Flint or chirt nodes

[M. De Land]

Where can I buy some flint or Chirt nods to learn to nap my own arrow heads, spear point, and gun flints?

My cousin gave me this dagger some professional chipped out from a single piece of black flint and said "there, you have something to shoot for". MD

 

[M. De Land]

Does anyone know where I can find some good flint or chert to learn to make my own gun flints and arrow heads.MD

 

[54ball]

Some areas of the country do not have flint or chert rock. It can be found here in the southeast in creek beds among other places.
One thing that is important is to burn the flint or chert as it helps to season it for knapping.
How I made flints....
1.Get a chert rock
2.Get a big hammer
3.Beat the rock to near gun flint size
4.Throw the rock you worked so hard on over your shoulder
5.Look on the floor through the debris, you should find one that will fit your rifle.

You may find something on here. If not there is Google, Youtube and the often overlooked local Library...

 

[Many Klatch]

There are parts of the US with good flint. The Flint Ridge in central Ohio, Arrow Rock in Missouri for instance. You just need to see where the nearest outcropping is to where you live.

Many Klatch

 

[paulab]

Charity Island, Saginaw Bay, Michigan. Lots of chert nodules. Right now you could probably walk there....it's only 10 miles or so across the ice...............or not. cheers Paul

 

[Billnpatti]

You might try contacting the Geology Department in the nearest college or university and ask where the nearest place to you might be. Once you find an accessable area of interest, walk along creek beds and look for the chunks of chert. Take along a hammer and wear safety glasses. When you see a likely candidate, knock off a piece and see if it looks like chert. Once you find it, take it home and let it dry in your garage or basement for several days. Then build a fire and toss the chunks of chert into the fire and burn it for an hour or so to prepare it to knapp. You will also need a "hammer stone". Don't burn it. Your hammer stone needs to be about the size my grandmother used to call her big biscuits "cat head" size, and fairly rounded. You will use the hammer stone to knock off chips from your large burned nodules. Again, let me reinterate that you must use safety glasses because when you are knapping, bits of the stone will fly everywhere and these pieces are sharp as glass. One tiny piece in your eye can be devistating.

I am fortunate in that we have chert laying all around on the ground here in the Texas Hill Country. I am still trying to learn to make my own gun flints. I have managed to make quite a pile of flakes and actually made a couple of usable gun flints. The learning process goes on and on.

When you are through with your knappig for the day, be sure to sweep up all of the bits and pieces of chert. They are like tiny razors and will cut you if you or someone happens to step on them barefoot.

Sorry for the rambling. I think I answered your question in my first sentence and the rest was just rambling.

BTW, Dixie Gun Works sells flint nodules but unless you can go by and pick it up, the postage will eat you up.

 

[BillinOregon]

M.D. What state are you in? I found some lovely flint along back roads in north central Texas.

 

[Rifleman1776]

One thing that is important is to burn the flint or chert as it helps to season it for knapping.

Bull Butter. Use as is.

 

[Rifleman1776]

let it dry in your garage or basement for several days. Then build a fire and toss the chunks of chert into the fire and burn it for an hour or so to prepare it to knapp.

There are many myths about flint. The "wet" thing is a big one. I once got tossed off a ml forum because I did research and proved the owner/moderator wrong. He didn't like that. I gathered information from the USGS and the geology departments of several universities and others. I lost it all with a computer change. So believe me or not. Here tis: heating flint has no positive effect, just use as is. Flint does not absorb moisture. One university geologist has tested this. He said if flint is soaked in water for 500 years it

might

absorb water to a depth of one micron. Soaking has no effect and flint does not need drying out. Same with storing in kerosene. Doing that just gives you stinky flint.
BTW, as pointed out, flint is not found everywhere. And flint desirable for knapping is somewhat scarce. There is evidence indians traveled and traded for flint. A collector of arrowheads once told me (and the same info is posted at the Ralph Foster Museum at Point Lookout, Missouri that has an extensive exhibit of arrowheads) that the best examples of arrowhead knapping are in parts of the country where good natural flint is not found. They appreciated the scarcity and took care in knapping their arrowheads.

