flint knives

[nomadbushcraft]

a couple of my flint knives,

Hope you like them:

[Paganwolf]

Great work Andrew! Look forward to seeing you at the Wilderness Gathering ;)

[Ogri the trog]

Very nice NomadBC
I'd love to have a go at something similar.

ATB

Ogri the trog

[nomadbushcraft]

cheers guys looking forward to sept myself!

Andrew

[odin13]

very nice job there, keep it up ;)

[ChrisKavanaugh]

I've posted before ( collective group yawn) about excavating a Wyoming Folsum site and cutting my hand open on the still deadly edge. I once cataloged a lithic collection for an estate. A gemnologist happened to be at the home looking at an equally impressive jewelry collection. He looked at the materials and made a comment no one in archaeology seems to have pondered. " You know, whoever made this had a cutter's eye. He probably looked at several rocks, read what was inside and chose his striking point with the same care as a master diamond cutter."

[Toddy]

I've posted before ( collective group yawn) about excavating a Wyoming Folsum site and cutting my hand open on the still deadly edge. I once cataloged a lithic collection for an estate. A gemnologist happened to be at the home looking at an equally impressive jewelry collection. He looked at the materials and made a comment no one in archaeology seems to have pondered. " You know, whoever made this had a cutter's eye. He probably looked at several rocks, read what was inside and chose his striking point with the same care as a master diamond cutter."

It's not a yawn Chris, I hadn't heard it before :) and I'm sure many others haven't either. We don't usually find big pieces of flint in Scotland, but like your jewellery expert I too have wondered at the skill needed to pick out a viable stone and turn it into useable flakes. I have found some of the tiny little mesolithic cores left when whoever had worked it finally gave up. The cores were smaller than the stone inside a plum by then. The little flakes themselves were beautifully worked, and as you said, still sharp enough to slice an unwary finger :(

Andrew your knives are fascinating, I'm sorry I won't get to the meeting.

Cheers,
Toddy

[nomadbushcraft]

thanks guys, when using surface flint I check each nodule gives a ringing sound when tapped (gets some strrange looks at the beach or pit) this indiccates that the silica isn't faceted or shattered iside due to weathering or kinetic stress.

once a blade core is prepared, i strike the flakes using an antler punch, shaping, abdrading and flaking with stones and antler billets. My knives are extremely sharp I test each knife before I am happy with it.

I use manilla rope and leather as test mediums, if it can cut these it'll skin, prepare fireboard notches etc with ease.

I have butchered several elk with my knives over the years and they do everything except split the pelvis (which can be done with a stone axe) the more I use these tools the more I understand how effective they actually are.

andrew

[Ajali]

Hi, just wondering, someone mentioned a bushcraft gathering?!! New here and vastly inexperianced but...i want to go! Hehe :) Does anyone have any information on it? Any info would be greatly appreciated - thankyou so much in advance!

Ajali
XOX

[raskusdrotti]

Hi Ajali!

Hers's the website for Wilderness Gathering (http://www.wildernessgathering.co.uk/)
I went last year and it was great fun!
Lots to learn and loads of great people to meet, add to that cooking over an open fire and sleeping in the woods! HEAVEN :D

There is also the BCUK summer meet coming up details here (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=5614&page=11&pp=10) on the first post.

I expect the meetup to be even better!!! :D :D :D

Neil

[tomtom]

great work mate!

[ChrisKavanaugh]

When I was knapping in university to learn more about lithics I read a theory that some stones had been further tempered much like steel to tighten the grain. I had ( and still do) a desire for a classic aechulian handaxe in flint. A black powder dealer had imported a quantity of flints fom Grimes Graves and I purchased a few dozen. I had them all arranged for a weekend of fun. My roommate saw the reference to fire tempering and decided to help me along. Into the oven they went and he maxed it out @ 450 F :eek: Luckily no one was about when they exploded, punching out the tempered glass door and imbedding deeply into the cement wall.