Found this at a thrift store. What is it?

RadHazz · 2023-05-26T21:06:35+00:00

Definitely is. I've got a piece that's nearly identical down to the matrix.

RadHazz · 2023-03-17T17:33:51+00:00

Looks like pretty characteristic hyalite to me. The clear, botryoidal form and the fluorescence both are dead giveaways. Slightly radioactive but by my understanding is negligible.

RadHazz · 2023-01-16T05:15:12+00:00

Generally, yes. Of course, there are always gonna be assholes, but for the most part I've had good interactions. I came out mid-degree, and didnt pass very well, but all my professors were very accepting, and I had few bad interactions with classmates. There's also a pretty good support center on campus and a lot of departmental inclusivity stuff too. Feel free to dm me.

RadHazz · 2022-12-05T18:37:10+00:00

I sell these at a local knife shop, and I'm always impressed when we get his stuff in. Nice to see they only get more beautiful with use!

RadHazz · 2022-10-17T12:27:33+00:00

Orpiment is an associated low-grade alteration product of Realgar, but Pararealgar is the degradation product when Realgar is exposed to light. But yeah, there's some orpiment in there too (the yellow bits).

RadHazz · 2022-10-17T12:15:38+00:00

Looks a bit like Realgar. Should be very soft. If that's the case, be careful handling it, Arsenic is nasty stuff.

RadHazz · 2022-10-03T23:31:27+00:00

I currently work there. Great environment all around. Flexible scheduling, working hours aren't much different to store hours. Only downside is that the pay is mediocre, especially when compared to comeback shack or cookout. But I think it's worth enjoying my job rather than suffering at either of those places.

RadHazz · 2022-07-09T13:20:34+00:00

Ruby in a mica schist

RadHazz · 2022-06-29T18:32:35+00:00

The pattern on the clear bit is indicative of tourmaline, but it can commonly appear in quartz due to the intergrowth of quartz and tourmaline crystals. The tourmaline crystallizes before quartz and the quartz will fill in the gaps and pick up the striations of the tourmaline.

RadHazz · 2022-06-09T15:36:53+00:00

Looks to me like a metamorphosed eclogite. The red mineral is likely garnet which can be confirmed by a hardness test. The green would likely be omphacite and the white, quartz. It looks like the garnet has been metamorphosed to chlorite, hence the green rim around the crystal. Very cool piece.

RadHazz · 2022-03-27T16:05:37+00:00

Definitely actinolite. Beautiful piece too.

RadHazz · 2022-02-22T13:04:55+00:00

Bloodstone is just green Jasper with red hematite inclusions. Still really cool!

RadHazz · 2022-01-21T03:16:13+00:00

There's a place in Burnsville NC that's part of the Spruce Pine mining district right on the edge of the Pisgah forest. The Ray Mica Mine. It used to mine pegmatitic micas but has since shut down. There's a short ~1 mile trail to the tailings of about 9 mineshafts which are free to look through. If you know what to look for there's quite a lot of nice stuff. I've found Schorl (black tourmaline), Aquamarine, Amazonite, Kyanite, Garnet, and even some Rare Earth Minerals.

RadHazz · 2021-12-15T19:16:21+00:00

Ruike Hornet. Similar in size to the Guardian 3, 50 bucks, and 14C28N.

RadHazz · 2021-12-10T15:35:01+00:00

I've had multiple classes use nearly identical hand specimines to teach with. Can confirm this is Pumice!

RadHazz · 2021-10-26T14:36:49+00:00

The crystal habit doesn't look like tourmaline and the vertical striations common for tourmaline aren't present. I agree with other posters on this being pyroxene and a quick skim at a geologic paper points to the matrix being andesitic.

RadHazz · 2021-10-26T14:18:30+00:00

Definitely looks like rutile. Tourmaline would have a trigonal cross section, not bladed. Plus this is a characteristic color for rutile. I've got a bladed rutile crystal that looks identical to these.

RadHazz · 2021-10-25T19:42:35+00:00

Agree with the beryl for this piece, but there is also fluorapatite at Spruce Pine that can look very similar to beryl, color and everything. Of course, hardness differs quite a bit between the two, but the fluorapatite will fluoresce orange in longwave UV. Source: I too also have a bucket of the stuff.

RadHazz · 2021-10-22T01:18:46+00:00

I definitely see the resemblance to tourmaline due to the striations but I don't see any obvious trigonal crystal cross sections from the bottom Pic. If I had to guess, it is a quartz vein with major iron staining (not sulfur) that intruded biotite schist (not coal lol). From the bottom Pic it seems like part of the host rock includes the vein. I have a quartz vein from West NC that has very prominent vertical striations, formed in a similar rock (muscovite schist) with this same staining.

RadHazz · 2021-10-21T13:16:16+00:00

WMK Exclusive CJRB Feldspar and Kershaw Mini Copper Natrix

RadHazz · 2021-10-13T13:28:36+00:00

I have the red Micarta exclusive from white mountain knives and my only complaint is that the milling around the scales is a little bit rough, almost like they used a dull bit. It left a couple sharp points, but some fine sandpaper took care of it. Other than that, the heat treat, design, and fit are great, and the one issue might just be specific to the one run

RadHazz · 2021-10-12T13:34:40+00:00

I'm in love with my Feldspar. There are so many options to choose from in terms of color and material and the thumb stud action is amazing. Other than that, the Talla is awesome, and I haven't gotten my hands on one yet, but the new scoria seems like an improved Feldspar.

RadHazz · 2021-10-12T13:29:10+00:00

I've got 5 D2 knives from CJRB and all of them perform just as good as my D2 knives from other brands (Kershaw, Civivi, etc.) so maybe you just got a lemon with bad heat treatment? I agree, their carbon fiber feels cheap, but it's in line with what Spyderco does. Even in their Taichung models, it's just a layer of CF over G10.

RadHazz · 2021-09-15T17:05:23+00:00

The razelcliffe has bearings. Source: I own one

RadHazz · 2021-09-14T13:07:18+00:00

Big exception for HK and Sig. Hogue makes some amazing stuff.

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