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Knapping stone questions

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JackCrafty:
Amoeba chert is named after its shape. It comes in irregular "blobs" with no square edges. Sometimes it's hard to find a good platform to start spalling it. It knaps well raw but knaps better when heated under low heat (275F to 300F). Be careful with the heat: try flakes first to make sure it won't fracture and become useless. You can sometimes find it on ebay or etsy. It's not really a beginner-friendly stone.

Keokuk is usually heated before it is sold. It's good for beginners of you're making small points. You'll break the larger pieces in half and experience endless step fractures until you become and experienced knapper.

Obsidian comes in many varieties and some can be very expensive. Most of it is cheap and easy to work. The problem for beginners is that it breaks so easily that you will not be able to get a point from it right away. And you will cut yourself a lot. It's essentially glass -- and it has the same pros and cons as glass.

Porcelain floor tile can be knapped and it's very cheap. But the "slab" shape can be a problem. Most beginners will break the slabs in half during the removal of the hard surface coating on the top side. But if you've got patience and use narrow pieces, you can get the hang of it and make some decent small and mid-sized points fairly quickly with pressure techniques.

Good stones for beginners are the mid-range materials like Dacite and low-grade heat treated chert. The higher grade of heat treated material, like Keokuk, are very nice but very brittle. Low-grade heat treat is more durable.

You can order boxes of mixed flakes from several online sellers and usually find something in the box that will work for you. You can then focus on getting more of the stones you like.

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