[Rockhounds] Virgin Valley Nevada Collecting

[Ted Kowalski]

Dean:
In function, no; in ability, tremendously.

Tim is being kind when he only gives the VV pick a 2-3 times ratio. You will
break loose and apart a much much greater volume of clay with the
military/VV pick. The tines are sharp and penetrate well. The paleo-pick's
tine is blunt and only crushes a small spot of clay. Now don't get me wrong,
we use the paleo-pick a lot. That is we use the paleo-pick shovel blade to
pull the clay into a pile when sorting. The paleo-pick can also be used to
break up some larger clay clumps, but think of using it like a potato masher
and not a pick. Estwings paleo-pick is better than commercial picks/mattocks
that you get from the big box stores; I brought both the commercial (ames)
pick and the paleo-pick my first time at the Royal Peacock. On day three I
ponied up the cash and bought the VV pick; since then I've added more VV
picks to my pile and rarely use the commercial pick anymore, even in my
garden.

When working clay loam mixture or weathered pegmatites in Virginia or North
Carolina I find the paleo-pick equal to and sometimes better than the VV
pick, but when working pure clay the VV pick works much much better.

Clyde:
I forgot to add that you should also pick up at a hardware store a cheap
straw hand broom. Use the broom anytime you need to see what you're hitting
and hopefully that will be frequently. If you hear something like glass or
china, stop swinging, sweep first and then use a screwdriver. One hit with a
pick can be damaging, two or three hits can cause opal disaster.

Ted Kowalski
Fredericksburg, VA USA

-----Original Message-----
From: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com] On Behalf Of Dean Welder
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 3:28 PM
To: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors
Subject: RE: [Rockhounds] Virgin Valley Nevada Collecting

Hmm,

Are the Royal Peacock picks largely different somehow in fucntion from
the Estwing Geo/Paleo-pick
(http://www.estwing.com/product.php?product_id=5200)?

Dean


--- Tim Fisher <nospam at orerockon.com> wrote:

> Doh I had a brain fart, I was thinking of the "old style" pre-Korea 
> War army picks. Ted is right on, they are full size picks.
> 
> At 07:48 AM 3/4/2008, you wrote:
> >Clyde:
> >There is no web picture of the pick that I know of (at least close
> up). Mr.
> >Wilson of the Royal Peacock was having a local make the pick for
> years.
> >Recently, the composition of the pick was changed to incorporate a
> >fiberglass handle instead of wood. The handle is nice, but the
> balance and
> >weight of the picks were changed as well; owners of the old style
> picks
> >(wooden handle) are keeping them fixed as they swing better and
> penetrate
> >deeper.
> 
> Tim Fisher
> Ore-ROCK-On!
> Email address at http://OreRockOn.com  
> 
> -- 
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