I just started doing this and it's not only fun but it also connects me with the people that lived on my birth ground thousands of years ago. The fields around my home town are littered with flakes and sometimes complete small tools. Oh a last note : watch your fingers !
Sure are a positive influence to us bewildered souls getting started. Appreciate your great videos up and down the scale of this artistic craft. Great work
I commented on this one before but it popped up in my recommended list and I watched it again. I never get tired of watching you spall and knap. Truly a remarkable skill.
Organic tools. Yes! Stone, antler, bone, Ivory & perhaps even hard wood etc. The path into an understanding true Lithic Technology. The fracture mechanics of blade & core industries! Very sharp tools that are surprisingly efficient. I have shaved with obsidian blades. Very informative demonstration. Tks. Vince James ( Ajello). Lithic Technologist/researcher
Tks for your reply. What I meant was it was such a great presentation to see you apply organic tool approaches. It gave insight into how early man made their stone tools. I have found a difference in how organic tools transfer energy (load) into stone at different rates of speed & can effect flake removals. (Example - hard wood heat burnished billets used in percususion flaking quartzites, quartz & meta- sediments).
I will give credit where credit is due, some of the blades that came off of that second piece were really nice. Nice enough to make them into projectile points even.
This is it, the Levallois technique! Right now I am tackling how to get rid of the bulb of percussion. This is a harder task than I imagined due to the fact that the bulb edge seems to get shorter as I knap it away while the bulb itself stays. Thinning a piece is not easy! Ug! :) Thanks for the bit of information on this vid! :) Very useful.
Your videos are very instructive; I've seen very good knapping material, but at the time did not know what I was looking at. I used to think that I had to have obsidian if I wanted to make stone blades. Thanks for your careful demonstrations and discussion.
You are exactly right about your comment on where to find flint. I have greedily hoarded flint in the same way, lots of travel.When I started knapping 35+ years ago I had to find my own and I did a lot of traveling and talking to many archaeologists as I could find. It is a lot of work but if you are or want to be a flintknapper then you most likely love geology and or archaeology. Your travels will lead you to many amazing places where people like you were looking for lythic material hundreds to thousands of years ago. I always wanted to try pedernales flint, I have seen may nice old points made from this material. I haven't been to Texas for 25 years and don't expect to go back. Most of my material comes from North Dakota (Knife River Flint) or the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming (red chert-excellent quality) or porcellonite from North Eastern Montana.. if anyone would like to do some trading let me know. Kevin
I really don't NEED any, I like you have been picking and hoarding for many years. The points I have seen that were made from Pedernales Flint give me the impression it is very high grade and works somewhat easily. It appears to leave flake scars that are well defined and detailed. A couple of fairly flat pieces about the size of your hand (or smaller) would be enough to tell me if I want to try and obtain more. I would offer to trade you for the same amount of my stash of your choice. Of course all of us flintknappers are looking for the highest quality of any type of material. Thanks for your reply and interest. if you want to trade I will send you some of what ever you would like to try and you can let me know what you think. Thanks again. Kevin
k1j2f30 Pedernales knaps a lot like citronel gravel. Some is good and some not. Most will get better with heat. Some of the darker Pedernales break up with heat, but it doesn't need it in most cases anyway. Stuff like Sonora, Pipe creek, and high grade raw Burlington knap way better than raw Pedernales.
Sounds like Pedernales works a lot like some of the poorer quality Knife River Flint. Unless it is the premium quality it is tough, brittle and very hard. It lends itself much better to percussion flaking than pressure flaking but it also produces a very sharp durable point if you can press through it. I have paid my dues many times over working tough, brittle cherts, Maybe I should reconsider on the Pedernales and look for something that is more of a pleasure to knapp than a struggle. thank you sir, Kevin
Hello Jack,all my tools are hand made, my heavy leather pads from old leather belts,and also an old gun holster,just bought 2 large copper nails at a garage sale for a buck,I've dried hardwood saplings and made ishi sticks and flakers,made copper boppers and antler boppers,,spent hours and days watching your video's.thanks.
Your videos have taught me so much about this ancient art I just wanna say thank you so much for sharing your knowledge I hope someday we can flint nap together. Thanks
Ill use a word that seems to be pretty common, fascinating. This is a primitive way of tool building that has always interested me but I never made the leap. It's obvious how sharp even the unimproved the flakes are. Very impressive.
this works awesome i found some big pieces of flint (silex) in various colours reddish pink , amber brown ,multi colored too .......very niece pieces after knapping thanks !!!
Would you get the same bulb of percussion using a solid copper billet as you do with the hammerstone? Or would the flakes be more like the antler billet?
The bulb is more a function of the angle of the strike rather than material. (edit): I used to be under the impression (when I made this video years ago) that hammerstones produce a large bulb of percussion, for example. I was wrong. The same bulb of percussion can be made, or minimized, with any of the materials you mentioned.
