Chisels and pry bars: picking the right one for extraction

A flat chisel works well for splitting rock along an existing seam or plane of weakness, while a pointed or pitching chisel is better for breaking into solid rock where no natural seam exists. Pry bars come into play once a specimen has been partially freed and simply needs leverage to separate it from the surrounding matrix without further hammer blows that risk cracking the piece itself. A general rule worth following, always use the chisel or bar with the smallest amount of force that actually works for the situation, more force than necessary is the most common way a promising specimen ends up shattered instead of recovered intact.