Shale splitting

[Kaden]

As I have learned more about fossil collecting I have been limited to surface collecting. But I have wanted to learn how to split shale and what to look for when searching for various cross sections of trilobites, crinoids, etc... in my area. Are there any books or articles I should look through and read, about shale splitting for the Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky area.

[Darktooth]

There is nothing hard about Splitting shale. All it takes is a chisel, a hammer, and some muscle. That being said I find that a thin profile chisel works better than a thicker one. Certain shales split better then others. As for what to look for when looking at cross sections, I think that just takes some experience learning what different fossils look like from certain views. Example is sometimes when I am Splitting slabs certain brachiopods or bivalves will look like trilobites or vice versa. It depends on the way they are oriented in the rock. I used to get fooled alot when I was a newbie. Now after collecting for many years I usually know what I am looking at right away. I hope this helps.

 

Dave

[Sjfriend]

Shake often splits pretty flat and as such most finds will be visible flat on the bedding plane. So cross sections aren't such a problem as breaking limestone or sandstone. For shale the tools are hammer and chisels. The chisel size depends on the shale but a very thin chisel is usually best to get in between the bedding planes. I usually have 3-5 chisels with about 3 different sizes in my bag (and 2-4 more in vehicle if i need something bigger) to be prepared for different layers.

[Ludwigia]

If the shale is soft and fissile and, depending on the type of deposit, the fossils are distributed in thin layers on top of each other, splitting out sheets and then reducing them in thickness with a pocket knife is a good method.