Hello, I live in Ottawa Canada where it is very hard to find any flint or chert,i need some to practice but i cant afford it right now,but i am enjoying watching what ever i can about it
I went up a creek (or down) a few days ago looking for arrowheads...I couldn't find any obvious ones. Maybe some primitive tools and I didn't recognize them for sure. But what I kept thinking was, "That stone would make a good arrowhead." I came back with some beautiful pieces to make something with. I think they're mostly quartzite though. One is so flat on both sides it looks like it was milled. Many stones in the creek were naturally round like your hammerstone here. I guess I need to go back and get one and start knapping!! 🛆 ⚪🏑
I get most of my flint from surface hunting along public waterways. I also get a lot of flint from generous friends. And I buy some flint too. In my area, there is no flint close by, so I have to travel a lot. And it helps to be a good scavenger. :-)
Yes, I know. Go down there and get some, try to knap them, and give us a report. Chances are, many of the rocks you find on the surface in Bastrop are low grade gravel chert and is very difficult to knap without heat treatment.
French speaking neanderthals. If that don't beat all. Just kidding. Thanks for the video. I've read the literature. Seeing it done by someone accomplished at it really puts things in proper perspective. I now understand more about platform, and edge prep than ever before. Thanks again.
juuust rediscovered knapping after a long time (about 16 years) of my first hearing about it! i wat 8 at the time! definitely something id find enjoyable to do as a hobby. live in northern Indiana and cant find flint worth a crap! lol
@@KnapperJackCrafty i have noooo idea where i could find that. I remember when i was younger i found hammerstones before but i never really went as far as to like... take it or use them as such. Really cool though to see that theres more to it than just flint and pretty material inside! :)
@@justsomesaltyboi8716 There are several well-known flintknappers in Indiana and at least one knap-in that is open to the public. A knap-in is the beast place to find stone. Someone may even share where to find some for free. www.crawfordcountyindiana.com/attractions/events-festivals/flintknapping-and-primitive-art-fest/
@@KnapperJackCrafty thank you very much for opening this world to me with knapping. Im looking forward to making some beautiful pieces from stone local to me! :)
Do you buy all your stone? Or are you able to find any? That's my biggest problem now - trying to source the stone. I'm just getting started and don't wan to dump a lot of cash into something I might suck at and waste it on practice. Any advice for where to look for stone? I've heard of looking in old river beds and ancient seabeds. But I live in north central Indiana - nothing but corn fields as far as the eye can see... :-(
some nice Native American flute music in the background would really be nice! Flute Dreams is an nice CD ! I just got some real nice Texas Georgetown flint cherts. So far it looks good for knapping ! Thanks for your videos. I am saving them fo later viewing as tutorials. I am a newbee too knapping but have made some pretty decent glass arrow heads. Just gave one blue arrow head to my wife for her birthday. I got some tiny diamond drills for my dremel and drilled a hole for the necklace ring. You inspired me to try this and I am having a great time !
I know nothing of this process except think this is the same as the camping flint and stricker I got from the army store and I can't work it properly lol so satisfying just sitting at your pile and gently beating them. You've mentioned blades a few times is that what it's for. So many questions from over here in New Zealand 😁 #thefinders
Please have a look around my channel. I've got a good mix of different aspects of flint knapping, although I haven't done a video on flint and steel yet...
Yes Im watching you make an arrow head, so beautiful. I couldn't really see how you'd get the shape but I see the line your making to shape. I gift obsidian arrow heads as a protection for that person in the wairoa/spiritual sense. They're fascinating. Thank you again.
These are not heat treated. Most of these were found on the surface along the sides of a dirt road that was plowed into an area that had flint nodules mixed in with the dirt. I could give you the GPS coordinates but then all of the rock would be gone before I could go back there and get more.
@@KnapperJackCrafty thanks, I'm just starting flint knapping I've been into it for a while but I'm only just know getting the tools so all the info helps.
Most people don't live near a chert source, so you'll probably need to buy some online. You can also practice on glass, if you're careful. I always recommend kentuckyflintworks.com as a source for materials online. You should also try to attend an event called a " knap- in" where flintknappers meet to share their work, materials, and skills. You can find everything you need at a knap-in, including one-on-one instruction or tutoring... usually for free.
I don't know if you'll see this, but do you have any info on ribbon chert? There's tons of it on a hill near my house, and it comes in mostly square pieces, but I don't know if it's very good or not for knapping. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
All chert can be knapped. Some are better than others. The only way to know if you have chert that will knap is to try it. If you cant seem to knap it, it doesn't mean it's not knappable. I don't have any information on "ribbon chert". If it has bands of different colors is might be agate, which is also knappable. Square blocks are common with chert.
Wanting to make a spear tip, something that just looks nice, would it be better to use the core and knock down the edges to shape it or try to get lucky with a share that comes off?
How the heck do you get so much stone to knap! I can rarely ever find one stone decent size I can practice on! Love your videos, I've learned quite a bit on what to do/where to strike while knapping from you.
I usually go to Denmark to find flint and bring back to Norway as we don't have much of it here. It just sits all over the place there. Drive down, make a weekend out of it and fill the trunk with flint. Very high-quality flint there.
@@KnapperJackCrafty Not that things got any easier once I got in LOL. So much respect for what are you guys are doing. Flint knapping is like mastering accidents and controlling randomness lol
How much is chert worth? I took a bunch of rock to the University near my home town to have them tell me what I have and they are saying that most of it is chert and I have a bunch and I have large pieces as well.
