Is trying to split this crappy brittle star fossil worth it?

[idiot]

I found this worn piece of Berea Sandstone that seems to have once hosted a bunch of brittle stars on the face. How would you calculate the risk:reward ratio wrt splitting it to see if there are pristine brittle star fossils inside, and if so, what's the best method to expose potential fossils without an air scribe and without jeopardizing the brittle stars that are exposed? It's about an inch thick and has a very, very, very slight hint of a fissure near the face. Sorry for the poor pics.

Edited December 25, 2021 by idiot

[Ludwigia]

Well, I suppose if it's so crappy, then it shouldn't harm to give it a whack or two. Steady the rock somehow, perhaps in a vise and then using a hammer and a sharp flat chisel, tap back and forth along one of the edges (maybe the one with the fissure) until you have created a groove which is sufficiently deep that you could wedge in a very wide flat chisel. Then take it out of the vise, maybe steady it with a couple of stones on either side or just squeeze the thing between your feet and give the chisel a few really hearty whacks with a club hammer and then it will hopefully split down the middle. There's no absolute guarantee of success, but it's probably worth a try. The only real question is whether or not there are any brittle stars inside at all. To be quite honest, I sorta doubt it, since there don't appear to be any bedding planes in between, but the proof is always in the pudding, isn't it?

[idiot]

18 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Well, I suppose if it's so crappy, then it shouldn't harm to give it a whack or two. Steady the rock somehow, perhaps in a vise and then using a hammer and a sharp flat chisel, tap back and forth along one of the edges (maybe the one with the fissure) until you have created a groove which is sufficiently deep that you could wedge in a very wide flat chisel. Then take it out of the vise, maybe steady it with a couple of stones on either side or just squeeze the thing between your feet and give the chisel a few really hearty whacks with a club hammer and then it will hopefully split down the middle. There's no absolute guarantee of success, but it's probably worth a try. The only real question is whether or not there are any brittle stars inside at all. To be quite honest, I sorta doubt it, since there don't appear to be any bedding planes in between, but the proof is always in the pudding, isn't it?

Thanks for the advice! The only thing holding me back is that I'm not sure if I'll have the opportunity to find brittle stars again but the fossils are just so worn that it's probably not worth trying to preserve them. I guess I'll use the freezing method to make the tiny fissure more prominent and take your advice.

Edited December 25, 2021 by idiot

[Al Dente]

10 hours ago, idiot said:

 worn piece of Berea Sandstone that seems to have once hosted a bunch of brittle stars on the face

Is the Berea Sandstone known to have brittle star fossils? Are these brittle star resting traces or actual body fossils? I’m not seeing any in your photo. If they are resting traces, I doubt you will find any more on the inside.

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

11 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Is the Berea Sandstone known to have brittle star fossils? Are these brittle star resting traces or actual body fossils? I’m not seeing any in your photo. If they are resting traces, I doubt you will find any more on the inside.

A quick search on google scholar didn't turn up much, but this paper from '71 seems to indicate that brittle stars are known from the Berea sandstone... Mind you, that was the only paper I could find that contained both mentions of Berea Fm. and ophiuroids.