View Full Version : flint-knapping in England & Gathering
acw_akkermans
10-12-2003, 11:50
Hi Guys,
Someone from a flintknapping forum contacted me with an idea to organise a knap-in. This would be a gathering, to swap each others flintknapping material, and learn from each others failures and successes.
It would never be anything like the Wilderness gathering, just a day out in which flintknappers, and people who are interested in flintknapping can get together.
I would just like to know if there is any interest from this direction. The suggestion was to have such a gathering somewhere in central england.
Many regards,
Anthonio
C_Claycomb
10-12-2003, 12:27
I might be interested. I have read a little about knapping, but have never managed anything more than abo-type flake blades. About what you get for randomly banging rocks together :-?
Any ideas on where in central England? Is there anywhere that that people can pick up suitable rocks, or would we be bringing our own? :-)
Chris
acw_akkermans
10-12-2003, 12:34
Well,
The idea would be for some people to bring their own if they have suitable material. I will be bringing loads of stone. I will also bring more exotic materials like obsidian etc... I hope there will be some trading in some form. It really depends on the people that come.
Also, The instructors that would be present will bring their own stone too, for teaching/demonstration purposes!
Besides, one of the greatest media to practise on is beer bottle-bottom. I love making arrowheads out of this glass, and with the right colours, a lot of people ask what stone they are made of!! (Sometimes, they don't even believe me when I say It's guinness or Becks, or Gin glass..... Besides,... There is so much rubbish even in the wildest places, that glass is a valid material (Even "natural" in forests where there are a lot of Hunters..)
acw_akkermans
10-12-2003, 12:38
I forgot....
Hampshire was proposed as a central area to organise such a knap-in
The suggestion was to have such a gathering somewhere in central england.
Hampshire is not very central England :yikes: It's well south.
Sorry about Hampshire, you guys, only suggested that because most of the would-be knappers I had heard of seemed to be located east or west of there, and, beside, its handy for me in Oxfordshire :) . Since a 'stand-alone' knap-in might be difficult, there are often country fairs around there, so it might be easy to latch-on to one of those and gather more possibles?
Let me or Anthonio know if interested or you know of a fair where this might work, please.
Cheers,
RoJ
acw_akkermans
10-12-2003, 14:01
Hi Tone,
I am a foreigner,.... You can hardly expect me to know where everything lies in England :-D ,... Hahaha... (Should have checked before posting though..... :oops: )
I would be up for it (and I expect you can count Mel in too).
Hampshire sounds good to me - especially as I am in Sussex. Anything north of Gatwick is "up North" :wink:
I haven't done much, although I did do a session with John Lord on a Prim Tech course, and I have been collecting stuff to smack together ever since. :-D
starfury
10-12-2003, 16:38
I'd be up for a Hampshire meet.Theres loads of flint around the edge of farmers fields around here.The best flint i've found comes from Beer in Devon,its worth a trip if you want some decent knapping material.
Anthonio count me in - I could do with learning to knapp.
me too please!!!
hampshires a lot more central than NI though!!
gurushaun
10-12-2003, 17:21
I'd be interested but I'd need a bit of lead time (book time off work).
Cheers
Shaun
Fallow Way
10-12-2003, 20:15
Count me in, would be very interested, just about to start flintknapping myself.
Nomad
gurushaun
11-12-2003, 11:12
Staffordshire is nice and central :roll: :wink:
Cheers
Shaun
acw_akkermans
11-12-2003, 13:03
OK,
It seems there is plenty of interest in a "knap-in". Is there anybody who could help us find a site and organise this site too? The problem being that I am across the water and it's hard for me to go and look at a site etc... Perhaps a day in May would be good,... any suggestions?
Many regards,
Anthonio
Fallow Way
11-12-2003, 13:10
I`ll volunteer to organise it if there are no other takers
Nomad
I am happy to go and scope out any possible locations in the south for you - just give me an address and a contact name. I am pushing my luck a bit with the site that I use in West Sussex. :-)
I may have a possible in "Central England" - but I am still waiting to talk to the guy in question.
C_Claycomb
11-12-2003, 18:13
Hampshire might not be really central, but I am happier driving in that direction than I was about driving to what I thought "central England" might have been :-)
Driving south is almost like driving down hill :o):
Till you're on your way home :rolmao:
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Gary
He said "middle England" not "Middle Earth" : -l)
I would love to come to a flint knapping gathering - especially intriguied by the idea of making arrow heads out of bottle bottoms. I also have a bag full of left flight feathers from Christmas turkeys if anyone wanted to make some complete arrows.
