Here is how I make gun cherts(you call flints)

[bldtrailer]

First I noticed a lot of gun flint postings so here is how I make my gun flints
We don't have flint here in USA but we have VERY good chert all flint is chert but not all chert is flint confused yet it is silica(glass like rock a quartz replacement like petrified wood) deposited down in sedimentary rock during the Jurassic in limestone here or chalk over seas England France . I like Georgetown from Texas and Burlington from ok.

I take the whole rock and split it with an hammer stone or brass hammer

I then make a blade core

and then using a punch(made of moose antler or copper) or ishie stick to drive blades off the core

I strike

these with a hammer (soft wood med antler or hard brass)

I take off blades and flakes from the cores and use a Bonker and cold chisel

mounted in a stump to size the flints and yes there will be BLOOD so make sure you use safety glasses and cut proof gloves

 

[bldtrailer]

lots of waste and lots of fun

 

[64Springer]

I would blind not only myself but half the neighborhood if I tried making flints.

One close call that landed on the corner of my eye has scarred me for life.

Beautiful work.

Wish I had it in me.

 

[bldtrailer]

always when knapping

 

[IanH]

I'd recommend goggles or a face shield if you wear cut-proof gloves while spalling flakes and blades, I have gotten sprayed fully in the face several times when an edge crushed from a hard direct percussion strike and the shower of tiny razors bounced off my gloved fingertips. I have a thin face and some of the flakes shot underneath the lenses of my safety glasses, bounced off my skin and got caught by my lower eyelashes. Way too close for comfort.

 

[wiscoaster]

I wish I had that skill. How long did it take you to learn?

I just ordered some flints; luckily the size I needed was in stock. Every other size was out of stock - no back order.

 

[IanH]

I don't know how long it took Mr. Bldtrailer but it took me probably 100 pounds of varied, crusty chert to sort of get the hang of making ones that worked and another 100 pounds to get to where I can consistently make ones about which I'm not too ashamed to post photos. The "getting better" part for me was learning how to get a higher ratio of useable flakes off of a rock and learning which flakes to throw down right away and not waste time trying to chip into a gunflint. Other valuable lessons learned are when to just stop and throw the whole rock in the landscape pile, when to change tools and try another tack, and when to stop and send that really nice piece of raw flint that's turning into a decent preform to a buddy who can make something REALLY nice out of it instead of continuing to reduce it to gunflint preforms and trash.

 

[TarponStalker]

Hmmmm. Chert lock rifle? Not sure it'll catch on. Haha.
My sons a geologist so I get to hear more about rocks than I ever knew. He explained to me about chert/flint too.

 

[64Springer]

Hmmmm. Chert lock rifle? Not sure it'll catch on. Haha.
My sons a geologist so I get to hear more about rocks than I ever knew. He explained to me about chert/flint too.

Do tell.
Do. Do.

 

[Gun Tramp]

We don't have flint here in USA but we have VERY good chert all flint is chert but not all chert is flint

Do tell.

An interesting topic for rockhounds like myself and one that can quickly turn to argument, even among experts. I find the most detailed info by Googling the specific rock I want to study, for example, "Grand Meadow chert" or "Knife River flint." Before the internet I spent part of a summer with a Geologist whom I tried gleaning info from about knappable specimens I had found; chert, flint, chalcedony, quartzite, etc. Frustrated with my non-scientific background and uninterested in knapping, he finally barked, "You're using layman's names for this stuff! It's all just quartz! Period!"

 

[Flathead85]

Do you have to heat treat the chert

 

[bldtrailer]

I don't, buy others do .

 

[IanH]

I would only heat treat the kinds that need it if I were pressure flaking to make points. The process to make gunflints does not normally use any pressure flaking and employs powerful tools which work just fine on very hard, crunchy rock.

 

[sb 54 cal.]

The best I can do is walk the creek behind my house and p/u chert about the right size for my lock. And the make the powder go boom.

 

[deerstalkert]

my advice to anyone starting out knapping is to buy a 200 gallon fish tank first.
You WILL have more than enough itsy bitsy pieces of rock to give the fishes a good bed in the bottom of the tank.
and some to use in flower pots as rock mulch.
and some to.............whatever

 

[Scota@4570]

You are fortunate to have access to suitable rocks.

 

[wiscoaster]

my advice to anyone starting out knapping is to buy a 200 gallon fish tank first.
...

Sheesh. I once had a 40 gallon fish tank and discovered it took up pretty much ALL of my spare time AND spare cash to keep those dad-blamed little fishies and aquarium plants alive and healthy. NO THANKS. Your advice taken as extreme sarcasm and/or skepticism and reacted to with a hearty

 

[bldtrailer]

I dig a deep hole in my woods or under a new tree planting safe disposal

 

[Terrier]

Do tell.
Do. Do.

Heh heh…. He said, “Do. Do.”

 

[Terrier]

I just acquired a 4” x 1” solid copper bopper. It made an immediate difference in how I’m viewing the rocks I’ve recently picked up with an eye at working them into a usable size for flint and steel, and I have some copper rod on the way to make a flaking tool for sharpening my fire and gun flints. I still have a ways to go to even get close to making blades to turn into gun flints, but I may give that a go at some point. That bopper has already told me I have suitable rock to be found locally and it’s worth pursuing.

@bldtrailer thanks for the photos of the tools and such. That gave me an good idea of what I need to assemble and what types of tools will do what.