Flint or chirt nodes

[M. De Land]

I got to thinking about one of the statements mentioned in passing in the Waldorf book I had forgotten in my quest for chert locations. He said some where in the book as a kind of side issue that scrap glass pieces were good leaning material and I have access to tons of that being a glazier. Think I'll hunt up some pieces of scrap 1/4 inch plate glass and see if I can begin the learning curve. Wonder how much different it would be from obsidian which is just natural volcanic glass. MD

 

[rich pierce]

Buy a box of band-aids! Use colored glass if possible. It's easier to see and pull the slivers out of your hands.

 

[Rifleman1776]

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

I know D.C. Waldorf and knew his, now deceased, wife, Valerie. There is no doubt D.C. is one of the country's premier knappers. His skills are not in question. But, much of what you relate is simply incorrect. (amount of silica, etc.) I'm not any kind of expert but I did research on this subject years ago. Flint and chert are the same kind of stone. They are differenctiated only by how they are found in the eart. I'll grant, quality varies with different regions of the country and the flint that is found in nodules is generally higher quality. But flat-out statements about chert being better/worse than nodule flint, etc. cannot be taken as accurate.
OTOH, I guess buying into myths is part of what makes this game fun. :2

 

[M. De Land]

So is what you say or myth or what Waldorf says? MD

 

[BillinOregon]

MD, glass is a useful practice medium, and in wild colors is even preferred by some knappers who are not trying to replicate original paleo material.
Another very good practice material is "thunderchert" or "johnsonite" -- also known as pieces of ceramic toilet tank. It also fractures conchoidally.
:wink:

 

[BillinOregon]

By the way, if you are handy to Oregon and don't mind March weather in the high desert, the annual Glass Buttes Knap-in has been drawing some of the best knappers from all over the world for a week of knapping, shivering and schmoozing in the very heart of one of the largest obsidian formations in North America.
http://www.steensmountain.net/knapping/2012/

At the knap-in about 10 years back, I was caught on camera by a so-called pard in nothing but hat, leather loin cloth and moccasins unsuccessfully hunting rabbits with an atlatl. The world is still unready for this image.

 

[M. De Land]

Boy, that was great, I sure would love to attend that deal some time. Do you have to have special permits to dig up the obsidian or is it free for the taking? I think I would start on something delicate.......... Like an ax head or pound stone! :rotf: MD

 

[BrownBear]

Dunno if it will help or not, but this is an interesting read on chert. Here's an excerpt:

Strictly speaking, the term "flint" is reserved for varieties of chert which occur in chalk and marly limestone formations. Among non-geologists (in particular among archaeologists), the distinction between "flint" and "chert" is often one of quality - chert being lower quality than flint. This usage of the terminology is prevalent in America and is likely caused by early immigrants who imported the terms from England where most true flint (that found in chalk formations) was indeed of better quality than "common chert" (from limestone formations).

 

[BillinOregon]

M.D. The Glass Buttes area is administered by the BLM and public collection of obsidian is free. There may be a daily limit of 250 pounds of material. I'd have to check. The neat thing is there are outcrops of mahogany, rainbow and plain black obsidian. Harder to find and very desirable is dacite, a tougher gray obsidian that I personally find more interesting.
You will be getting obsidian from Glass Buttes and from Davis Creek, California, in your box.

:hatsoff:

 

[M. De Land]

Wow, thanks so much! Any recommendation on band-aid variety? :grin: Just kidding, I'm a glazier by trade so there is no part of my hands that have not been cut over the 40 plus years I have been cutting glass. I've got to make a couple of pressure knappers and find a good pound stone when break up comes. I just happen to have a couple of really old moose antlers laying about and made a couple of large percussion knappers out of it as per Waldorfs recommendations. I don't believe I have ever seen any chert though and am always looking at rock in the river bed. I'll be looking for knappable rock this year on our annual float trip down some Alaskan river.We try to do a new river each year, but have a few favorites we have done several times. We particularly like the Forty mile of Klondike fame that flows into the Yukon River. Mike

 

[DUSTY 14]

the chert in texas is heat treated just like our brains when it hits 115f and the ground is hot enough to cook on. been there done that. you tube has some good tutorials on knapping.