After a while you get an idea of how hard the rocks are just by how they look. The super smooth less gritty rocks tend to be the hardest. The smooth but more gritty rocks tend to be softer. You can also tell by the sound when you use them. Softer hammerstones will make a duller sound when you strike them against knappable rock. I forgot to add that to the video!
Limestone can make a great hammerstone and is excellent for chert. It tends to be harder and a bit less gritty than sandstone but can be used for obsidian and glass. However, I prefer the grittier sandstone for working obsidian and glass because it will pull the flakes better and allow better flake travel....good luck....
Thank you Jim. I am a raw beginner and I was down at the river the other day with probably millions of examples of hammerstones to choose from. I had no idea what to look for. This video will be very helpful on my next trip down to the river. Only question, how do you determine hardness? There are so many stones that look like they will work that I thought I was missing something. Video looks great in HD!
Well, I don't own a saw. A friend sent me a box of raw Montana agate. I heat treated a few pieces to 300 degrees for a few hours and spalled some of it. The spalls need a bit more heat to finish em, might try 350 next time.
Second part of my comment is that, I've also learned in the last few years is that the native American's in my area had to trade goods with distant tribes for "knappable" stone, pretty much some kind of chert that came from about 100 miles away, near the state collage area of PA. That pretty much sucks for me but, it was good to learn because I was going nuts trying to find some kind of chert or some type of stone around here that was knappable.
The large slo mo blade is in the box I am sending you. If your vet uses it lease let me know how it works and if he can the pics that would be great. I know these blades have been used for human surgery also, especially when minimal scarring is a concern. I have used them several times on myself to dig out obsidian that was embedded in my foot that healed over, it works!....
@paleomanjim thanks. I really enjoy your videos and I cant thank you enough fot taking the time to reply to my questions. Alot of people here on YT have told me that your videos are the best for learning about knapping and they are right. I thank you for the videos and for working to keep this art form alive.
Yes, but being dropped off in a remote area there is no way to be sure of what types of rock can be found so to be sure I'd probably choose the hammerstone and avoid the need to search for one later. In survival conditions, and especially cold climates, it becomes necessary to be able to make tools as fast as possible, leaving time for shelters and other survival needs....
hey Jim. so i built a couple of copper boppers like the ones you showed in your video. the stone i currently have is TX mined chert. i went at it with the boppers i made and had to really hit it to get any flakes and wasnt getting many clean flakes. lots of Step Fractures. lol i have some hammerstones being shipped to me. with chert should i be using abo tool? is there a trick to knapping chert? i have some obsidian being sent to me. sorry i have tons of questions lol
I will do a video showing that soon as it is a great way for knappers to be able to make use of debitage the often gets discarded. You can get very aggressive with small thick junk spalls and just go for it by thinning with one or two massive flake removals. It usually works and when it does not you have only wasted a small flake so the risk of breakage is worth it....
good video, only thing that sucks is that where live at in PA there are tons of rock that makes killer hammer stones, but when it comes to knapping there isn't any stone around here that is "knappable" (I'm not sure if I made up a new word or not but I'm sticking to the word" I've met some of the best stone knappers in PA and have gotten some of there scraps, other than that I get to knapp glass...
No trick to knapping chert. But you need to select a harder hammerstone for tougher cherts than you would use for obsidian. Boppers work well also, but I believe hammerstones are better and more efficient for the earlier stages. The problem is that boppers are used much differently than hammerstones and trying to use a hammerstone like a bopper will not work. It's all personal choice, but if you want to use hammerstones it is probably better to stick with them....hope this helps....jim
I like to use the darker color glass simply because they show all the ridges and flake scars. I just think they look more like a work of art than the clear ones do. As far as having a big chunk of glass, I have seen people use TV screens. Luckily my TV just petered out so I can try the glass screen for knapping, just have to be careful not to breath the gases emitted from breaking the tube open. Well, happy knapping man
Montana agate is beautiful rock, but can be tough as nails! I have worked a lot of it and usually heat treat it first. It heat treats very well at low temps (300-350 degrees) and then becomes very glassy....Paleo point types were made from the stuff! ....
