finding flint #3

[xxgrampa]

greetings all, we'll try this again..

seems everyone but yours truly can find flint. rich pierce has to kick the stuff out of his way so he can walk. bison bill justs bends over and picks up hundreds of pounda of flint at his shooting range.

here in s. ca. we have a lot of mountains so there must be flints aome where.. have dug thru a lot of rock piles but, only find those darn gold nuggets, no flint..

TIA.. for any info you can share.. and ..ttfn..grampa..

 

[RetiredMedic]

Are you looking for raw flint rock to knapp yourself??

Or are you lookung for flints aready done??

If so. e-mail me....

 

[Old Salt]

In southern California you should be able to find plenty of agate and quartz, both make decent arrowheads. I think they'll both spark steel. Do you spend any time in the Antelope Valley near Rosamond?

Old Salt

 

Find a geologic map of your area (USGS has them, state geologic survey should, libraries might, universities should...). Look for Limestone formations or Chert formations. "Flint" is chert and is typically found either as nodules and beds in limestones or as bedded chert sequences--sometimes with siliceous shales. The Monterey Chert of northern California and the Arkansas Novaculite are examples of bedded chert. The classic English and French "flints" are found as nodules in chalks (a type of limestone).

 

[robinghewitt]

It comes by the ton :rotf:

 

[BRUN]

Ive found some green colored chert in my area.Its works to make fire with a steel but not sure how it would work in a lock.There is also some brown chert also.Im not sure if Im finding remanents of pre worked stuff from natives or what cause I havent found any large chunks.

 

[flintlockmdj]

Send me all the extrs gold nuggets that get in your way and I'll see if I can find you some flint.

 

[silverfox]

Just send the gold I already have the flint. :rotf: :rotf:
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Ive found some green colored chert in my area.Its works to make fire with a steel but not sure how it would work in a lock.There is also some brown chert also.Im not sure if Im finding remanents of pre worked stuff from natives or what cause I havent found any large chunks.

If you find any that have a limestone rind on them like the picture of those broken nodules that the Squire posted, then you know you've got the raw flint, or a piece that was flaked off of the natural stuff. In the natural state it doesn't look at all like the pieces we use in our guns. Unless it has been chipped, it looks like a powdery white rock. If it's been chipped the interior rock looks waxy. Wouldn't surprise me if you've walked around and through plenty of it without realizing you're doing so.

Twisted_1in66:thumbsup:

 

Good point--also I failed to mention stream beds. Rivers often have cobbles in them that are chert (if flowing through the proper geology)and which will have a "rind" on them that "hides" their nature sometimes.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Good point--also I failed to mention stream beds. Rivers often have cobbles in them that are chert (if flowing through the proper geology)and which will have a "rind" on them that "hides" their nature sometimes.

Up on the Mogollon Rim here in Arizona, there are creek beds where one can fill a pickup bed full of chert in an hour.

 

[BRUN]

Thanks guys.Ill have to bust some open and see what I find.

 

[Marko10thivi]

I was down in Clearwater,Florida over the Christmas holidays. My fiancee and I were walking the beach on Honeymoon island looking for sea shells. I found way better stuff in the form of washed up,broken open, flint nodules! She packed home seashells, I packed flint. Wonder what the TSA Xray people thought!

 

[Will Bison]

Silicon dioxide, SiO2, is the most common mineral in the World. The pure stuff is called quartz. It is also known as flint, agate, chert, jasper and by many other names.

I always carry a steel in my pocket and try various rocks for spark.

I found an area about one mile from my house that has a fire engine red jasper. This is a bright red jasper, and I mean it's an attention getter.

I walk through the dry creek beds in the Summer and cherry pick pieces that are almost perfect for my flint locks. Just a tad of knapping and I have good flint.

I picked up the name "Redd Flynt" due to my use of the red jasper.

Dry creek beds are the place to look for natural rock.

 

[xxgrampa]

greetings old salt,

had some property across the road from the base. did a lot of ml shooting there. ground squirrels and such. bought my dog from dasies keenels in rosamond. sold the property a few years ago.

..ttfn..grampa..

PS.. mite have been flint there, didn't look at the time.

 

[xxgrampa]

hi-ho bison bill,
don't know how you do it, must be magic, not only find flint, but in color and ready to shoot..

and the brun sneaks up from behind with 'green' flints.

squire robin, saw that pile of 'noduls' all we can say is ' :blah: '


white bear and silver fox,if that gold was any good i would have sent it to you. forged it into flint shape, but, it didn't spark worth a darn so it was tossed.


mike roberts, will check on the maps. mite call the local universities, they mite have some info..

twisted, the only 'chalk' around here is what the kids put on the sidewalk. no limestone either.

tanstaafl. the only time i get to the mogollon rim is when a louie lamor book takes me there..

marko, what are you doing walking on the beach during your honeymoon?? :redface: ..

thanks for the info and ..ttfn..grampa..

 

[xxgrampa]

greetings retired..

will e-mail or pm you tonite..

thanks and ..ttfn..grampa..

 

[RetiredMedic]

Check your PM

 

[Top Jaw]

Here is another idea for you guys in flint scarce areas. If there are any creek or cliff areas near you with rock overhangs that may have been used as old campsites by native american hunting parties, look back in the crevaces and corners (you may have to dig a little too). They used flint everyday, and no doubt carried it back to camp whenever they found it, and reportedly packed and traded the good stuff around. (I have been told that flint from the Flint Ridge site in Ohio has been found in the gulf states).

Sometimes I have found flint spalls and rock castoffs that were left behind by indian hunting parties who were making arrowheads and tools. Some of these are small, but I have have found decent chunks that yielded 6 rifle flints each. Plus, its pretty cool to reuse something that might have been used by another hunter several 100 or 1000's of years ago.

One word of caution, if you do this in the summer, watch for snakes and other critters who might be cooling themselves in these areas.

Top Jaw