: -l)
Can a make a plea for it to take place at a weekend though please or in school holidays - us teachers don't have the option of taking a day or two off work.
Roving Rich
31-12-2003, 17:38
Hi Antonio and everyone else
David here in Berkshire. Just found out about your knappin idea. I have the perfect location to use at Ipsden, South Oxfordshire, easy to find cheap to rent with open sided barn if it rains, catering facilities and camping field with fire pit etc plus I have 3/4 of a tonne of beautiful Grimes Graves black flint we can use!!! and I can organise it for the spring. interested ?
E me at david@wildernessliving.co.uk
Hi.
i have never tried flint knapping. If you dont mind a complete novice turning up i'm interested.
Wayne
I would be up for learning some flint skills.... so would my other half Karen. Sounds like a nice place roving rich has found, though garys offer of wales is closer to me ;-)
Ed
either slot will do me!:-D
cheers, and.
acw_akkermans
02-01-2004, 11:15
Hi Roving Rich,
You're idea sounds terrific The site seems like a brilliant piece of land. What would the cost be for a weekend gathering?
By the way every one is welcome, whether you knap or not!
Anthonio
Roving Rich
02-01-2004, 11:52
Hi Antonio, It is an ideal site. If a bit far south for some?
I was unsure if we could use it, so had a word with my friend Dave who's jumped at the chance. He's a very keen Knapper (has a knapping pit at the bottom of his garden) and was wanting to do something simular anyway.
I believe you met him at the gathering ?
He is the man with all the contacts at the site so you would be best Emailing him at the address above for details.
Happy to be of any help
Rich :-D
PS he was in the process of logging on here so you should all be able to chat to him soon.
acw_akkermans
02-01-2004, 11:58
Quite possible I met Dave at the gathering. How do you chat on this forum?
I can see you're logged on...
wyrdranger
03-01-2004, 22:55
I am new to this website but have an interest in learning to knap.
I run a youth group in the Northants area and may be able to get exclusive access to a site for the weekend.
No flint available locally but woodland and field site for camping if required.
Email for more chat if interested
Steady on Wyrdranger. Once this lot know you have access to woodland, there wont be a dead twig left in it to kindle your fire :lol:
Treebeard
03-01-2004, 23:04
Hello fellow Bushcrafters,
I'm new to the site and I'd be interested in learning this skill.
acw_akkermans
13-01-2004, 10:33
Right guys,
here an update on the organising of a flintknapping event:
I have spoken for a long, long time with Will Lord. (For those of you who don't know Will, He is John Lords son. You can check out about Will on his own web-site: http://www.beyond2000bc.co.uk/)
I spoke to him about the idea of a knap-in, and Will is very keen as well to organise such a gathering. We wer thinking about April-time. There are a few locations. One location I prefer is at Will's. There is the "flintknappers-lodge" for teaching under, a lot of material, a pub, B&B, and a camping field, not 500 Yards away from the site. The location, is maybe a bit less good. it is at Ramsey, Harwich. So what I would like to know, is, if we want to go with this location, or if we would rather use one of the sites kindly offered to us, by a number of people on this forum.
I'd also like to know, how many people feel they could attend in beginning-mid-april.
Will Lord is an awesome flintknapper, and I personally cannot wait to be teaching alongside him! it looks, like it might turn out to be a terrific weekend!
many regards to you all, and thanks for your support!
Anthonio
gurushaun
13-01-2004, 10:38
I could attend in April but I'd need dates so I can check the Holiday Chart at work.
Cheers
Shaun
Where in wales is your site - North or south?
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Anthonio - Now that this has expanded from a get together of people to share some knapping skills to a full blown gathering where you and Will will be teaching is there a cost involved because of the change in nature of the occasion?
acw_akkermans
13-01-2004, 11:36
Hi Tony,
Thanks for this valid question.