Obsidian can usually be found in rivers and coasts where volcanic activity has been sighted. You can also find obsidian near a volcano(obviously), but I don't know if there are any volcanoes or even where they were located sometime in the past in Baja Califorrnia. Anyway, good luck finding some usable material!
Hey allergicHobbit, I noticed you work with a lot of texas cherts... I live in the north central texas area and was wondering if you knew of any rock around ther??? I would buy some but im only fourteen and rock is usually expensive and I dont have a job... Haha :) Thx!
That's so cool I wish we had that rock around here I've been watching to make Flint and steel. But also making arrow heads. No we live by a lake there lowering it and a local went to the other side and found hundreds arrow head and other artifacts I was so made I was to late. But I tried to go dig it was to hot so didn't find any. But I hope run across something one day. Thanks for sharing I'm gonna sub want to learn more thanks god bless
JackCrafty thanks sir yes if I could walk more than a few min without setting from pain ide have better chance but I look were ever I go. Thanks again god bless
Jack I found a 27 inch by 20 inch Levallois technique Spear point in Ohio which appears as a pitfall spear point what do you think ? would have sent a picture but you have no e-mail
Sorry I know this a old video but I made a mistake and bought some unheat treated Texas chert. Can you nap it without heat treating where it isn’t to hard to nap. Can’t try it yet it is being shipped. Thanks for your time. Mike
Very nice, got to love that Texas chert! The last nodule that you were spalling was that lighter grey variety and it's probably my favorite to knap. Do you know the name of it.. I thought I heard it called Texas Comanche chert, but I don't know if that's right? Thanks for showing! Ben
any chance of me finding any good stone in MA. I'm in the milton/bluehills area. alternatively I'm only here for school so I technically live in Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay area. any ideas on what I should be looking for?
Good question. Like I tell everyone from New England, you're pretty much stuck with quartz. I grew up in NH and I used to make arrowheads out of slate when I was a kid. Of course, that was before Internet so I depended on books from the library. Anyways, the closest free material for you would probably be far upstate NY where there is some chert in the road cuts. Other than that, sometimes you can find small chunks of chert or flint in gravel brought in from out of state. If you can find a knap-in close enough to travel to without breaking the bank, that would be the best source for the good stuff.
Hey please am looking for individual investors or companies that is looking for 'Novaculite stone' we have it in a larger economic quantity. So please buyers should contact me on: sunday_abbas@yahoo.com WhatsApp number +2348034413465 You also call me with same number. Thanks hoping to hear from you soon. Regards
I'm going to go tomorrow to get some chert for knapping, luckily here in California I can get good quality chert without too much trouble. Then I'll give knapping my first try.
Just getting started now. My first ever try at an arrowhead. I haven't got the hang of driving long flakes yet, but at least I have some flakes! _lh3.googleusercontent.com/0MY6vbBQh4wYZqWTSYL82ZZvTP4bcq36sISPN52zLCFu9GwceaHvDQTu5n9FwrxdHxD3RVfndw_
Dude, that's some awesome material you have there! I've yet to find some material here in Rico, but when I do find some I plan on making a thread on paleoplanet, so if you hang around there, stay tuned!
So, all those chips you knocked off are good, but you throw them on the ground, are they no good? They look good to me,as sharp shards that you could use as a knife
Strengthening the edge prevents small flakes from detaching when you are trying to detach a large flake. If the edge is weak, you may get a large flake if you are careful but you run the risk of messing up and producing a shower of small flakes instead.
Wicked nice flakes bro, wow sweet, i seen alot that i could make into blades.I love to get a bunch of my flint cut up, Since i cant thin well, slabbing would be good for me i think.this was an awesome video , thanks for sharing Hobbit. Makes me want to go crack open more rock now.
Why did you cut the video short? And it's funny that people think you're just throwing all that flint away when you showing techniques for making large flakes! I enjoyed the video!
hi jack I live in Pennsylvania and I've been having trouble finding flint or any other similar rocks for making a knife. do you have any advice for what I should do
Hi. The best advice I can give you is to attend a knap-in. You will see flint all over the place and people who know where to find flint. There will be free flint (debitage) and flint for sale. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of time and money scrounging for knappable rock. There is a lot of knappable rock around Pennsylvania but it's not good quality, for the most part.
There is no general rule. You just have to bring a hammer with you and crack them open to see what's inside. If you are looking at Google maps or pictures from landscape yard websites, you will not be able to tell, unfortunately.
Central Texas has lots of chert: mostly small to medium sized nodes in riverbeds, construction sites, and eroded banks. You've just got to look and break some rocks to see what's inside them. You can also attend a knap-in and get rock there for free or real cheap. Join a forum and ask around. :-)
A few questions does copper work better for flintknapping? Does all chert or knappable stone have to be heat treated. I have 200 pounds of chert and i dont want to use glass anymore. My main point is i don"t want to waste any of it, because finding good chert where i live is hard especially since most of the stones i find are what i like to call crap rock, wherer the inside consist of unwanted material.
