View Full Version : Using Jasper as a flint substitute
underground
01-06-2005, 15:53
Hi, can anyone tell me whether Jasper is a suitable rock to use as a flint? It was mentioned by Val Lord as a stone which can be fashioned in a similar way to flint, and since I have a big lump I thought I may try it with a steel.
However as I'm not sure if it will spark, I'd rather not break the piece up unneccesarily.
I don't know how to knap flint yet so I don't mind keeping the lump intact till I can...
Ta!
Motorbike Man
01-06-2005, 20:48
I could be wrong, but I wouldn't have thought that Jasper would be hard enough to strike a spark on. What sort of Jasper do you have, can you describe it? If I get the chance, I'll pick up a piece at work and give it a whirl
underground
02-06-2005, 12:21
Hi MM, hmm how can I describe it? It's came from a quarry above Porth Oer on the Lleyn peninsula, the quarrying being for the purpose of providing decorative stone.
It's almost sedimentary in appearance having linear planes and sharp corners- it looks nowt like a flint nodule. There's a bit of an ochrous deposit on it too.
A pebble I found on the beach has a similar deep red appearance to the quarry stone, and is 'marbled' with white and black veins....
Jasper has been used in the past for edged tools, it is often considered to be a form of chert, but was used only in areas where there were no other suitable materials
see
http://www.scotgem.demon.co.uk/jasper.html
Cheers,
Toddy
underground
02-06-2005, 19:13
Thanks Toddy- I didn't know it was a form of quartz (not got round to reading my book yet). Hopefully I'll do something with it one day....
Motorbike Man
02-06-2005, 19:38
Hi MM, hmm how can I describe it? It's came from a quarry above Porth Oer on the Lleyn peninsula, the quarrying being for the purpose of providing decorative stone.
It's almost sedimentary in appearance having linear planes and sharp corners- it looks nowt like a flint nodule. There's a bit of an ochrous deposit on it too.
A pebble I found on the beach has a similar deep red appearance to the quarry stone, and is 'marbled' with white and black veins....
Sounds either like a Red or Brecciated Jasper, I'll give it a go and let you know, although I'm not too hopeful. Some Jaspers would be better for this than others
R-Bowskill
03-06-2005, 09:43
Jasper Flint and Chert are all closely related and tend to grade into ine another to some extent so a good quality piece of jasper can be better than a low quality flint.
I've made arrowheads out of bloodstone which is just another form of jasper. It pressure flakes well but getting a suitable piece off the main block was a bit hit and miss.