I am writing this before viewing more than 02:00 of this video. Would it make sense to take the largest pressure flaker, and look for a round stone when you are there? BTW Thanks for all your videos! mrbluenun
Atlatl and dart. These are the weapons that preceded the invention of the bow and arrow and used in many different parts of the world, including America, Australia and Europe....
Hello Mr Jim.I just love all your films sir.This may seem a mad comment but I use lumps of "tough" chalk as a "hammer stone ".Gets me through awkward problems sir.Seems daft but it works.With respect.
Robert Meadows Thanks, I can see where where tough chalk could have a great grip on the platform. Always good to be able to share this stuff, thanks again...
lol Don't feel bad, I looked for flint in my area for years. I searched roots of fallen trees, creek beds, dried river beds, corn fields and never found a thing. Then I researched where the local flint came from and learned that it came from well over 70 miles away. lol I thought flint was everywhere since I have seen so many arrowhead collections around here. Oh well. Glass is plentiful, I just want to melt it down into a big glass block so it is more like knapping obsidian.
Good info Jim. I was going to collect some lime stone to try out as a hammerstone but now I think it will be way to smooth to get a good grip. What type do you prefer for knapping glass with? thx man
Hey i have been watching your videos and prob missed the type and where to find good hammer stones. In one creek i have lots of grey chert/flint, but seems to have alot of freeze fractures and then the other I have more sand stone than I know to do with. I know I cant use the sandstone, because it just crumbles. Im completely new to this and was wondering if any tips on where to find and what to look for?
i live in a part of Montana were agate is plentiful but i hate/ love how many cracks there are sometimes it breaks into a good spall for making points or blades but most of the time its really hard to get a good platform but possible
oh I hear ya, a big ol' blob or block of glass would be nice, I've often thought of the same thing... than again it would be nice to go find rock I could knap just sitting on the ground somewhere around me, all the time I spend hiking, hunting, metal detecting, and gold prospecting I look at and dig threw tons of rocks! but bottle bottoms prevail, I try to stick with green and brown, the clear are harder to find when a piece gets in your skin and blue don't come along as often but looks good.
part 3, just blabbing on with what I was saying about not finding knappable stone. It was driving me nuts because ever since I was a child I've seen and found arrow heads around here, my cousin found a stone tomahawk head just a few months ago and it's beautiful. but other than arrow heads I only find flakes the were left over from making them. to finish my story, when I got into knapping I searched like crazy to find stone with no luck and as of 2 or so years ago I know why.
A good way to tell hardness is to take 2 hammerstones and tap them together. The sound can be a clue, a dull sound indicates a softer stone. Then inspect the point of impact, softer rocks will have a larger divit or impact scar. Hammerstones from gravel bars or river beds can sometimes have a very hard outer layer or polish to them. Sometimes by banging 2 of these polished stones together you can remove the hard outer layer and expose the softer inside. These often make great hammerstones and can be very durable. Great question, I should have covered that!
Gloves are for whimps:) seriously I need to be able to feel the flake area with my finger to be able to maintain good control, gloves just get in the way. I get a few small cuts at time but nothing too serious yet!.....jim
why not pick a flaker and just find a hammerstone? anyway, I have some good nose shaped knockers... you used any shaped stone knockers? They seem ambidextrous, with a pointy end and a blunt end.
water ,rivers and glaciers , make for round rocks, glaciL valley with a river bed in the bottom,look at rapids an waterfalls, and where the current slows ,outwash plains .every rainstorm is a surge of energy ,also look after the bulldozers , and or they're alwaYs digging at the graveyard. flint in river bed can be stresses an fractured ,move up river till you dont see flint any more ,look left an right for same rocks ,up the hills ,upslope.rock is heavy ,go collecting then edit for texture hardness frActures ect. before you tote it all to the car ,
Hey Jim, have you ever worked with agates?? I find them all the time at the beach and the other day I found a arrowhead made out of a agate and looked realy cool I never new they used them tho and I have found good size ones I thingk it may be used for whale hunting the local tribe here were whale hunters.... They are a very hard rock tho
Yes, agate makes great arrowheads and points and I have worked a lot of it. Most Agates are very tough to work and benefit from mild heat treatment. Beautiful stuff too! Some of the better agatges can be worked raw. The Paleo boys made a lot of agate Clovis points....
