dont be shy!

That's awesome, it's great that you're encouraging her interests.

As far as a beginner's kit goes, this might be a little hard for her to do but might be something you could help her with or that she might be interested in in a few years. You mine your own!

Unless you meant like a beginners collection? In which case it looks like SciPlus has quite a few options..

I will say I'd be hesitant to plan any week long trip if the sole purpose is rockhunting. I don't have kids, but I took my nephews fossil hunting with me. The youngest was four at the time, and very interested in fossils, especially shark teeth. We kayaked out to the island, and after about 15 minutes of searching he said "Okay I'm ready to go home now" and made the rest of the afternoon somewhat unpleasant. Kids will be kids. Naturally, he ended up finding the largest tooth I've seen anyone find on the island.

Another option is to maybe take her to a gem and mineral show?

A. What are the stones? I will assume they are silicates like Jasper or Agate, but softer is always easier.

B. The diamond bits you got are more for shaping than drilling, and they do not have any pathway for debris removal. A carbide or diamond glass/ceramic bit may work better. Dremel has a high speed one or Home Depot has glass/tile ones that may run a bit more your speed.

C. An 1/8" hole through rock will always break bits. Get lots of bits, go at high speeds, advance slowly and pull out after advancing to flush kerf out of the hole and keep coolant on it. Good luck.

I found this to be very informative :)

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_014600.pdf

These are the books I use when I go gem hunting, they're great!
When I first started gem hunting I found having sunglasses a regular hammer and a screwdriver was enough to get out some really cool stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Gem-Trails-Pennsylvania-New-Jersey/dp/0935182853

Happy hunting friend !

A heavy duty canvas backpack would make a good gift for a rockbound. I'm always wearing out backpacks by filling them with rocks.

A nice pair of gloves would also make a good gift. I like these.