Hematite can be very touchy. Every hematite I've ever had finds a way to shatter after prolonged use. I truly apprecate hematite's feel when grounding, though, and really need to work with it more.
I probably don't work with crystals as much as I should, although I do so love bringing home new stones and surrounding myself with rocks and crystals of all sorts. I'm still basically an herbalist at heart, I guess.