We want to try and keep it a gathering, with lectures, and teaching "sessions" we haven't fully worked it out yet, but you'll get more then a regular gathering out of it, yet slightly less then a full blown one on one, (Or 5 on one) course. I am hoping to find small traders (of material and tools) And I am hoping for an exchange in knowledge by partisipants versus a teachier providing all knowledge. it will therefore be much like the Wilderness gathering (Though on much smaller scale) I would be happy to get about 30+ people together. We want to keep costs minimal (IE our expenses). This means that the more people sign on, once the organisation is clear, the cheaper we can try and make it. At this point in time it is hard to put a cost on the knap-in.
I am also trying to have John Lord attend, which would be even better and more teaching time (Extra instructor)
Hope this (Temporarily) answers your question Tone (And any others)
Many regards!
We wont be able to make the week either side of the easter break - but if it is outside of that period then count Mel and I in.
Dont mind a small fee to cover expenses either :)
gurushaun
13-01-2004, 16:21
Its only fair that the people doing the instruction sholuld get something for giving up their time and knowlege. Also whomevers site is used should get something too :-D
Cheers
Shaun
Where in wales is your site - North or south?
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Garys new site is in south wales, its on a 3500 acre private esate with 300 acres of woodland, 5 square km of sand dunes (the second largest and highest in europe), 4.5 km of coastline, 6 km of river, an estury and three natural springs :shock:
its where bearclaw bushcraft will be situated
I was just looking at it on the map as i was reading new posts
acw_akkermans
13-01-2004, 16:26
I completely agree! :lol: Hahaha (On the money making bit...)
ditchfield
13-01-2004, 19:42
Where in wales is your site - North or south?
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Garys new site is in south wales, its on a 3500 acre private esate with 300 acres of woodland, 5 square km of sand dunes (the second largest and highest in europe), 4.5 km of coastline, 6 km of river, an estury and three natural springs :shock:
its where bearclaw bushcraft will be situated
I was just looking at it on the map as i was reading new posts
:shock: :shock: That sounds like the most fantastic place. Do you think I could have a grid reference orname of nearest settlement so I can have a look on a map.
Sounds like the best place for a bushcraft school.
Justin Time
13-01-2004, 22:47
Where in wales is your site - North or south?
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Garys new site is in south wales, its on a 3500 acre private esate with 300 acres of woodland, 5 square km of sand dunes (the second largest and highest in europe), 4.5 km of coastline, 6 km of river, an estury and three natural springs :shock:
its where bearclaw bushcraft will be situated
I was just looking at it on the map as i was reading new posts
:shock: :shock: That sounds like the most fantastic place. Do you think I could have a grid reference orname of nearest settlement so I can have a look on a map.
Sounds like the best place for a bushcraft school.
Pete
There's a big clue in there from Stuart, check out the superlatives. won't be the first thing to come out of google but you'll find it... Of course it helps for me that I don't live too far away so didn;t need to do any map work.... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Justin
aiming for the biggest quoted thread
Where in wales is your site - North or south?
Antonio once my site is sorted you can use that. Its in Wales though.
Garys new site is in south wales, its on a 3500 acre private esate with 300 acres of woodland, 5 square km of sand dunes (the second largest and highest in europe), 4.5 km of coastline, 6 km of river, an estury and three natural springs :shock:
its where bearclaw bushcraft will be situated
I was just looking at it on the map as i was reading new posts
:shock: :shock: That sounds like the most fantastic place. Do you think I could have a grid reference orname of nearest settlement so I can have a look on a map.
Sounds like the best place for a bushcraft school.
Pete
There's a big clue in there from Stuart, check out the superlatives. won't be the first thing to come out of google but you'll find it... Of course it helps for me that I don't live too far away so didn;t need to do any map work.... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Justin
aiming for the biggest quoted thread
I've found it! Well, roughly. I think. :-)
I like multimap's function to swap from the map to an aerial photo - v.cool.
Sorry Justin but I just had to make my quote that bit longer :nana:
(Prepares for :f: )
you found it then :-D
the closest village is merthyr mawr
on OS map Explorer 151 1:25000 grid referance 87,77 puts you close to the center of the site
its impressive on the map but much more impressive on the ground :-D
Yep! The info I used was the bit about the sand dunes, although the page I found it on said that it was the largest in europe, not second!
did you know the dunes on Garys site are where some of the scenes for 'Laurance of arabia' were filmed?
Any news on the flint knapping gathering?
hope it hasn't died.
