knife making in the woods

[mlawson]

How can i find good knife making rocks in the wilderness? If im out in the woods and i want to use flint or something like it where can i find it?

 

[Deer Runner]

Find a rock with a high pitch ring or sound to it. The higher the ring or pitch, the sharper it should be. Just listen to glass and try to find a rock that sounds close to it.


Joe

 

[diablero]

Looks like you guys are both in my "neck of the woods". I've wondered the same thing about which rocks native to VA would work. In the mean time, I'm going to start playing with noviculite, chert, etc. to get the hang of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Deer Runner]

Originally posted by diablero
Looks like you guys are both in my "neck of the woods". I've wondered the same thing about which rocks native to VA would work. In the mean time, I'm going to start playing with noviculite, chert, etc. to get the hang of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Well, maybe not good for a knife, but for a chopping tool, you can use greenstone.
Our primtive skills group make a couple and they worked quite well. Just use it on green wood. Dead wood is too rough on them.


Joe

 

[mlawson]

where do i find chirt? whenever im in the woods seems to me all i can find is slate

 

[Deer Runner]

Originally posted by mlawson
where do i find chirt? whenever im in the woods seems to me all i can find is slate

Hard to say really, and I am really bad at IDing rocks. I just pcik them up and clack them together. If they have a high pitch ring, I'll try to work them.
But I think your best bet is along river bed, especially if there's been any mining near there.


Joe

 

[Moine]

If you can find obsidian (looks like black glass, actually), you're rich. It's harder than steel, and you can get a better edge than any knife you can think of. It'll break easily, however.

You can also use old, dry hardwood for many tasks (scraping, piercing, etc.). You can get a decent knife from bone, too. Smash it with a rock (or ON a rock) in order to break it lengthwise. Sometimes you get a decent edge. Almost always a great piercing tip. It's harder than wood.

Cheers,

David