flint knife

[primitive man]

dear all had a knap today and made this little knife.

alex

 

[Rothley Bill]

Wow I wish I had your skill, its wonderful

 

[spiritofold]

Excellent
Theres nothing like making something from flint that works!

Andy >>>>>---------------------------------------<>

 

[primitive man]

yes its great fun and thanks for your nice comments

 

[Singeblister]

nice work mate I just end up with a pile of dust when I try lol

 

[primitive man]

its all about practice and angles mate. keep at it.

alex

 

[alpha_centaur]

Very nice. Just out of interest how sharp ar they say in comparison to a modern carbon steel knife

 

[ForgeCorvus]

Very nice. Just out of interest how sharp ar they say in comparison to a modern carbon steel knife

Flint, no contest
Knaped stone (or glass for that matter) ends up with an edge one molecule thick, I don't think that even some of the hardcore honers on here can beat that

However, I'd love to find out how long these two blades would stay sharp (something like how many times could they cut through 1/2 inch hemp rope, sheets of paper or a standard thickness of leather)


For most of the things we do, steel is better because its easier to sharpen


All this said, I wish I could knap half as good

 

[spamel]

It depends on the edge too, the polished axe that John and Will had at the Moot this year wasn't sharp per se, but it would cut timber just fine. The edge was robust though. A flaked blade is incredibly sharp, some small flakes are being used for surgery as they are far superior to any steel blades used for the job. Obviously, this fine edge will deteriorate over time if cutting something very hard, but the beauty is that a professional knapper would be able to retouch that edge and get it good again. The downside again though is that the tool will eventuall be reduced dramatically in size as it is used and retouched. The upsode is you gain more practise making the next one!

 

[clcuckow]

A flaked blade is incredibly sharp, some small flakes are being used for surgery as they are far superior to any steel blades used for the job.

There was a load of articles about the benefit of them is ophthalmic surgery but I cannot seem to find them.

 

[fishfish]

nice knife!

 

[robin wood]

Nice bit of knapping, something I will have to put some time into sometime. There is a site in Dorset where they were turning shale bracelets with flint tools up to 50 AD that is long after the widespread availability of steel tools. I guess sharpening is very quick to retouch and a skilled knapper can make the simple flakes they were turning with in seconds. Stone takes the edge off a steel tool pretty quick too.

Damian Goodburn runs a nice course where you go out in the woods and play with stone, bronze and steel tools, when it comes to woodworking metal does the job a whole lot better.

 

[spiritofold]

Got to admire those ancients for their knapping skills, and the woodworkers who used stone tools. Just imagine if flint tools were the norm today? A whole new skill set to carpentry!

Andy >>>>>-----------------------------------<>