Cutting South Texas Agates - SURPRISES INSIDE!

[@sethlawson8544]

So grateful I discovered these videos in the year 2024 lol

[@huntingrocks]

I love the explanation of the blade and why you are cutting that way , great info for people knew to cutting ( I need to do more of that) and those are some beautiful pieces. I love the ones with blue in them .... But blue stones are always my favorite 😄

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Yeah, I lose my mind when I see blue - you don't see a lot of that in most locations. the ones from the previous video blew my mind when I found them. Just insane to see that color pop out in a dull brown environment.

[@stephaniemednansky6032]

I have been collecting Texas rocks all my life. I just got a saw. I can't wait to cut and find more. Thank you Dennis

[@thomasfaulkner3616]

You and your videos inspired my wife and I to schedule a trip to take the kids on a mini-vacation down South to look for neat rocks. We often visit Three Rivers, Tilden, Pleasanton, and the surrounding areas to get our rockhounding fix. Thank you for what you do my brother. Wish us luck this weekend.

[@brandoncreel5845]

Fellow rock hound, Liam fan I'm now subscribed.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks so much! Where is your hunting ground?

[@Changedlife210]

I have collected so many different rocks over the years, here in Texas and thanks to your video i now know i found some great great pieces. Sooo excited to know i have an eye for this, always been a rock fan since i can remember and now passing it on to my children, and with the videos you post i am learning exactly what to look for and what to do with them when i get them home. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THESE VIDEOS

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you SO much for those kind words! It really means a lot to me to know that other rockhounds find value in this little endeavor. And it also makes me feel good to know more rockhounds are passing this on to the next generation. I've been on a bit of a hiatus the last month or so because of work, but I'm going to be heading out week after next for another hunt in South Texas, so I'll try to get that footage up as soon as possible. Thanks a million for watching my channel!

[@outdooradventureswithfayde6832]

7:00, 16:30 and 16:45 were my favorites. Im not gonna lie. They were all cool rocks you cut open. You're right they definitely aren't all prizes. But, some can be quite the surprise! That's why I love cutting rocks, too. You did a great job explaining about the tile saw, blade and where to cut. This is only my second video I've seen of yours. They are very entertaining so far. Hahaha, I loved the Liam Neeson part. Great job editing as well. I saw that your journeys took you around the Great Lakes. I am in SW Wisconsin and do most of my rockhounding along Lake Michigan and on occasion up around Lake Superior. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Keep up the fantastic work, Denis! Thank you for sharing. 🙂

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I have been up to my eyeballs in work stuff lately, so I'm WAY past due on some more videos, but I'm in the editing bay right now, so stay tuned. I was hoping to get back up to the Great Lakes area again this year, but a couple business trips out of the country may cut into my plans. But I vow to make it back up there in n2024!

[@SRLGemstone]

Beautiful pieces. 17:30 is amazing pair!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Yeah, I just LOVE when I see those red and yellow plumes in a stone. I'm heading back out there in about a week to see if I can find some more of that color!

[@SRLGemstone]

@@denisthemineralist4033 I hope you find something similar again. Looking forward to it. Good luck.

[@Violetta683]

Oh no, the one you missed 😆 BUT, the ones you got! Gorgeous 😍

[@wilbondcajunrockhound5758]

nice you got some beauties in there , i have some needle peak agates look a lot like 9:15 really cool stuff , thanks for sharing

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Yeah, that agate is going to show up in another video eventually. I'm getting a 4K digital microscope so I can look at some of these down at a micro level, and THAT stone is absolutely INSANE under magnification. There are little rings of golden needles that outline the green plumes like crowns. I can't wait to show it off - it's going to be one of my first ones.

[@wilbondcajunrockhound5758]

@@denisthemineralist4033 i bet it is cant wait to see it , thanks

[@ikestoddard2458]

Blue pieces with water lines at 16:27 might make good cufflinks?

[@denisthemineralist4033]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@susie5710]

Wow some of those plume agates are just astounding! Thanks

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks for checking out the channel!

[@tracyballard6134]

LOL!!! That was hilarious!!!!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ricksmith1647]

Really nice videos. I had no idea that Texas had such beautiful agates. Well done.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you! It's not exactly a rockhound paradise, but there is good stuff if you look hard enough. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dustinfindsrocks]

Ok I got busy and didn't finish this the other day... Man what a variety of beautiful agates! Hard to pick a favorite they're all so different.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

They really do come in all varieties out here. Makes it challenging to hunt because you can't lock in on one color or one pattern, but it's also fun to go home with variety. For the record, your offer stands in reciprocal - If YOU find yourself headed THIS way, let me know!

