Main Discussion Area > Flintknapping
how sharp can a rock be, anyway?
D. Tiller:
Make sure the glass you use has been tempered. If its untempered it will just crumble. Obsidian is cool stuff. Volcanic glass that works great and very easily. I like it a lot! I have just been learning how to really knapp it a lot bette. Make sure you platform even for flaking and strike or press off flakes bellow the center line and never above.
David T
Stringman:
I've been playin around with knappin a little lately, thought about huntin with some of the points. (Sure is easy to see which ones I started on.) Kinda wonderin where is a good place to get my hands on some rock. I have been using some flakes I teased off recently at the '08 MoJam, but am almost out of them. Also, is there a recipe for the heating process, or do you have to ruin a lot of rock before you do it right?!?
d:^)
Scott
D. Tiller:
Where you from Scott? Out here on the west coast I head for Glass Buttes once a year to collect obsidian. One day I hope to have a vehicle I can get out in the desert with off road to prospect for different sources. Wish it was easier to obtain but I have to travel for it and it takes a good 12-14 hours to get from WA to West of Bend OR where it is. If it was not for good friends who help me to get around the Buttes at the Knapp Inn there I don't think I would have any rock to work. If you are in a region with no resources you can always use old toilets also known as Thunder Chert or John Stone. Works well and is inexpensive to learn on and 1/4" thick glass works well too.
Just wish we had chert sources that are easy to get to here in the Northwest. Agates can be found in rivers here but nothing really big.
David T
Stringman:
I'm from central I'll and we don't have a lot of any rock on the ground around here. Occasionally find old indian points but almost never find any usable chert or flint. Are quarries or suppliers just so expensive its out of the question? Someone told me around $100 for a 5 gal bucket. Not sure that's worth it, but don't want to give up my new found hobby just yet.
D. Tiller:
At the Buttes we pick up around 250 pound at a pop for nothing! Just find it and use it. Now back east they will charge ya a bundle. Though I probably should tack on gas to get there. The hassle of traveling out the the OR desert and supplies and such. But it really is fun!
If I were you I would find some glass, porcelain dishes and toilet bowls and practice on those before buying chert for those high prices. Flintknapping should not break your bank!
David T
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