flint/obsidian blades?

[Mochiman1]

Anybody have any experience to share in using or fashioning stone knife blades? I was really surprised how little turned up when I did a BF search.
I ask because I just saw some beautiful ones epoxied into hardwood handles. But they were in an art gallery. Makes me wonder if you'd actually dare use them. I assume if you drop a stone knife on hard ground it'll break?
I'm wondering if trying to make a stone bladed knife is a suitable project for a not terribly handy father and his Cub Scout-age son. Is this something likely to drive you crazy if you're not a skilled jeweler, or can you readily produce something usable, or at least recognizable?
Also, any tips as to instructive books or pamphlets, tools, etc? Thanks

 

[MNH]

Try a search on Flint Knapping and see what you get.

Making a usable stone (flint) tool is fairly easy although making one that you would be willing to show to someone else is a little more difficult.

The most important thing is probably the selection of a high quality material. There are many materials that can be used including flint, chert, and quartzite Slate is also a common material although it is ground to an edge rather than being chipped. Stone tools and the raw material used to make them were a common trade item in the Americas long before European contact. It is common to find stone tools hundreds of miles from the quarry site where the stone was initially produced.

The first step is to create a fracture in the stone you are using, generally by impact with a blunt or semi blunt instrument. A flake is then removed from the fractured surface this is generally done by placing the stone on a heavy piece of leather on your leg. You then take a piece of antler, or similarly shaped piece of fire hardened wood at the fractured edge of the stone and strike it sharply with a wooden mall. The position of the antler and the force of the blow will to some extent control the size and shape of the flake you remove. Repeat this procedure until you get a flake in a shape you can work with. Most of the flakes you make even after you have become very good will be junk.
Your attempts will be rewarded more quickly if you keep an open mind as to what is apt to be useful.

My impression is that most flint knappers in the stone age did not start out to make a knife per se, but had a range of needs for projectile points, scrapers, and blades which might or might not be set in a handle for use. A flake that might not make a very good projectile point might make a good blade or scraper and would be used as such.

After a usable flake has been produced the edge can be improved and the overall shape adjusted by taking the point of the antler, pressing it against the edge and snapping it off the edge removing a smaller flake. Again the direction and the amount of force used will control the size and shape of the flake removed.

Anyway, have fun, buy lots of band aids, and let us know how you do!


Mike

 

[Cougar Allen]

There's a wealth of information on the web; run a search or start at http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~t64tr/knap.html and follow the links from there.

WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!!

Heavy leather weldor's gloves are a good idea too. Have you seen that bumper sticker "If you ain't bleedin' you ain't knappin'"? They're not kidding....

Obsidian and artificial glass are easier to knap than flint. The beer bottle arrowhead project Knapper's Anonymous is a good project to start on.

IMHO a Cub Scout shouldn't have too much trouble producing a recognizable and usable blade or arrowhead -- not necessarily the first try, but it's not too difficult a project for a kid.

Flint and obsidian are pretty breakable -- you have to use a stone that's brittle enough to chip, obviously -- but they're not so fragile you don't dare use them, not at all. You can't pry much, but you can dress and skin deer, whittle wood ... people got along with them for a long time, you know....

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-Cougar Allen :{)
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This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.

 

[MNH]

Cougar

Excellent Link! I just spent half an hour there and bookmarked it for closer examination later.

Mike

 

[Mochiman1]

MNW, Cougar--thanks so much for the wealth of useful info. Knapping--who knew? My son and I are going to give it a go. But Cougar, you're kidding about that bumper sticker, right? Or have I been driving on the wrong roads all this time?