[@dustinfindsrocks]

@@denisthemineralist4033 will do sir! 👍🏽

[@veronicasilbaugh-pf4oo]

Great video. I just love to see what’s on the inside. Thanks for sharing! Oh and your Liam Nelson video was great, made me laugh! 😂

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it!

[@DownriverRocks]

Leam and the rock, Halerious. 😂😂❤

[@totocolvin]

What area in Texas do you find the blue agates ?

[@bebewalder8294]

Love it!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Gracias!

[@rockersfromaz3001]

Holy crap! These are amazing!!! Incredible!!!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

:D Thanks!

[@roman11469]

You found some GORGEOUS agates! Wish I was that lucky. Glad to see you back. I just started rock hounding (as an extension to my rock tumbling) and I live and travel for work through south Texas. I would love to see a video of how you identify those roadside agates. Thanks!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks! You know, that's a great idea. Next time I'm out that way, I'll go over how I look for spots and how I find the agates themselves. The no-brainers are easy - they have beautiful bands just pointing up at you! But the plumes and nodules are usually much harder to spot until you train your eye for the right features. So a tutorial is now on my list!

[@roman11469]

@@denisthemineralist4033 Awesome! I just picked some by the Nueces river today and all the rocks were of course covered in a layer of dust. I did use my spray bottle but it would be really helpful to understand your process picking the rock to spray off. I sprayed off a lot of sandstone in my hunting!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

@@roman11469 if you're close to Corpus on the Nueces, then you may find any well-silicified stones like agates and such to be rather scarce. Upstream they get better, with the best stuff being closer to Three Rivers where the bedrock is a bit older. Two quick tips on the agates: 1) hunting is better when the sun is lower an in front of you, as you can see the light coming through them a bit in some cases (even if that means walking backwards to hunt). 2) on whole nodules, the skin has a very specific look to it, like a leathery potato, usually with tiny crescent indentures on them. Of course the ones that are broken open or already polished by nature have that nice glassy look, but they don't always make themselves that obvious. :) I squirt ANYTHING that has that texture to it, so it's a numbers game. Only the ones where I guess right go on video - the 99% where I was wrong end up on the cutting room floor. And definitely look for that mustard or red color on the outside, even if it's dull. When you wet one with good plumes, it will jump out at you.

[@roman11469]

@@denisthemineralist4033 Cool, thanks! I hit the Nueces by Uvalde so not close to Corpus. At least I got a ton of petrified wood and tons of mysteries that I will figure out when I get home! Great advice, thanks again.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

@@roman11469 Oh, excellent. You've got some older Cretacious rocks out there, which probably have some decent fossils and petrified woods in them in the 65-140 million year old range, and then you have some really young material just south of you (as new as 2 million years in places) kinda mixed in, so down in the riverbed, you never know what you'll get - they all drain in there and get mixed up like soup! It's been a long time since I've been out near Uvalde myself, so it may be worth checking out.

[@tanekarnes5260]

Some of those clearer agates would make really nice dangle style earrings. Sliced thin. The sun would be able to hit them, good energy🙂

[@denisthemineralist4033]

That they would! If I can ever get some time, I'll make that happen! I SWEAR it's my goal at some point. :D

[@brianjohnson3974]

Awsome video!!! That use of Liam N. Is the BEST I'VE SEEN!!!!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

LOL! Thanks! If I don't make it as a famous rockhound, maybe I can do impressions. :D

[@aaronbock9160]

Great finds

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you!

[@JnVrockhounding]

Just found your channel and this is the first video watched. Nice! I will definitely be watching more.

[@marktaylor4458]

Good stuff. Good camera work.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you very much. I always wish I had done better, but I'm working on it. Thanks for tuning in too!

[@kendramanuel1276]

So beautiful 👍👍😃

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you so much!

[@howellknives]

Great video, Thanks for sharing! I'm an amateur rock hound, live in Lake Jackson just South of you. Would love to pick your brain some time. Meanwhile I have subscribed and going through your adventures. Look forward to more of them. Thanks again.

[@cathers2hbergerthe22]

Needed that laugh, and wow those agates!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks! Glad to spread some smiles around. :)

[@delilapipoly]

Nice vlog 😍

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you so much! I'm really enjoying making it!