+enrique12345ish Copper is better if you want to conserve material, but you have to be careful and hit only strong (not thin) edges. Not all chert needs to be heat treated but most of it will work better with heat. Try small pieces first before you commit the whole batch. The insides will probably work better with heat too. You can "skin off" the outsides first if you want. 200 pounds is not a lot in the flintknapping world. That's like saying you've only got 1/8 of a tank of gas to learn how to drive. Try looking in landscape supply yards for more rock. Or go to a knap-in and pick some up there. :-)
I live in Westchester NY I have been looking everywhere for Churt have found some hard stone that brakes a spark that's about it. Anyway I can get some good Churt?
I've heard of Comanche chert but I don't know what it is. Maybe chert from Comanche County? Anyway, it's all Edwards Plateau chert. The last node in the video is what they call "Pedernales Chert" because, as far as I know, it came from the Fredricksburg area near the Pedernales river. My stone supplier got it while attending a Fredricksburg knapp-in, I think.
I just started doing this and it's not only fun but it also connects me with the people that lived on my birth ground thousands of years ago. The fields around my home town are littered with flakes and sometimes complete small tools. Oh a last note : watch your fingers !
Sure are a positive influence to us bewildered souls getting started. Appreciate your great videos up and down the scale of this artistic craft. Great work
Alabama. I like to watch your videos but that fire treated flint weakens the flint but makes for easy knapping have a good day
Dang, those flakes your throwing on the floor have me drooling! I'd love to have a couple like that for my flint and steel kits!! 😀
Try going to a knap-in. You can find info on the net. They throw away tons!
JackCrafty - Thanks! I'll check out what I can find in PA.
I commented on this one before but it popped up in my recommended list and I watched it again. I never get tired of watching you spall and knap. Truly a remarkable skill.
Thank you, Wayne.
I dunno why but it's so satisfying to watch.
i know right...
That's because its bringing out your inner caveman
Ya
That’s some nice stone. Appreciate the tutorial and informative video.
Many thanks,
Mike
Your waste is another mans treasure...lots of flintlock flints there!
Great video
Thanks
Where can we find large chunks like that?
@@silvertip8k278 knap-ins.
You are a master knapper. Thanks for showing the technique and sharing your knowledge
Thanks David.
Only read this in a book, never thought I would see one. This is crazy.
Organic tools. Yes! Stone, antler, bone, Ivory & perhaps even hard wood etc. The path into an understanding true Lithic Technology. The fracture mechanics of blade & core industries! Very sharp tools that are surprisingly efficient. I have shaved with obsidian blades. Very informative demonstration. Tks. Vince James ( Ajello). Lithic Technologist/researcher
The fracture mechanics never change. Only the initial conditions are different.
Tks for your reply. What I meant was it was such a great presentation to see you apply organic tool approaches. It gave insight into how early man made their stone tools. I have found a difference in how organic tools transfer energy (load) into stone at different rates of speed & can effect flake removals. (Example - hard wood heat burnished billets used in percususion flaking quartzites, quartz & meta- sediments).
Most of those pieces are SO SO NICE !!!! THAT is some Nice Sharp Flat Flint !!!
I will give credit where credit is due, some of the blades that came off of that second piece were really nice. Nice enough to make them into projectile points even.
Thanks for showing screw-ups too, its educational to understand the principles. Fascinating stuff!
Very nice work. Thanks for a wonderful explanation while working.
You're very good at what you do I wish I could come and stay with you a couple days and give me some classes on all of this.
Well, I made over 900 videos so you wouldn't have to go through the trouble of traveling out to west TX. ;-)
This is it, the Levallois technique!
Right now I am tackling how to get rid of the bulb of percussion. This is a harder task than I imagined due to the fact that the bulb edge seems to get shorter as I knap it away while the bulb itself stays. Thinning a piece is not easy! Ug! :) Thanks for the bit of information on this vid! :) Very useful.
The best explanation of any almost like your not hiding any info imagine that . Thank you
Your videos are very instructive; I've seen very good knapping material, but at the time did not know what I was looking at. I used to think that I had to have obsidian if I wanted to make stone blades. Thanks for your careful demonstrations and discussion.
Glad you like the videos, Ken. Thanks. :-)
You are exactly right about your comment on where to find flint. I have greedily hoarded flint in the same way, lots of travel.When I started knapping 35+ years ago I had to find my own and I did a lot of traveling and talking to many archaeologists as I could find. It is a lot of work but if you are or want to be a flintknapper then you most likely love geology and or archaeology. Your travels will lead you to many amazing places where people like you were looking for lythic material hundreds to thousands of years ago.
I always wanted to try pedernales flint, I have seen may nice old points made from this material. I haven't been to Texas for 25 years and don't expect to go back. Most of my material comes from North Dakota (Knife River Flint) or the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming (red chert-excellent quality) or porcellonite from North Eastern Montana.. if anyone would like to do some trading let me know.
Kevin
k1j2f30 Hi Kevin, your offer to trade flint is exciting! What type(s) of rock do you need? I assume Pedernales?
I really don't NEED any, I like you have been picking and hoarding for many years. The points I have seen that were made from Pedernales Flint give me the impression it is very high grade and works somewhat easily. It appears to leave flake scars that are well defined and detailed. A couple of fairly flat pieces about the size of your hand (or smaller) would be enough to tell me if I want to try and obtain more.
