Flints - English vrs French

[Bushfire]

I've used a lot of both and find the biggest difference is that french ambers are from France and English blacks are from England...

 

[smokepolehall]

My Scout does much better than that, even with such strong springs. Maybe try a different size flint?

I got a dz. 1/2'' black flints i am going to this week i hope.

 

[IanH]

When flints are knapped they break along the grain, when they are cut it is usually across the grain and will fail along the grain.

Will not usually last as long as knapped flints.

That's not how conchoidal fractures work.

A more likely explanation for your observation is multiple stress risers being created by the saw.

 

[French Colonial]

That's not how conchoidal fractures work.

A more likely explanation for your observation is multiple stress risers being created by the saw.

So, flint nodules do not have grain structure?

 

[IanH]

So, flint nodules do not have grain structure?

So, leading right off with the red herring this time? No messing around!

A good, solid piece of chert fractures according to how and where it is hit. "Grain" has nothing to do with it, that's why a knapper can control flake removal and strike off blades or a Levallois point, pressure flake an arrowhead,...or strike off and chip out a gunflint.

 

[French Colonial]

Well there you go, the expert in all things has spoken and proven many a flint knapper wrong.

So here is the thing, anyone who has smacked a piece of flint enough times over the years knows that quite often the flint will fracture in a totally different direction than what was expected and planned. Whether that is from a fracture line, a fault line, an inclusion or just a weak area of the piece of flint you can call it whatever you want, I am going to call it breaking along the grain.

There a lot of different words for a lot of different things, I call my coat a Justacorps and my vest is a weskit and I will call this conversation over.

I think you and I will part ways now.

 

[Pete G]

They’re certainly better than nothing.

…but not much better

 

[TDM]

…but not much better

Quite true.

 

[bldtrailer]

the english and french are the same, the color is from local impurities the french came up with a better way to shape/knap the flint giving 2 useable edges ( the english later copied)
all flint is chert france and england flint formed in chalk divided by a glacier then the english channel as it melted.
I gave both away in favor

of USA chert

 

[AdamRM]

I just called Stonewall Creek Outfitters. They had French amber flints in the 7/8 x1 inch size. I bought a bag of 50 from the nice lady on the phone.

Those folks are fantastic, I’ve bought a bunch of flints from them. I also just got some 7/8 black flints from TOW. I use em all

 

[LT Joe]

Anybody know someone who makes custom flints that you can order from. The geometry of my lock requires flints longer than they are wide which are really hard to find. Most are kind of square.

 

[IanH]

Well there you go, the expert in all things has spoken and proven many a flint knapper wrong.

So here is the thing, anyone who has smacked a piece of flint enough times over the years knows that quite often the flint will fracture in a totally different direction than what was expected and planned. Whether that is from a fracture line, a fault line, an inclusion or just a weak area of the piece of flint you can call it whatever you want, I am going to call it breaking along the grain.

There a lot of different words for a lot of different things, I call my coat a Justacorps and my vest is a weskit and I will call this conversation over.

I think you and I will part ways now.

Changing the subject and creating your own definitions, you sir, are the master of the red herring, that's three in two posts!

Sure, there are defects (incipient fractures, freeze cracks, cracks and swirls from when the rocks first froze from their molten state, gravel and concrete inclusions, quartz inclusions, and so on) and those affect the way a flake goes....but again has nothing to do with the point of a fracture in chert always beginning chonchoidally based on the force radiating from the impact or pressure, not any particular "grain" (such as wood has). You can fracture a flint rock from any side, any direction you like and as long as you have a good platform and minimal defects, it will break the same way on any side.