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Flintknapping.

R

ryts100

Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
337
I've been practicing with my flint and steel lately(just got it), and I've blunted one of the edges on my flint. How do I knap it to make the edge sharp again?
 
ryts100 said:
I've been practicing with my flint and steel lately(just got it), and I've blunted one of the edges on my flint. How do I knap it to make the edge sharp again?
Click to expand...

Hit it with your steel. Typically continued use of the steel chips off pieces of the flint when you use it, keeping it sharp. If you need a sharper edge, just wack it a few times with your steel to chip more off.
 
C Bryant said:
Hit it with your steel. Typically continued use of the steel chips off pieces of the flint when you use it, keeping it sharp. If you need a sharper edge, just wack it a few times with your steel to chip more off.
Click to expand...

The edge is still pretty dull. I'll take a picture really quickly and post it. Give me a minute.
Here's the picture: http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l394/ryts100/DSC00446.jpg Sorry for the horrible quality, I took it with my cell phone camera.
 
Last edited:
That looks plenty sharp enough to me. Just tilt the flint slightly when striking it. Also, remember that using a high velocity strike that just touches the surface of the steel is the best result. The chip outs happen when you hit the rock too hard with the steel.
 
kgd said:
That looks plenty sharp enough to me. Just tilt the flint slightly when striking it. Also, remember that using a high velocity strike that just touches the surface of the steel is the best result. The chip outs happen when you hit the rock too hard with the steel.
Click to expand...

It's not sharp enough;the picture quality is horrible. I do tilt the flint, on every strike, and I do use a high velocity strike. The underside of the edge is all chipped away, and the top edge(the part that's supposed to be sharp) is blunted. I have the strike at a more perpendicular angle to the flint to get good sparks, and that just blunts it even more.
 
I ave a little brass hammer with my muzzle loader that I use when I wana be lazy...

HTH
 
Have you got a deer shed around? Use an antler tine to "press" small flakes off the edge. This, combined with percussion strikes, is how stone working has been accomplished for thousands of years. Google "flintknapping" and you will get ample descriptions of technique. Alternatively, use a copper nail (or heavy gauge copper wire) set in a sawed off broom handle for a modern pressure flaker. I have links, but I'm away from my regular computer right now. Google it.
 
FlintWorking.jpg
good picture of method mentioned previously.
 
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