Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 6, 2012 13:39:28 GMT -5
Hi All,
I'm used to seeing dark obsidian like black, snowflake, mahogany and brown but, now I'm seeing new tumbled obsidian in other colors like blue, green and yellow being sold at ebay.
Are those real obsidian or just colored glass?
Dora
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 6, 2012 13:47:27 GMT -5
some could be slag
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Post by tntmom on Oct 6, 2012 14:12:17 GMT -5
Are the pictures you are seeing still black around the edges? I don't luck out too much on achieving a solid sheen when tumbling but when cabbing I have been able to get a full sheen in greens, blues and purple. I'm working on a yellow sheen cab right now but because I am high doming it, the yellow only flashes down the center of the cab. I'll look up some of my sheen obsidian cabs and post them here so that you can see what they should look like if it is real obsidian. I also agree with Daniel, slag is often touted as ob but if there is no black, it's not real.
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Post by tntmom on Oct 6, 2012 14:24:01 GMT -5
Okay, here is green (notice the black in all of these cabs, also if you don't orient it just right in the sun or under a bulb, it will still appear black) Silver Rainbow Purple These two are tumbled: Hope that helps with your question....
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 6, 2012 15:26:55 GMT -5
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Oct 6, 2012 16:13:57 GMT -5
sorry to say those ebay "obsidians" are NOT obsidian but manmade glass!
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Post by tntmom on Oct 6, 2012 16:30:16 GMT -5
All 4 links are slag or just plain glass. I'm surprised these are being passed off as ob. Just goes to show what some ebay sellers try to do...sad.
Do you have your own tumbler? If you do, then I will cut up one of my rainbow obsidian rocks in small enough chunks for tumbling and put it in a small flat rate box. I can't guarantee that any of them will be an extraordinary sheen but they will all have some sort of sheen. I'll send it to you for free and you pay only the shipping which I think is $5.25? I would hate to see you get ripped off and I have lot's of obsidian, plenty to share! Pm me if you're interested, always love helping if and when I can!!!
~Krystee
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Post by Bikerrandy on Oct 6, 2012 17:07:16 GMT -5
If you click the second link, read the entire description. It tells you that it is indeed lab created. The first and last links are definitely someone trying to pull a fast one.
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droseraguy
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 426
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Post by droseraguy on Oct 6, 2012 17:38:25 GMT -5
Hmmmm.... Lab created obsidian is glass I'm guessing.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 6, 2012 21:06:04 GMT -5
Thanks to all for enlighten me! good thing I joined the group, I probably bought a lot of junk already. Many of the eBay sellers have exellent ratings, perhaps they don't even know that it is not Obsidian, go figure...
Krystee I have two dual drum tumblers (Lortone & Chicago) but I have never tumbled obsidian before. I have a box of large black chunks of obsidian and one mahogany piece but never did them because I was afraid of cutting myself while breaking them, just one of those things with glass... I was thinking of wrapping them with a thick towel and slamming them with a pick hammer. I do need to try it at some point.
You are very kind Krystee, thanks a lot! If you get me some smaller pieces it will be really great for starting me with OB, of course, I'm willing to pay you for it as well. I will pm you in a bit.
Dora ;D
P.S. Thanks Bikerrandy, I did not notice it before, at least Cisco Traders are honest enough to state that they are lab produced. I also think lab created = colored & tumbled glass !
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 6, 2012 21:30:13 GMT -5
Genuine glass, just not volcanic glass
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 6, 2012 21:52:21 GMT -5
I think for some obsidian=glass. it is rockhounds who might distinguish volcanic glass. People who want pretty color or "crystal" don't care about volcanic origin.
Some rainbow, or fantastic sheens, or the rarer green or yellow cost a bit more but in general obsidian is cheaper than good agates or jaspers.
I got excellent mahagony and gold sheen off Oregon rockpiles for as low as 35cents/lb.
It is better to cut it up with a tile saw than to smash it. you will get a lot of shards.
if tumbling, the sheens may not show as well. the best obsidian cabs orient carefully to layers in the volcanic flows.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 6, 2012 23:52:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips and explanations Daniel, they are very helpful to me. I will consider and check for some small portable tile saws. I still don't think I get the meaning of "Genuine glass" that johnjsgems mention. Are we actually talking about quality vs origin?, Could someone please enlighten me on that one. I love to learn and appreciate explanations. Dora
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Post by tntmom on Oct 7, 2012 0:02:17 GMT -5
Genuine glass just means glass, man made in any form, not natural obsidian. John was agreeing that your links were not volcanic.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 7, 2012 0:16:02 GMT -5
I got it, perfect explanation.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 7, 2012 8:14:07 GMT -5
Sorry but yes, what Krystee said. Obsidian is volcanic glass. All other glass is man made. Some dealers may be ignorant rather than dishonest but they really should know what they are selling.
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 7, 2012 10:34:16 GMT -5
for great tumbling, run don't walk to ebay and get some of this: www.ebay.com/itm/310408331184I bought 5lbs because it looked good for small cabs. I liked it so much I bought 5 more.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 7, 2012 16:13:11 GMT -5
This thing with “real glass” and “volcanic glass” could be something slightly similar to the “Which came first, the chicken or the egg? ” riddle. It naturally occurred to me that the “real glass” was VG (OB) because it was the first in existence and used before the Real Glass, BUT… It is all about their NAMES! The term Real Glass was created implying man-made and VG (OB) always had its different formal name.
I believe if we were to conduct a survey among the general population and asked them to choose between Real Glass vs. Volcanic Glass most will probably choose the Real Glass because of the psychological connotations the word “Real” has on us. Who will not think that “The Real Thing” (The real McCoy) is not better to the one who’s not described as Real!
I think that is one of the reasons of the confusion. You see, I really learned something new, never thought of that before!
Dora ;D
P.S. Fireworks Firecracker Obsidian: I was totally unaware of this type of gorgeous OBs, thanks for the link!
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 7, 2012 18:30:04 GMT -5
I think you are confusing with "real" with "natural"
glass, a modern word in common usage, is man made. real glass would be real man made glass and not plastic or crystal or some other substitute.
natural glass would be obsidian
slag that was not intentionally made, that was a byproduct of another process, is kinda in the middle. not real glass, but not natural.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2012
Posts: 252
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Post by Dora on Oct 7, 2012 19:51:58 GMT -5
Daniel this is funny because the truth is that it was intentional, I was talking about their currently used given names as we currently find them in dictionaries and encyclopedias. Obsidian is formally called Obsidian and informally called glass because it is a natural form of glass. Man-made Glass is the Real Glass (glass - by name), genuine man-made glass. At that moment I was playing with ideas and thinking on how names could change the understanding of things and create confusion, a fun way to learn and remember things. I will learn much more as soon as I start to handle and tumble different types of Obsidians. A little package with OBs from a very kind person is coming my way! I will post the jewels when I finish tumbling them. Daniel thanks again for your explanations, you have been very helpful to me! Dora
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