[@keithcunningham7925]

Very nice rocks that sucks that you missed the big one

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks! I'm sure it isn't the only one I've missed. When I watch other people's videos I'm always jumping up and down and yelling at the screen, "HEY! LOOK TO YOUR LEFT, DOOFUS! YOU'RE MISSING THAT ONE!!!" So, I'm sure over time, many people will yell at all the ones I missed in my videos too. LOL! But hey, if I'm meant to find it, I'll stumble across it again someday. If not, then congratulations to whoever does. :D

[@Grandmasrockin]

I loved it!!!! Cute!!!!

[@gooddayinbali]

hello nice sharing my friend.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thank you!

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

That plumy material is killer!

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks, it sure is! I'm always blown away when I cut one like that because we here in the eastern part of Texas never really think of ourselves having such incredible stuff nearby. We usually expect to have to go to the far west or even New Mexico for that kind of stuff. But then, boom, there it is!

[@JosephMiller]

Nice stones! I'm jealous

[@JosephMiller]

Seriously, those bright plume agates are insane. Nothing like that up here

[@denisthemineralist4033]

@@JosephMiller Seriously, we've got to get you down here for a hunt! The colors and patterns in some of this stuff is off the charts.

[@melaniejenkins2754]

Wait did u say Houston?! Im up 45 in Huntsville my fellow rockhound 🥰

[@rb-ek3el]

Hi, what kind of situation agates can be made? Must volcanic activities be existed?

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Yes, in fact that geothermal activity from within the earth has to happen multiple times to create the banded ones. Typically, when magma makes its way to the surface of the Earth, air bubbles form in the liquid as the pressure decreases. Those air bubbles are solidified in the rock as the magma hardens. Then, later,, silica-rich liquid makes its way from inside the Earth up through the pores and cracks in the rock to fill those holes a little at a time. Evey time a new wave is injected into the space, it may leave a different colored band according to its mineral content. Over time, those bands stack up to make the agates. When the host rock deteriorates, the agates survive due to their hardness.

[@sandramartin5155]

Feeling lucky punk!

[@aowis1]

❤👍

[@Andrea-j6e6v]

Very sad to read that the closed caption folks called agates maggots. Good thing I have a good sense of humor. It's actually very funny 🤣

[@stephenblyskal5666]

Interested how you can cut agates that thick on your 10” saw. I have an older reconditioned HP 10” and anything above 1” in thickness are a real problem. I can stall the saw or throw the circuit breaker. Please discuss cutting 2” + agates on a 10” saw, best technique.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

That High Tech Diamond lapidary saw has a nice strong motor, and runs really cool. But the real champions are the sintered MK Diamond blades - they cut VERY well. The trick is to not push them too hard, to let the blade grind through naturally without forcing it much. The larger cutting saws feed the stones VERY slowly for that reason. Any over-application of pressure on the blades will wear them down or warp them faster, which leads to chatter and eventually fractures stones. But as long as they stay wet and cool, they don't bind up or stop. I've cut pieces 5-6 inches thick with them (takes a while, and you have to rotate the stone so that you don't have more than a few inches contacting the blade at one time to keep from generating excess heat and losing cutting power. But they just don't stop.

[@GlockPointer]

I live in South Texas and all we can find is chert and quartzite

[@sandramartin5155]

Is that the one your momma found

[@Metal-Detecting-Texas]

Do you ever tumble your agates?

[@denisthemineralist4033]

I do, but I haven't in a while. I've been saving a number of these to cut into cabs when I get the time. Always working on 10 things at once!

[@jelenoir6805]

I'm getting inspired, but gotta get the knees to cooperate!

[@Andrea-j6e6v]

Love geodes

[@johnnynephrite6147]

Theres only one 12k acre BLM land area in the whole state which means little to no rockhounding in Texas.

[@sandramartin5155]

That’s not safe get a chunk to hold it

[@tommykyle1570]

I love everything about the video but the music, it gives me a head ache, nerve wrecking.

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking at some subscription services for better music than the out-of-the-box KZbin Studio stuff.

[@DonnaDouglas-hp9yt]

mute the music if you don't like it. No need for negativity.

[@marcogarza1595]

Hey Dennis I have a rock that I need help identifying I use the rock identification app but I’m not going off that is there anyway we could chat and maybe send some pics and maybe you can help me

[@denisthemineralist4033]

Sure, I'll give it my best shot. You can email me at [e-mail].