I would offer to trade you for the same amount of my stash of your choice. Of course all of us flintknappers are looking for the highest quality of any type of material. Thanks for your reply and interest. if you want to trade I will send you some of what ever you would like to try and you can let me know what you think.
Thanks again.
Kevin
k1j2f30 Pedernales knaps a lot like citronel gravel. Some is good and some not. Most will get better with heat. Some of the darker Pedernales break up with heat, but it doesn't need it in most cases anyway. Stuff like Sonora, Pipe creek, and high grade raw Burlington knap way better than raw Pedernales.
Sounds like Pedernales works a lot like some of the poorer quality Knife River Flint. Unless it is the premium quality it is tough, brittle and very hard. It lends itself much better to percussion flaking than pressure flaking but it also produces a very sharp durable point if you can press through it.
I have paid my dues many times over working tough, brittle cherts, Maybe I should reconsider on the Pedernales and look for something that is more of a pleasure to knapp than a struggle.
thank you sir,
Kevin
Hello Jack,all my tools are hand made, my heavy leather pads from old leather belts,and also an old gun holster,just bought 2 large copper nails at a garage sale for a buck,I've dried hardwood saplings and made ishi sticks and flakers,made copper boppers and antler boppers,,spent hours and days watching your video's.thanks.
Awesome! Always glad to hear from knappers like you. Low tech and high enthusiasm. Very cool!
Your videos have taught me so much about this ancient art I just wanna say thank you so much for sharing your knowledge I hope someday we can flint nap together. Thanks
Ill use a word that seems to be pretty common, fascinating. This is a primitive way of tool building that has always interested me but I never made the leap. It's obvious how sharp even the unimproved the flakes are. Very impressive.
Thank you.
this works awesome i found some big pieces of flint (silex) in various colours reddish pink , amber brown ,multi colored too .......very niece pieces after knapping thanks !!!
Sounds great!!
Would you get the same bulb of percussion using a solid copper billet as you do with the hammerstone? Or would the flakes be more like the antler billet?
The bulb is more a function of the angle of the strike rather than material. (edit): I used to be under the impression (when I made this video years ago) that hammerstones produce a large bulb of percussion, for example. I was wrong. The same bulb of percussion can be made, or minimized, with any of the materials you mentioned.
@KnapperJackCrafty I got you, thanks for the reply.
I'm looking to but some flakes for use with My fire starting. They don't have to be top grade or very large flakes. Do you sell flakes?
Go to a "knap-in". You can pick up flakes for free.
Hello,
I live in Ottawa Canada where it is very hard to find any flint or chert,i need some to practice but i cant afford it right now,but i am enjoying watching what ever i can about it
+Nabih Zurkiyeh Thanks. I wonder if you have quartzite up there. Have you checked the river beds?
Wow. You are blessed with good stone in your area, I guess. Hard to come by in my neck of the woods.
I went up a creek (or down) a few days ago looking for arrowheads...I couldn't find any obvious ones. Maybe some primitive tools and I didn't recognize them for sure. But what I kept thinking was, "That stone would make a good arrowhead." I came back with some beautiful pieces to make something with. I think they're mostly quartzite though. One is so flat on both sides it looks like it was milled. Many stones in the creek were naturally round like your hammerstone here. I guess I need to go back and get one and start knapping!! 🛆 ⚪🏑
Yeah, start testing the stones. Some quartzite is knappable.
Man, I really enjoyed watching that. I watched the whole video and I was not bored at all
Man what I wouldn’t give for a big ol piece of beautiful chert like that! It’s hard to find up here where I live in Indiana.
Big ole' pieces like this are overrated. The small stuff is the best quality. And Indiana Hornstone is one of my favorites.
"I don't know how to spell it. ... The Neanderthals used it a lot." I bet they didn't know how to spell it either. ;^)
lol
[Confused boonga noises]
You know what they probably did in whatever form of communication they used
@@GTA_500 don't disrespect the Neanderthals to much because like it or not they were how we got our start
I get most of my flint from surface hunting along public waterways. I also get a lot of flint from generous friends. And I buy some flint too.
In my area, there is no flint close by, so I have to travel a lot. And it helps to be a good scavenger. :-)
I adore the desert and search for strange and rare stones and historical and natural places
Sounds very relaxing.
very impressive. just got into flint and steel. was so excited when i made my first fire.
Awesome. I made a few flint and steel fires back in the day. Funny, now that I have literally a ton of flint chunks, I never use it to create sparks.
Cool video. For some reason I’ve always imagined this process taking much longer haha
It does take much longer for novice knappers. This guy seems to have been flint-knapping for quite a while.
I live in Bastrop Texas and have tons of those rocks everywhere. We have the colorado river passing through the city and the animal refuge.
Yes, I know. Go down there and get some, try to knap them, and give us a report. Chances are, many of the rocks you find on the surface in Bastrop are low grade gravel chert and is very difficult to knap without heat treatment.
