Flint Knapping for Beginners

Human beings have been knapping flint into projectile points by hand for thousands of years.

Many people who would like to try their hand at flint knapping hesitate because they believe it will be too difficult. They may wonder how it's possible to shape stone into knives and projectile points without using modern power tools. But the process is really not that hard for beginners who have the right tools and understand that not all stone is able to be knapped. After all, man has been flint knapping for 30,000 years, and some of the points found in the United States are more than 10,000 years old.

Flint

Here in the United States, the material commonly called flint is actually a type of stone known as chert. Chert is high in quartz content and is usually gray or white. It has a special property that is needed for knapping called conchoidal fracturing. This property means a chip will fracture off a larger piece in a controlled and predictable way. In addition to flint, other types of chert are called chalcedony, jasper and agate. Beginners who live near deposits of these rock formations can get their knapping material there. However, they should always ask permission before hunting for flint on someone else's property. If there are no flint deposits nearby, a local rock or hobby shop can usually supply it. There are also places online that allow hobbyists to order different kinds of flint just for knapping.

Tools

The proper tools are essential to flint knapping. Beginners can order tools online, but they are also easily made at home. Hammerstones--a key tool--are just rounded stones of different sizes used to knock off large flakes that will later be knapped into points. It's best to have three sizes of hammerstones: a large one, around 3 to 4 lbs.; a medium stone, around 1 to 2 lbs.; and a smaller one weighing about 8 oz. Knappers use these to break chunks off of large pieces of flint and to knock the "bark," or outer cortex, from flint nodules. These hammer stones are also used to abrade the edge of your work so that it can withstand the force of your blow from the next tool: the billet.

A billet is made from antler. It is used for what is called percussion flaking. Moose antler is considered the best material for this job, but deer antler will work, too. Beginning knappers will need three sizes of billet: One weighing 1 to 2 lbs., another weighing about 12 oz., and a small one of about 6 oz..

The final tools needed are small tips from antlers; each tip should be 6 or 7 inches long and should come to a point. These are for pressure flaking, which is the last stage in making your point.

Thinning

Flint knapping starts with a piece of flint about a pound in size. The flint knapper must carefully examine it to find an angle that is about 45 degrees and has a bottom edge a little lower than the top. The large antler billet is then used to strike this edge firmly, with a downward and slightly inward stroke. With any luck, a flake then breaks cleanly from under the stone. After striking many such angles on one side, the flint knapper flips the stone over, as the flakes taken from one side make new angles on the reverse. This stage of knapping is called thinning. As the blade being knapped becomes smaller, the knapper will switch to a smaller size of billet. An accomplished knapper can thin a blade out in less than half an hour.

Notching and Finishing

Once satisfied with the thinness and shape of the blade, the knapper begins to notch it. He sets one of the sharp pressure-flaking tips against one corner of the base and pushes as hard as he can inwards and then down, until a small flake comes off underneath. He then flips the blade and repeats this process until he has produced a notch. He does the same to the other corner.

Finishing

Sharpening the blade is the finishing touch. The flint knapper takes a small pressure flaker and moves along the blade edge with the same inward-then-downward pressured motion, flipping the point over to sharpen both sides. When he is satisfied with the shape and sharpness, the point is finished.

References

• "The Art of Flint Knapping"; D.C. Waldorf; 2006
• "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals"; Charles Wesley Chesterman; 1994
• "Tools of the Old and New Stone Age"; J. Bordaz, 1970