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Discussion Of Burlington Chert

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Ahnlaashock:
Thank You! 
I will comment when I have read the information you provided for me!   

One of the more interesting chunks is still not broken down.  It was the only solid piece of the four.  I only knocked off enough to make sure of the material. 
In the case of those four chunks, root heave and the expanding trunk had pushed them out of the ground around the base of a Black Oak. 
Anyway, I will say more when I have examined the information you provided!  Thank You very much! 

Ahnlaashock:
There is not a lot there that I have not already looked at.  The sample pictures are more confusing than helpful. 
The large plate I posted a picture of in the Jefferson County Chert thread, could easily be used as an example of either Harvester or Burlington, and the fine stuff could easily be called Jefferson City, but I took it off the top of a chunk of Burlington with my own hands, while I was studying the distribution of the various grades by elevation. 
In that location, the very best material is found very near the top of the ridge.  The hollow is deep and narrow, leaving a termination that is pretty much a cliff you can just walk up, on both sides and the end.  There is a layer found almost at creek level, but it is the layered material with the concrete between the layers.  There is usable material there, but you are going to work your tail off finding thick layers and then trying to remove the surrounding rock successfully.   The material just off the ridge line, is much more solid, and tends to be in larger chunks also. 
You have to remember, that in either location I am discussing, a large percentage of the soil is chert chips and shards.   Like the Mo. Department of Conservation says, it is literally as common as dirt here.   I am still not sure how they used moccasins at all in either area, since the ground itself destroys leather soles very quickly during normal use, and along a creek, a pair might not last minutes before the first time they are sliced through cleanly. 
One of the things that is becoming more and more apparent, is that the color of the material is influenced by the moisture in the stone itself.  In the picture I posted, on the top left, is a large thin chip.  When it was detached, it was a solid gray color.  As you can see from the picture, even in a short time, it is now turning white at the thin areas, brown in some thicker areas, is translucent, and appears to actually be an off white silica with lots of fine particles suspended in the matrix.  In that example, the description of silica invading voids partially filled with other debris seems to hold. 
In other examples, it does not.  I have a piece near my foot, that has a top and a bottom cortex, with the sides being faces of the vein material.  There is a central healed fracture plane that runs from one cortex to the other, at an angle through the piece.  That is not uncommon at all with this material, and neither is the difference in the material on either side of that fracture plane, in the same vein.  One side of the crack, which ran north and south in the vein, is a nice darker gray mottled material that is middle of the road quality knappable material.  Not shiny, but good and solid.  On the other side of that fracture line, it looks like granite tried to form, and an incredibly course conglomerate is found.  It isn't usable in any way, but it is even tougher than the solid material. 
The dark bulls-eye pattern was badly fractured along the length, running from the hollow it terminated in, outward for about three to four inches.   I bladed and spalled all that was possible out of it, but most of the pieces are pretty small because of the cracks.  Of the outer portions tho, I got some very good material. 
The pure translucent material flakes almost like obsidian. 

iowabow:
Other than naming the flint what are your goals here?
1 . learning about rock formations
2. Heat treating
3. Flint knapping
4. Resale of material
5. Making small arrowheads
6. Making large points
7. Rock collecting
8. Trying to locate the most pure
9 trying to locate the most color
10. Trying to recover rock in the easiest way
give us an idea of were you want to go with all your questions so we can best answer them.

iowabow:
In a creek where you find flint in layers you will also find creek sort for quite some distance on the down steam side. This flint has been tested by the elements and you should find quality material to knap in the debris. You will be working with a range of different burlington type stone and galacial till.

Ahnlaashock:
My goals?  Good question, but I don't think I have a good answer. 
I found a blade, dug out the old collection, and started to study.   I decided to learn to make tools with available resources, as someone living by that tech would have to do in the past. 
I learned how to make blades, survival type tools, and I am working on learning to work the stone better.  I don't know where or when I will be satisfied.  I have two five gallon buckets of bifaces, preforms, plates, and chunks that are about 95 percent clean sitting next to me as I type this.  I have worked two pieces of stone this morning learning, and started an axe head that will require things I can't do inside easily, the tools being under 12 inches of snow right now outside. 
I am learning. 
I don't know where that will lead, or really care.  At this time, I have no plans to sell stone, and my skill level certainly isn't going to support anyone buying my work. 
Learning about new types of stone is something I do constantly, but this is not the kind of stone I usually work with.  The really high grade stuff would support lapidary use, and I am going to cut a stone out of it, but my focus is on learning to make tools with available resources.   I am learning another art/craft form. 
I am not looking to really replicate anything at this point, and all I have been doing is learning the techniques.  Today I worked learning how to create undercut curved scraper faces that are very strong, and have major support behind the scraper edge, making it almost impossible to damage the edge using for what it was intended.  That is easy using this material by the way. 
I tested a chunk to see that it has in it, that I knew was pretty rough material, resembling quartzite.  I think I will see what happens when I hit it with wood billets.   I compared the advice to make isolated low platforms, to another idea, using high platforms deliberately.   
I do plan to heat treat some material, and with the temps supposed to hit minus eight, I may stick a sample of each grade in the oven this evening, and run a cleaning cycle, helping the furnace along.   I would already have the other material drying in a turkey roaster, but I forgot to pick up the sand, and the car has around 13 inches of snow on it right now.   The dry inside air is already causing changes in the appearance of much of the material anyway. 
I have been a rock hound for many years, and have about 10 tons of material in buckets already.  When I cut today, I usually do picture cabochons or faceted clear gemstones.   Much of that material would likely also be appropriate if slabbed and heat treated, but I am using stone I can find in this area alone so far.  I have been hitting this stuff long enough now, that letting me anywhere near obsidian would not be good!  I have a few slabs of Rainbow sitting, that are cut about an inch thick for knapping use, but I got them for other reasons, years ago. 
 
I am just looking for a discussion about working this material, the various grades, and how others are making elaborate tools out of the raw material.   I go around 6 foot, 240, and I already know strength is not the answer.  If it was, I would be pushing flakes by now.   I begin to understand the angles with this stuff.  I understand that techniques like Jackcrafty uses allow you to overpower the materials in a very precise controlled way, but I have not figured out how to do that using straight ABO techniques.   The swung whitetail tine uses speed to power on through, and produces pretty good flakes, with either end.  This is useful up to the preform stage, but when you start needing to hit small platforms precisely, swinging really fast, naturally you are going to start having control problems.     
I am looking to learn.  Beyond that, only time will tell. 

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