 

[PaulN/KS]

As mentioned chert or flint in the wild depends on location. There are bands of chert in the road cuts through the Flint Hills here in Kansas.
Missouri has flint as do some other states.
There are some primative archery events like MOJAM, Missouri, and OJAM, Oklahoma, where guys will have rock for sale.
Check Primative Archer magazine for info as well as classifieds.

 

[rich pierce]

As a fella who used to make and sell gunflints this is of interest to me. 1) It's necessary to heat treat many cherts IF you hope to pressure flake them. That's not a common technique in making gunflints so it's not needed. 2) Heat treating is more sophisticated than throwing it in the fire. Normally you want indirect heat, transitioning slowly to the right temp than held there for hours then cooled slowly. This is commonly done by burying in dry sand and building a fire over it, keeping it going, and letting it die. 3) Though it is true that pure intact chert and flint are impervious to water the rocks themselves are not. They are covered with limestone rind, and many times have visible and invisible cracks and defects throughout. Throwing wet rocks with trapped moisture in them (in this case due to cracks and a porous exterior rind) will cause explosions. Drying is a key step that all knappers using raw "found" chert use before heat treating.

Practical knowledge from experience helps sometimes.

 

[hanshi]

Me, I always thought "node" was the past tense of "know". :idunno:

 

[necchi]

Thank You Rich Pierce for sharing your bit of knowledge, the impurities/cracks in a node is what gathers the moisture,,
Very informative.

hanshi;
:td:

 

[BillinOregon]

Rich, fully agree. I come from a state that is rich in obsidian, agates and jaspers but flint poor. I have found arrowheads near here made of yellow, green and red jaspers that are impossible to knap unless heat treated. Our local Indian groups were highly skilled knappers who knew how to prepare their materials using slow fires. Some of their points with long, delicate barbs in the "Gunter" style are among the loveliest produced in North America.

 

[George T.]

The Texas hill country is covered in it. None in my area of east Texas though. I wouder if there is any place to buy fairly large hunks? Geo. T.

 

[Cleburne]

As a fella who used to make and sell gunflints this is of interest to me.

WOW! I didn't realize you no longer sold your gunflints. They've always been so well thought of that I now feel I have collector items. :wink:

 

[Mad Professor]

Where are you located?

I brought some nice English nodules that I still need to learn how to knap. See below:


Ackermann & Co. Phillip B. Ackermann. Antique Guns and Parts. Odd and Unusual Items. Box 279. East Arlington, VT 05252. (802) 375-0221

 

[M. De Land]

Anchorage Alaska. I picked up a book from TOTW by Waldorf and he goes into great detail about preparing chert for knapping by heat treating it in sand with a wood fire over the top. I have made several of the knapping tools he shows in detail along with reading his instructions on how to proceed.
I need some flint to begin my learning curve so am casting about for leads on sources.
He says we do not really have any true flint in North America as it is 99 percent silicate and Chert is 90percent silicate. The best flints come from England and Norway with France second in quality.
He however says good chert properly heat treated make very good arrow and spear point. Some of his best locations are in Texas, Missouri and a few Eastern states. MD

 

[M. De Land]

I forgot to add, Waldorf says that not all chert needs to be heat treated. Some of the stuff from Texas is particularly good to work he says. Much of the stuff from the east coast needs heat treating if I read it correctly but once heat treated is very good. MD

 

[THOM]

" to learn to nap my own arrow heads, spear point, and gun flints? "
Be prepared to bleed !!
Be prepared to make tons of little rocks outta big rocks.
Be prepared to become addicted to any thing that smacks together..
Be prepared to stop yer car ; holding up traffic; while ya look at some rocks by the side of the road. :blah:
Be prepared to sit in a circle with other rock wranglers; with leather pad on yer thigh, sharing sumpin' primal, close to nature..
Be prepared to make some wonderful friends...
Be prepared to have a ton o' fun !!! :stir:
Go here; young man, go here !!! - http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/
Thom