French speaking neanderthals. If that don't beat all. Just kidding. Thanks for the video. I've read the literature. Seeing it done by someone accomplished at it really puts things in proper perspective. I now understand more about platform, and edge prep than ever before. Thanks again.
juuust rediscovered knapping after a long time (about 16 years) of my first hearing about it! i wat 8 at the time! definitely something id find enjoyable to do as a hobby. live in northern Indiana and cant find flint worth a crap! lol
No Indiana Hornstone?
@@KnapperJackCrafty i have noooo idea where i could find that. I remember when i was younger i found hammerstones before but i never really went as far as to like... take it or use them as such. Really cool though to see that theres more to it than just flint and pretty material inside! :)
@@justsomesaltyboi8716 There are several well-known flintknappers in Indiana and at least one knap-in that is open to the public. A knap-in is the beast place to find stone. Someone may even share where to find some for free. www.crawfordcountyindiana.com/attractions/events-festivals/flintknapping-and-primitive-art-fest/
@@justsomesaltyboi8716 facebook.com/Indiana-Flint-Knappers-and-SurvivalPrepping-Skills-167185613302159/
@@KnapperJackCrafty thank you very much for opening this world to me with knapping. Im looking forward to making some beautiful pieces from stone local to me! :)
Do you buy all your stone? Or are you able to find any? That's my biggest problem now - trying to source the stone. I'm just getting started and don't wan to dump a lot of cash into something I might suck at and waste it on practice. Any advice for where to look for stone? I've heard of looking in old river beds and ancient seabeds. But I live in north central Indiana - nothing but corn fields as far as the eye can see... :-(
This was super incredibly helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome
So are you working raw material here or has it been heat treated?
No, not yet. All the stone in this video is raw.
That was an amazing video. I am fascinated by what you can do.
Thanks!
some nice Native American flute music in the background would really be nice! Flute Dreams is an nice CD ! I just got some real nice Texas Georgetown flint cherts. So far it looks good for knapping ! Thanks for your videos. I am saving them fo later viewing as tutorials. I am a newbee too knapping but have made some pretty decent glass arrow heads. Just gave one blue arrow head to my wife for her birthday. I got some tiny diamond drills for my dremel and drilled a hole for the necklace ring. You inspired me to try this and I am having a great time !
I know nothing of this process except think this is the same as the camping flint and stricker I got from the army store and I can't work it properly lol so satisfying just sitting at your pile and gently beating them. You've mentioned blades a few times is that what it's for. So many questions from over here in New Zealand 😁 #thefinders
Please have a look around my channel. I've got a good mix of different aspects of flint knapping, although I haven't done a video on flint and steel yet...
Yes Im watching you make an arrow head, so beautiful. I couldn't really see how you'd get the shape but I see the line your making to shape. I gift obsidian arrow heads as a protection for that person in the wairoa/spiritual sense. They're fascinating. Thank you again.
@@trippingonrocks1165 you're very welcome.
Great spalling video....Thanks for doing these for us.
You're welcome.
Amazing little rocks out of big rocks
Yup-yup
where do you find all those and how do you find perfect round cobbles of that size too, and also are they heat treated at all?
These are not heat treated. Most of these were found on the surface along the sides of a dirt road that was plowed into an area that had flint nodules mixed in with the dirt. I could give you the GPS coordinates but then all of the rock would be gone before I could go back there and get more.
@@KnapperJackCrafty thanks, I'm just starting flint knapping I've been into it for a while but I'm only just know getting the tools so all the info helps.
So new to this but excited to learn. Where do I find chert and hammer stones and such?
Most people don't live near a chert source, so you'll probably need to buy some online. You can also practice on glass, if you're careful. I always recommend kentuckyflintworks.com as a source for materials online. You should also try to attend an event called a " knap- in" where flintknappers meet to share their work, materials, and skills. You can find everything you need at a knap-in, including one-on-one instruction or tutoring... usually for free.
A thing of remarkable ability and beauty.
Thank you.
What/where did you say you got your chert in the video? I wasn't able to hear you over the wind.
This flint and chert came from various sites in Texas. I got most of it from a friend who moved and couldn't take the stone with him.
I don't know if you'll see this, but do you have any info on ribbon chert? There's tons of it on a hill near my house, and it comes in mostly square pieces, but I don't know if it's very good or not for knapping. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
All chert can be knapped. Some are better than others. The only way to know if you have chert that will knap is to try it. If you cant seem to knap it, it doesn't mean it's not knappable. I don't have any information on "ribbon chert". If it has bands of different colors is might be agate, which is also knappable. Square blocks are common with chert.
@@KnapperJackCrafty thanks for the info! I’m glad to get some confirmation from an expert.
Take care.
@@iolipuara3979 you're very welcome.
Wanting to make a spear tip, something that just looks nice, would it be better to use the core and knock down the edges to shape it or try to get lucky with a share that comes off?
Knock down the edges and shape the core. That's the easiest way.
How the heck do you get so much stone to knap! I can rarely ever find one stone decent size I can practice on!
Love your videos, I've learned quite a bit on what to do/where to strike while knapping from you.
You have to travel far and wide and search high and low to get lots of stone.
Only place I have ever seen flint is in special stores. I wish it was as easy to get as in video games.
Here all i can find is poor quality quartz
I usually go to Denmark to find flint and bring back to Norway as we don't have much of it here. It just sits all over the place there. Drive down, make a weekend out of it and fill the trunk with flint. Very high-quality flint there.
