Rockhounding tools

Detailed maps and descriptive text lead the rockhound to the best collecting sites for gems, minerals and fossils. Black and white photos aid in locating the collecting area. Stunning color photos help with specimen identification. Full of helpful hints for getting the most out of each site,

Every rockhound loves a good geode, and the best are those we’ve gathered ourselves. While it can be tempting to start busting every rock you find with a rock pick, you can usually tell before you attack. Geodes are a specific formation and can usually be identified by their round shape and bumpy texture. These reliable indicators don’t tell the whole story, however. So, let’s go a bit further and give you an overview of how to tell if a rock is a geode.

If you’re thinking of starting a new hobby and have a knack for collecting pretty stones, why not try out lapidary? Lapidary is the art of shaping, cutting, and making jewelry out of semiprecious or

Description of the Mohs Hardness Scale

Don't miss this step by step guide on how to polish stones with a Dremel rotary tool. If you're interested in lapidary, this is one thing you

There are apps out there for just about everything. But what about for rockhounding? Here is a list of what I've found to be the best apps for rock and mineral identification. These apps are great for geology students, enthusiasts and anyone else who loves collecting rocks and minerals and needs help identifying the specimens they find.

Lapidary equipment is an expensive investment, and one of the better ways to get tools cheap is to find used lapidary tools and supplies. Fortunately, there are a ton of different places that you can look, both online and in-person, to find used gear for good-to-great prices.

Here are the top rockhounding tools that are available today. We've narrowed the list down to the best tools you should add to your rockhounding tool kit.