Shape
Geologist's hammers, as with most hammers, have two heads, one on either side. Most commonly the tool consists of a combination of a flat head, with either a chisel or a pick head at the other end.
- A chisel head (pictured), which is shaped like a chisel, is useful for clearing covering vegetation from exposures and is sometimes (though inadvisedly) used to pry open fissures. Some rocks can be easily split, like slate or shale, to reveal any fossils.
- A pick head, which terminates in a sharp point to deliver maximum pressure, is often preferred for harder rocks. A geologist's hammer bearing a pick end is often referred to as a rock pick or geological pick instead of a geologist's hammer.
- A flat head is used to deliver a blow to a rock with the intention of splitting it. Specimens or samples can be trimmed to remove sharp corners or reduce in size.
Read more about this topic: Geologist's Hammer
Famous quotes containing the word shape:
“Irish poets, learn your trade,
Sing whatever is well made,
Scorn the sort now growing up
All out of shape from toe to top.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“An unlicked bear”
—Trans. by Johanna Prins.
Dutch expression meaning “a boor”: from the old belief that bear cubs are licked into shape by their mothers.
“But a camel’s all lumpy
And bumpy and humpy—
Any shape does for me.”
—Charles Edward Carryl (1841–1920)