advice from knappers please

[leaf man]

evening all

this week i have been on a site with alot of excavation works that have revealed alot of flint lumps and bumps. what i want to know is how to grade the stone. some are as pale as weak tea and some are as black as onyx stones. is the darker stone better than the paler stone?
many thanx
mike

 

[lannyman8]

tbh not sure, but i know when you tap them they need to sound solid but have a ring to them too, i might have that wrong but its somthing to do with the sound..

 

[woodspirits]

i think the darker the flint the better the sparks if its for fire lighting

 

[leaf man]

ive never heard it ring when i've tapped or hit it. perhaps im just not listening, but i will find out shortly when i have a go. thanks

 

[Dave Budd]

colour is only a realy vague gauge, so ignor it (I've seen really good pale and really poor dark flints and cherts). Far better is the sound as suggested. Hold the nodule up in a loose grip (like a bell) and tap it with a hard stone/metal lump etc and it should ring clear and high (again like a good bell) *. If the sound is dull then thee is a crack in the nodule and likely to be no good. That said, there could be one crack on an edge of it and the rest is all fine

Of course if you are just using it for fire, then the quality control isn't nearly so important in terms of structure, just break something up and see how it works with your steel!



* Don't think a long lingering ringing like a proper bell, think more just like a crisp note not a dull thud