You're Ok, it's still going ahead. Anthonio was talking to me about it today. There will be some more news soon
acw_akkermans
09-03-2004, 12:04
Yes, It is going ahead,
Will and I have been working like mad to get everything organised for a flint-knapping event, and now it's ready.
There is a bunch of information to be found on the web-site (http://www.wild-liveschool.com/knap-fest.htm), But let me give you guys a small description here:
It's gonna be over the last weekend of April, Tickets are 35 pounds if staying the whole weekend, and 20 pounds if coming only for a day. The prices seem very low. The reason is that this event is not a course, it is a gathering.
So here's what you get for your money:
:-D You get to meet a lot of fellow knappers
:lol: You will be able to attend courses and lectures provided (So far) by John Lord, Will Lord, and me throughout the weekend.
:wink: The saturday evening meal will be excellent, because we are bringing in a deer, which will be prepared on-site for a nice vennison stew which will be cooked in clay-ovens (Build during the weekend as well)
:shock: There will be people wanting to trade material, and all of you are invited to do so too. You will also find a bunch of people selling knapping kits and finished items such as knives and jewellery
:-o We have organised a food-stand where you can get all your meals and snacks (Because we are only serving the venison stew included in the price)
:twisted: A lot of hard work (IE knapping till your arms fall off!)
I hope that what we organised so far is to your liking! We will be adding events between now and the end of April, so stay tuned!
Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Hope to see all of you there!
Many regards,
Anthonio Akkermans
Anthonio,
what sort of group are you aiming this at? Is it people with no knapping ability/knowledge, some ability, lots or are you not too worried?
acw_akkermans
09-03-2004, 12:32
Thanks for your question,
This event is aimed at evrybody. What we hope will happen is that the event will become one where everybody shares his/her bit of knowledge. We hope to see people with less experience chatting with more experienced folk and vica versa.
We are expecting to see masters and beginners. What happens a lot at events like this is that more experienced people are sitting knapping away, and people start to gather around these persons, and so they have started their own "demonstration", This is where the event turns into a mini-community, and this is what we are aiming for. The more experienced people helping the less experienced...
Hope this answers your question!
Yep that's fine. i just thought it needed saying that the people who can't/don't know how to knap are still welcome.
Just a final confirmation of where it is would be spot on :-D
acw_akkermans
09-03-2004, 16:27
There is a map on the web-site with driving instructions from London, but it's on the East coast of England, It's near Ipswich and Colchester.
Here's the link for the page with the driving instructions and map:
http://www.wild-liveschool.com/where.html
Hi.
Count me in. Will be good to meet you all.
Sounds good - but I'll be working the Harrogate flower show.
Sounds good - but I'll be working the Harrogate flower show.
We usually go to the flower show - where will I find you?!
acw_akkermans
15-04-2004, 15:29
Hello to all,
Thank you for all the bookings we received. There was a huge number of forum users who booked a weekend with us on the "knap-fest".
Sadly, I have to bring some bad news.
Due to severe family circumstances, we have had to postpone the knap-fest. As yet we do not have a future date arranged.
For this reason, we have decided to return all payments to those who had already booked their place.
Will and I have tried our hardest to make it go ahead despite the family problems, but it couldn't be done.
I would like to apologize sincerely. I know how much everybody was looking forward to the event. I hope we haven't inconvienienced anybody too much.
If anybody has question or remarks, I am available through e-mail as well as private message and I will reply as soon as I find messages.
Many regards,
Anthonio Akkermans
Fallow Way
15-04-2004, 18:58
As one who was thinking of going (just so happened to be the weekend between Wooldore courses, so would have been the right end of the county for a change), all I can say is that I and I`m sure everyone else, was is extremely grateful that you took it upon yourselves to organise this.
The fact that things have to change is by-the-by.
I hope things improve for you both.
Best wishes and Kindest Regards
Nomad
Hi Anthonio.
i'm gutted was really looking forward to the knapfest. Booked dogs in kennels etc. Oh well thats life.
looks like a weekend away camping instead.
i hope you and yours are ok and everything gets sorted.
Best Wishes
Hi
We were looking forward to it, but I know how things go sometimes.
Rest assured, that if/when it is possible in the future then we will be first in the que.
In the meantime, I will cancel the bulk order of adhesive dressings that I had placed at the local chemist's shop in readiness :wink:
All the best
Rob & Mel
Never mind. I hope something else can be arranged for the future. I'll look forward to that.
:-)
Ed