@@slashdotism yeh Danmark is flooded with flint, but supprisingly found quite a bit of flint here in my area of Norway. (Viken)
My question is when you have completed a spauling are you able to work any of the big slices?
Because it would really seem like a ton of waste.
Yes, I work all the pieces that are 1" or bigger.
@@KnapperJackCrafty that's great news. I was curious about the situation.
I'm glad you are able to work the slices.
I just got some round flint stones and it was a pain in the ass to even get into them. Any suggestions?
ruclips.net/video/gFSqesaPlgg/видео.html
@@KnapperJackCrafty thanks. Got in there
@@ColbyBlack sweet. 👍
@@KnapperJackCrafty Not that things got any easier once I got in LOL. So much respect for what are you guys are doing.
Flint knapping is like mastering accidents and controlling randomness lol
Fifteith viewer and I still have not seen the pop corn. LOL, BTW, I picked up on how to spall better from this vid. Keep em coming. Thanks
How much is chert worth? I took a bunch of rock to the University near my home town to have them tell me what I have and they are saying that most of it is chert and I have a bunch and I have large pieces as well.
Good quality chert starts at $2 a pound and can go as high as $4 a pound.
Obsidian can usually be found in rivers and coasts where volcanic activity has been sighted. You can also find obsidian near a volcano(obviously), but I don't know if there are any volcanoes or even where they were located sometime in the past in Baja Califorrnia. Anyway, good luck finding some usable material!
Hey allergicHobbit, I noticed you work with a lot of texas cherts... I live in the north central texas area and was wondering if you knew of any rock around ther??? I would buy some but im only fourteen and rock is usually expensive and I dont have a job... Haha :) Thx!
That's so cool I wish we had that rock around here I've been watching to make Flint and steel. But also making arrow heads. No we live by a lake there lowering it and a local went to the other side and found hundreds arrow head and other artifacts I was so made I was to late. But I tried to go dig it was to hot so didn't find any. But I hope run across something one day. Thanks for sharing I'm gonna sub want to learn more thanks god bless
Thanks Danny, in glad you are enjoying the videos. And in sure you'll find something soon. It's all about the time you put in.
JackCrafty thanks sir yes if I could walk more than a few min without setting from pain ide have better chance but I look were ever I go. Thanks again god bless
Nice video thank you for sharing very good stay safe stay healthy good luck Stay connect
Thank you.
Jack I found a 27 inch by 20 inch Levallois technique Spear point in Ohio which appears as a pitfall spear point what do you think ? would have sent a picture but you have no e-mail
My email is jackcrafty2@gmail.com
Sorry I know this a old video but I made a mistake and bought some unheat treated Texas chert. Can you nap it without heat treating where it isn’t to hard to nap. Can’t try it yet it is being shipped. Thanks for your time. Mike
Yeah, a lot of chert can be knapped raw without too much fuss. But most if it will improve with heat and some of it becomes very, very good.
@@KnapperJackCrafty thank you
For what you do, you can get a 10 inch tile saw from harbor freight, about 600$ Top cut, about 2 hp. Thats all you need.
Good to know.👍
Great vid glad someone requested it. I'm drooling over all the rock. :)
Very nice, got to love that Texas chert! The last nodule that you were spalling was that lighter grey variety and it's probably my favorite to knap. Do you know the name of it.. I thought I heard it called Texas Comanche chert, but I don't know if that's right? Thanks for showing!
Ben
Excellent video, the technique is incredible. Where does one get a rock pile such as that?
Sorry for a dumb question but that pile of chips at your feet, is that your stock for later arrow heads or what do you do with them?
Yes, that's what I use for future arrowheads. Most of that is heat treated by now. I made this video a while ago. :-)
Why cant you use some of the pieces you threw on the ground to make points?
I do.
All that this man is doing Simply crushes the stones.
Wow, super helpful. Thank you.
You're very welcome
What you have there is a very nice piece of flint though
any chance of me finding any good stone in MA. I'm in the milton/bluehills area. alternatively I'm only here for school so I technically live in Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay area. any ideas on what I should be looking for?
Good question. Like I tell everyone from New England, you're pretty much stuck with quartz. I grew up in NH and I used to make arrowheads out of slate when I was a kid. Of course, that was before Internet so I depended on books from the library. Anyways, the closest free material for you would probably be far upstate NY where there is some chert in the road cuts. Other than that, sometimes you can find small chunks of chert or flint in gravel brought in from out of state. If you can find a knap-in close enough to travel to without breaking the bank, that would be the best source for the good stuff.
JackCrafty yea I saw a lot of New England post after I posted mine
i used to use slate too as a child .. madness
Hey please am looking for individual investors or companies that is looking for 'Novaculite stone' we have it in a larger economic quantity. So please buyers should contact me on: sunday_abbas@yahoo.com
WhatsApp number +2348034413465 You also call me with same number. Thanks hoping to hear from you soon. Regards
I'm going to go tomorrow to get some chert for knapping, luckily here in California I can get good quality chert without too much trouble. Then I'll give knapping my first try.
