Vent: My eight-year hunt for a clean obsidian piece

I've noticed a lot of new collectors get mad when they don't find rocks fast, but geology doesn't work on our schedule. I've been looking for a nice obsidian sample since I started this hobby, and it's taken forever. Obsidian comes from lava cooling quick, but spotting a good chunk in the field is rare. I've spent weekends at volcanic sites only to come home empty-handed. It puts things like waiting for a movie release into silly perspective. Honestly, this wait has taught me more about patience than anything else. Maybe that's the real point of getting into rocks.

4 comments

4 Comments

anderson.drew8mo ago

Yeah, my buddy who collects quartz had a similar thing happen. He looked for this perfect, clear point for over a decade, checking the same spot every year after the spring thaw. He finally found it last March, just sitting there plain as day after a big rain. Makes you wonder how many times he walked right over it. What kind of spots have you been checking for your obsidian?

quinnpatel8mo ago

Seriously? That quartz story gets me thinking. Your buddy's spot kept giving chances year after year, even if he missed it. So for your obsidian, are you going back to the same few places that feel lucky, or always trying new ground? What makes a spot feel worth checking again after a bad season?

mason_reed477mo ago

After a heavy storm last fall, I checked a usual spot and found a bunch of small obsidian flakes washed clean. It's like what @jordan_hill said about fires resetting the land, water does the same thing. Sometimes you just need the right conditions to see what was always there.

jordan_hill8mo ago

My friend scored a killer black piece last fall after a brush fire cleared an old hillside. Makes me think of your buddy's quartz story, @anderson.drew. Sometimes the land just needs to reset before it shows you the good stuff.