How to Identify Good Rocks for Flintknapping Arrowheads 

*Capitalism*

@@PotionsMaster666 Wrlcome to nordic countries where capitalism meets high taxes and all mens rights.

just ask permission, most people say yes..... at least in the northeast here

Maybe it's where I live but I can go to any river or stream bed, or road cut and find it everywhere. I do live directly at the bottom of the Edward's plateu drainage though. But those people pay for the land, they should have the right to keep it. You will find if you ask nicely, even offer to pay, most land owners are amenable to you clearing rocks from their land lol.

I know this is old video, but the dumbest questions are the ones not asked! With that being said. I'm not into napping (other then the kind on my couch) "yet", but sounds interesting to try! I have acquired a source for big chunks of soda bottle glass from where the bottles are made. Some weigh up to 1-2 #s. I got them for the blue green color. Would this make good napping material? BTW I enjoy the videos!

just saw this comment a year late. Thank you very much. Very glad I was able to teach or inspire!

I'm glad young bucks are paying attention to men like him. Watch and learn.

Very old post but if you're still following this channel, where abouts in N. Central Tx are you looking in? I'm just trying to get started and live in the same general area.

​@@cprpottsville Check local creeks/rivers, see what you find then source them farther upstream if you want to find it in formation

Very cool

wow. let me just say, that was a lot easier than i expected! i grabbed my longboard, bought some supplies and traversed to the nearby river i live close to. everything was coated in a layer of dirt, so i only had the texture of the rock to go by, the color of everything was the same dusty brown/grey. despite this, within less than 5 minutes i had found a softer, sparkly quarty red rock that split nicely despite feeling grainy and was holding my first knapped piece. i continued to practice knocking pieces off my host rock and just getting used to the motions. i had found some driftwood and set up a bench along a larger volcanic rock, cleared a small area and made a sand pit so any shards that fell/shot off could be retrieved. eventually, the rock i was using (just a common black river rock here) to knap broke and held somewhat similiar edges, so i grabbed another and started knapping this one. it broke like expected, but into much larger, unusable pieces. the rock was too brittle to be worked. nothing like the clean flakes from the first one. inspired by this however, i went on the search again, and found another black river rock, the same like as the one i was working a second ago, except muuuuch darker and really smooth. this one was harder to work because it was so small, and i found that it really helps when you're not using a huge knapping rock! size doesn't really matter, it's just the angle and force of which it makes contact w/ the rock. after downgrading to a smaller knapping rock, i managed to start chipping off the harder rounded exterior of this black river stone and producing sizable flakes, and these blew me away! by far the sharpest flakes i had produced so far, and none of these rocks were even close to as glassy as the ones you had demonstrated in this video, but still had a SHARP cutting edge! i was playing with one of these black pieces and managed to slice my thumb hahaha. all in all, a good experience and i thank you! i saved a collection of usable pieces and the host rocks. i'm excited to learn how i can work these further.

How’s your progress?

@@vandalianproductions Actually have a solid concept of progression of technologies for this world. A lot of stuff ends up being plastics and petroleum-based products. Age of Magic and Age of Plastic replace the Bronze Age, but postponed. A lot of "technology" like concrete, aqueducts, and things made from mineral construction are a lot "earlier" in the timeline, as is boating and woodworks. But that's because it takes longer to harness magic and plastics than it did bronze.

Very lucky

excellent, best of luck and enjoy your knapping journey!

Yeah I’ve given up making board bows. I’ve ended up just taking a thick and flexible branch and putting a string on it. So far my max poundage for one of these bows is 55 pounds

Board bows can be hit and miss. Cutting your own wood in its natural form is way better. Plus there’s usually better species growing around you than the very few crap generic species at the store.

@@MustObeyTheRules Since I wrote that I have moved back to Ohio where I am from. There is fresh cut Osage on one of the local highways. Straight as an arrow. Been trying to find out who owns the land right there to see if I can get some.

@@kborak that’s awesome. There’s all kinds of Osage to be had in Ohio. You’ll get your hands on some for sure if you ask some people. My bet is they’re posts that you saw laying beside the highway. Lots of people still use and install Osage fence posts to this day. They last for century’s.

@@MustObeyTheRules Lucky for me they were cut by ODOT. Just, trying to find the land owner is a pain lol.

I'm in wilm area can u give me any pointers on where to find the English ballist

@Charles Millson You would need to walk both sides of the river bank between Wilmington and South Port. I walked on the buffer zone near Carolina Beach but that was before the military closed off access to the public. There is also rhyolite in the Asheboro area. There are several people that sell it online. But rhyolite is extremely tough and not very easy to knap compared to flint or obsidian. Hope this helps.

Lowkey I think schools should have classes for specific professions like craftsmanship, medicines, and cooking, but WITHOUT new technology, only using older things

A well sharpened stick does penetrate deep indeed since they're so thin and aerodynamic, but a broader cutting head will almost always kill faster with the same hit, reducing the chances of your prey running away so far you can't find them. With a sharp stick that essentially blocks it's own wound too, it's gonna be hard to track down your prey with such a small blood trail.

@@Ironpine27 wouldn’t just splitting the head into more heads increase the amount of blood or you could make the tip break off easily and that would allow more blood to flow out

@@jpthepug3126 Yes, there were in fact spears and atlats with detachable heads, although mostly to preserve the head instead of breaking the entire thing if the shaft is broken. Now making multiple heads is an interesting idea, but it would split the energy between each head, reducing penetration drastically. This is why multi-pronged heads are often seen on fishing spears, and small game arrows, but pretty much never on arrows and spears intended for bigger game.

@@Ironpine27 what about a spear/arrow with a thin rectangular hole carved from the head to the tail with some “pillars” that helps the arrows/spears not break

@@Ironpine27 actually you know what I’m going to design a arrow that is wooden and maximum blood loss

There is quite a bit of jasper in that area. And quartz / agate too.

I'm on Maryland eastern shore , the only stone got here on a truck

do u go to a local knap in? the people at knap ins can help for locating stone but take it with a grain of salt because nobody is going to tell u where they get their best rock but it always good to explore. try going to camp sites or hiking trails near the mountains or hell flank the out skirts of marrow mountain to see if the old dudes left anything. ive found my best rock at public campsites.

@@seanarthur2001 Nothing like nosing around old campfires looking for knappable rocks 👍🤣

I was in Morrow Mountain State Park a number of years back, and the ground is littered with Rhyolite flakes. Never seen anything like it. Don't let the park wardens catch you picking it up to take home. Apparently that's a no no.

Any body know any good rocks in iowa or the midwest

Lucky you, the flint mines there are amazing. I watched Will Lord go there and retrieve a piece. With permission of course.

Wish me luck lads

I am pretty sure I talked about it in one of my advanced atlatl videos.

@@huntprimitive9918 Not a good response. I would think you'd keep a content record of your videos and be able to point the reader in a better direction.

@@richardwiley5933 Thats asking alot of a guy who gives out free information to all who wish to seek it, its not like he is charging you, just go find it

Some creeks in Missouri have incredible flint stones for kidnapping. Where I live in S.E Missouri, not so much.

it's typically regional. You don't have to crack open every rock, just a few in a particular area. good rock isn't typically found inside one cobble alone, it will be in a whole formation

heat treating it unfortunately wont help quartzite. That is a very tough rock to work