Cool. Good luck. Having easy access to stone is a BIG plus. :-)
Just getting started now. My first ever try at an arrowhead. I haven't got the hang of driving long flakes yet, but at least I have some flakes!
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Dude, that's some awesome material you have there! I've yet to find some material here in Rico, but when I do find some I plan on making a thread on paleoplanet, so if you hang around there, stay tuned!
So, all those chips you knocked off are good, but you throw them on the ground, are they no good? They look good to me,as sharp shards that you could use as a knife
All the reasonable-sized pieces in the pile are still good, yes.
I have only used obsidian and glass. Never chert. does chert have to be heat treated ? I have some jasper and it definitely needs heat treating.
Yes, most chert needs to be heat treated but some is very high quality and doesn't need heat. I'd say 10% is high quality.
Jack, is it about 55 degrees between the angle of attack and the direction of the crack?
Yes
You make that look so easy.
Strengthening the edge prevents small flakes from detaching when you are trying to detach a large flake. If the edge is weak, you may get a large flake if you are careful but you run the risk of messing up and producing a shower of small flakes instead.
Makes sense.
Thnak you. I'm lucky that I have good, cheap sources where I can buy my flint. It took me a long time to build up my supply. :-))
Man, how much would you charge to send me a bunch of the semi smaller pieces? I plan on useing it to practice "flint" and steel fire starting
Send me an email to jackcrafty2@gmail.com and we can work something out.
first of all, i just want to say how great your work is. also, do you sell any of your chert?
Wicked nice flakes bro, wow sweet, i seen alot that i could make into blades.I love to get a bunch of my flint cut up, Since i cant thin well, slabbing would be good for me i think.this was an awesome video , thanks for sharing Hobbit. Makes me want to go crack open more rock now.
Yeah, slabbing is a good option if you do a lot of pressure work. It really saves a lot of time and material.
I'm not sure if I know Ray. I'm glad you have found some other knappers!
Why did you cut the video short? And it's funny that people think you're just throwing all that flint away when you showing techniques for making large flakes! I enjoyed the video!
Thanks. I usually cut the videos before the 30 minute mark because many cameras will shut off automatically.
hi jack I live in Pennsylvania and I've been having trouble finding flint or any other similar rocks for making a knife. do you have any advice for what I should do
Hi. The best advice I can give you is to attend a knap-in. You will see flint all over the place and people who know where to find flint. There will be free flint (debitage) and flint for sale. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of time and money scrounging for knappable rock. There is a lot of knappable rock around Pennsylvania but it's not good quality, for the most part.
+JackCrafty thank you for your response I do appreciate the advice
Do you hear treat your stone before trying to do this ? J/c
What do you look for (externally) when finding the right rocks for this? And are they all generally that large to begin with?
There is no general rule. You just have to bring a hammer with you and crack them open to see what's inside. If you are looking at Google maps or pictures from landscape yard websites, you will not be able to tell, unfortunately.
JackCrafty got it
Thanks for the quick reply!!
Central Texas has lots of chert: mostly small to medium sized nodes in riverbeds, construction sites, and eroded banks. You've just got to look and break some rocks to see what's inside them. You can also attend a knap-in and get rock there for free or real cheap. Join a forum and ask around. :-)
do you ever use any of the flakes on the ground by your feet?
Oh, also if you're in the mood for a road trip, go down to Glass Buttes in Oregon. Plenty of obsidian there!
You are in a gold mind.. Try going to FL or New Guinea and find rocks like that.. Good luck!!
A few questions does copper work better for flintknapping? Does all chert or knappable stone have to be heat treated. I have 200 pounds of chert and i dont want to use glass anymore. My main point is i don"t want to waste any of it, because finding good chert where i live is hard especially since most of the stones i find are what i like to call crap rock, wherer the inside consist of unwanted material.
+enrique12345ish Copper is better if you want to conserve material, but you have to be careful and hit only strong (not thin) edges. Not all chert needs to be heat treated but most of it will work better with heat. Try small pieces first before you commit the whole batch. The insides will probably work better with heat too. You can "skin off" the outsides first if you want. 200 pounds is not a lot in the flintknapping world. That's like saying you've only got 1/8 of a tank of gas to learn how to drive. Try looking in landscape supply yards for more rock. Or go to a knap-in and pick some up there. :-)
Yeah i figure 200 was not much. Thanks for the info I am looking forward to a new project.
Sir, could we discuss about a few your, Discarded Pieces?
Send me an email to jackcrafty2@gmail.com
I THINK IVE DONE SO?
I live in Westchester NY I have been looking everywhere for Churt have found some hard stone that brakes a spark that's about it. Anyway I can get some good Churt?
What part of Texas are you in?
West Texas. But most of these rocks are from central TX.
I've heard of Comanche chert but I don't know what it is. Maybe chert from Comanche County? Anyway, it's all Edwards Plateau chert. The last node in the video is what they call "Pedernales Chert" because, as far as I know, it came from the Fredricksburg area near the Pedernales river. My stone supplier got it while attending a Fredricksburg knapp-in, I think.
Thank you for replying
I have checked several time and brought home many stones, byt nothing that gave any spark
I live in deep east texas, where can I find chert?
Go to a knap-in.