Green River Knightia Prep from TFF Auction

[Pagurus]

I was fortunate to be the winning bidder on a rolling auction lot of two Knightia  eocaena, one prepped and one unprepped, generously offered by @FossilDudeCO to benefit this awesome forum. It took me awhile, but I finally finished the prepping of the unprepped fish, and I wanted to share it here. These rolling auctions are nearly always great bargains, and the best part is they all help to keep the lights on here at TFF. Here's a link to the original posting for these Knightia.

 

Here's how it began:  

 

And here's the result of my novice efforts (this was my second attempt at prepping a fish from the 18-inch layer):

 

 

I'm happy with the way it came out and I'm proud to give it a little space on my crowded shelves. Thanks, Blake!

 

I didn't keep track of the time it took, probably about 15 hours, more or less, with my "primitive" tools. I started with a dental pick, but this fish was already so close to the surface I didn't need to remove a whole lot of matrix.

 

 

 

Most of the prep was done with a sewing needle held in a mechanical pencil, at first, and then in a pin vise of sorts. Actually it was an X-acto knife handle. 

 

 

 

I took lots of photos along the way, with the idea that I might turn them into an animation someday, but getting everything to line up properly might be more work than I want to tackle.

 

I greatly enjoyed the whole prep process, and I'm looking forward to another project. I'm sure it's much slower than and air abrasive system, and not quite as "finished", but I do prefer the peace and quiet of the pick and needle. I wouldn't want to tackle a monster fish that way though!

 

Mike 

[Nimravis]

Wow Mike, you did a great job.

[snolly50]

Outstanding! It's a lot of fun, isn't it? I think your Knightia  looks great. You may wish to lightly "scrub" with an art gum eraser. This will often remove that last, thin bit of pesky matrix adhering to the fossil.  

[Macrophyseter]

That knightia ended up ridiculously beautiful, must give the credit. Outstanding prep. I want some unprepped green river fishies too!

[Max-fossils]

Beauty!!! Incredible prep job too 

[Ludwigia]

Nicely done! And you've invented your own pin vise as well! It looks really great, but if you take up Snolly's suggestion, it would look even greater.

[Fossildude19]

Wow Mike!    

So this is what has been occupying your time! 

Very well done, sir.   Looks great!

Regards,

[Miocene_Mason]

Nice job, turned out very well!

[Kane]

Way to go, Mike! This one turned out amazing.  

 

A picture of you and this fish would certainly be a candidate for one of those motivational posters with a caption reading "patience and persistence."  

 

 

[RJB]

A very nice fish.  Now all you need to do is get one of those 20 inchers!!!  

 

RB

[aerogrower]

Nice job!

[Pagurus]

Thank you all,     @Nimravis @snolly50 @Macrophyseter @Max-fossils @Ludwigia @Fossildude19 @WhodamanHD @Kane @RJB @aerogrower 

I will try your suggestion to use an art gum eraser on the fish, John and Roger. I would like to brighten the middle a little, and remove some of the gray matrix clinging to the bones. I'll probably scrape a little more matrix off the spine too, and maybe just a little more off some of the ribs, but I do want to keep some of the matrix there to contrast with the dark bones. I think it makes them a little more visible.  

Thanks, Tim, it has kept me entertained lately. These old joints have kept me out of the fossil fields this summer so a project like this has been a nice substitute.

I guess I have been as patient and persistent as a turtle. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I think if I tried to prep a 20-incher with a needle, Ron, I'd have to bequeath the half-done fish to my heirs, even if I live to a hundred. I can envision half a dozen old geezers at an old folks home sitting around a poker table with pin vises scraping away at one of your monster fish like the one @Ptychodus04 has been working on.

 

[FossilDudeCO]

Very nicely done Mike!

Gorgeous for a second attempt!

If you go the art gum eraser way just make sure you follow the direction of the bones.

 

Thanks for sharing your fish prep with us  

[Ptychodus04]

3 hours ago, Pagurus said:

Thank you all,     @Nimravis @snolly50 @Macrophyseter @Max-fossils @Ludwigia @Fossildude19 @WhodamanHD @Kane @RJB @aerogrower 

I will try your suggestion to use an art gum eraser on the fish, John and Roger. I would like to brighten the middle a little, and remove some of the gray matrix clinging to the bones. I'll probably scrape a little more matrix off the spine too, and maybe just a little more off some of the ribs, but I do want to keep some of the matrix there to contrast with the dark bones. I think it makes them a little more visible.  

Thanks, Tim, it has kept me entertained lately. These old joints have kept me out of the fossil fields this summer so a project like this has been a nice substitute.

I guess I have been as patient and persistent as a turtle. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I think if I tried to prep a 20-incher with a needle, Ron, I'd have to bequeath the half-done fish to my heirs, even if I live to a hundred. I can envision half a dozen old geezers at an old folks home sitting around a poker table with pin vises scraping away at one of your monster fish like the one @Ptychodus04 has been working on.

 

 

Very nicely done. Needle prep turns out some awesome specimens but it sure is time consuming.

[Pagurus]

10 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

 

Very nicely done. Needle prep turns out some awesome specimens but it sure is time consuming.

 

Hey, I'm a retired old geezer.

[Ludwigia]

41 minutes ago, Pagurus said:

 

Hey, I'm a retired old geezer.

Me too, but life is just beginning with all this spare time

[Pagurus]

On 10/5/2017 at 1:51 PM, FossilDudeCO said:

...If you go the art gum eraser way just make sure you follow the direction of the bones.

 

Thanks for that tip, Blake. And thanks for that well-preserved fish too!