tips for separating calcite crystals cleanly

[SteveE]

TL;DR.... is there a good way to separate attached calcite crystals to minimize (or repair) damage to the perfect look?

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In Central Pennsylvania (USA) one part of the Keyser Formation has calcite-filled vugs.   I recently got interested in trying to expose more of the crystals for display.  A lot of the pieces in the float are pretty much "closed up" in their limestone tortilla wrap like this....

 

 

 

The other side looked kind of like this too, until I started pecking at it with a knife and micro-pick, to gradually break off the "crust" to see the inside.  Some small crystals were lost, of course. 

 

 

 

If there was an air gap, then this works fine, though slow and messy.   But sometimes a crystal I want to keep in the finished piece is attached to what I am removing.  Then there are blemishes, like the bit of white "break" at the tip of the larger crystal in the middle of the pic below.

 

 

Is there a good way to separate these crystals without doing that?  Or is there a good way to hide or repair the look later?

 

Thanks

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by SteveE

[FranzBernhard]

3 minutes ago, SteveE said:

Is there a good way to separate these crystals without doing that?

No. They are imperfect from the beginning. That´s just the way the specimen is. Some crystals are "contacting" each other in that narrow gap.

 

4 minutes ago, SteveE said:

hide

You my try a super-super tiny bit of oil, perhaps also skin fat will work. But really a really super-tiny bit, placed on a sharp wooden toothpick. You can always apply more, but its nearly impossible to remove a surplus.

 

6 minutes ago, SteveE said:

repair

Repairing such small and common crystals seems to be too much effort.

 

Franz Bernhard

[SteveE]

3 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Repairing such small and common crystals seems to be too much effort.

 

I get that; this is a proof of concept test piece.  As you say its common calcite;  the same spot gifted me a 35x45x6 (centimeter) slab and I'm trying to decide how to prep that for display. 

[FranzBernhard]

7 hours ago, SteveE said:

the same spot gifted me a 35x45x6 (centimeter) slab and I'm trying to decide how to prep that for display. 

Would you like to show it off?
Franz Bernhard

[SteveE]

9 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Would you like to show it off?
Franz Bernhard

Sure..... in the end I'll probably leave this pretty much as is, though I may open  up some of the "bubbles".   If I start playing electronics and LED lights I can see possibly hiding small lights in some of the recesses;  Originally I'd hoped this could be opened like a book but I guess that was a silly pipe-dream.

 

top and bottom

 

two side views

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by SteveE

[FranzBernhard]

1 hour ago, SteveE said:

Originally I'd hoped this could be opened like a book

Difficult, very difficult! Even opening some hidden bubbles is not easily done without damaging some crystals.

But I fully understand your attempt - It would result in a very nice, big specimen. I have no good idea how to proceed, though.

@Coco, @Ludwigia, @ynot - to tag a few (also) mineral people. Thanks to all!

Franz Bernhard

 

[Ludwigia]

I agree with Franz. Very difficult undertaking which would probably only result in a few openings and probably lots of small bits breaking off. You'll never be able to open that up like a book. The most radical thing you can do with this would be to hold your breath, give it a few good but carefully placed whacks with a club hammer and gather up the best of the smaller pieces which result. But I don't know if you would be willing to make that sacrifice.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Calcite is a relatively fragile mineral that reacts to all acids. She also doesn’t like the vibrations that make her lose her crystals.

 

When they are damaged, a little bit of oil on them, very slightly can partially camouflage the damage but it will not repair.

 

All the "geodes" look small, if you try to open more you risk breaking everything and it is not sure that you will discover many other crystals. I’ll leave it that way.

 

Ah ! Something else ! I don’t know in the rest of the world, but generally in France we can’t put it back together or repair the crystals.

 

Coco

Edited April 2, 2022 by Coco

[SteveE]

42 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

I agree with Franz. Very difficult undertaking which would probably only result in a few openings and probably lots of small bits breaking off. You'll never be able to open that up like a book. The most radical thing you can do with this would be to hold your breath, give it a few good but carefully placed whacks with a club hammer and gather up the best of the smaller pieces which result. But I don't know if you would be willing to make that sacrifice.

 

I'm in no hurry, and the source is minutes from home and offers up lots of smaller test pieces to play with.  But I may eventually borrow a pro grade infrared camera from a friend and do some thermal shocking to see if I can map the approximate location of "chambers" before deciding.

Edited April 2, 2022 by SteveE

[Mark Kmiecik]

From my limited experience, the best prep for crystals is no prep at all. Each time I thought I could improve one's looks resulted in less than I had hoped for. Most times the "before" was more interesting than the "after".