Wow, that's great and very interesting!! I don't thingk il be working with those any time soon I'm still in the stage were your fingers have blisters and sore bones in the hand haha but sure is fun thanxs for all your videos it's helping a lot.. It's is very cool watching you read the stones when your braking in to them... I guess just takes lots and lots of playing around with them!
Pascal St-Jacques Basalt does work as a hammerstone. It sort of boils down to what is available in the area you are searching. So many things to consider, including shape, hardness, strength, and grittiness. Basalt is strong and can have the right shape, but most types lack good gritiness, or the ability to GRAB the edge of the biface. Gritiness is an important factor in hammerstone selection.
Trace Schrock No! It is a hobby....it is not about money. The rewards come in discovering something about the past, almost a connection to the past, and the idea that these skills could be useful in survival situations......
Hmmm...why would you carry a hammer stone when you know there will be decent hammer stones where you're going??? I would choose the pressure flaker...that way I could pick up a local stone to use as a hammer stone to get into the cobble...and the pressure flaker to finish the tool.
While ordinary rocks can be found in most places, good hammerstone are actually hard to find. Very few rocks have the quality of a good hammerstone. When I find a really good hammerstone it becomes quite special and even more special after it has become seasoned with use......
Thanks for the reply...I agree that "special" hammer stones are harder to find...but "decent" hammer stones are pretty common. What's NOT common is decent pressure flaker material. You pretty much need to find some antler...and then process it into a usable tool...which can be a daunting task without any modern tools or materials. Even the clean removal of a tine from a beam under such circumstances can be very tricky. You will invariably resort to breaking it off...and who knows how that will turn out. I will admit that I'm a little bit spoiled when it comes to quality hammer stones. I happen to live in western Montana and quality hammer stone material is abundant in virtually any creek bottom. I assume that's true of most of Alaska...although having never been up there personally myself, I couldn't be sure. Of course different environments require different tool sets...so knowing where you'll be going...and what you'll be doing is instrumental in your decision making. The nice thing about having a devoted quality pressure flaker is that you can much more efficiently make use of the smaller debitage flakes that a hammer stone would simply crush. Anyway...thanks for the discussion. This video reminded me of my college days in the Anthro/Arch department...we would run these sorts of scenarios back and forth in an attempt to get into the minds of primitive peoples on various landscapes. By the way...I've learned a lot from your videos...it's really been interesting to see some of the more theoretical flint knapping techniques properly demonstrated...and the quality of your work is outstanding.
you have a voice for tv or radio very clear easy to understand.
Great video Jim,
I am still working on trying to thin the spalds down to thin biface.
Thanks for showing the hammer stones.
Richard
After a while you get an idea of how hard the rocks are just by how they look. The super smooth less gritty rocks tend to be the hardest. The smooth but more gritty rocks tend to be softer. You can also tell by the sound when you use them. Softer hammerstones will make a duller sound when you strike them against knappable rock. I forgot to add that to the video!
Now Ive watched this one several times! Very informative for us wannabe cavemen..
Limestone can make a great hammerstone and is excellent for chert. It tends to be harder and a bit less gritty than sandstone but can be used for obsidian and glass. However, I prefer the grittier sandstone for working obsidian and glass because it will pull the flakes better and allow better flake travel....good luck....
definately a good video for me the new guy...having no geology knowledge...this was very beneficial...thanks
Thank you Jim. I am a raw beginner and I was down at the river the other day with probably millions of examples of hammerstones to choose from. I had no idea what to look for. This video will be very helpful on my next trip down to the river. Only question, how do you determine hardness? There are so many stones that look like they will work that I thought I was missing something. Video looks great in HD!
Thanks, hope you give the hammerstones a try, it was probably the tool of choice in the past.....
Jim, I am loving your videos on this. I'm really looking forward to putting some of this information to work for me.
I live close to the river rhine.
The selection on its shores is excellent.
Well, I don't own a saw. A friend sent me a box of raw Montana agate. I heat treated a few pieces to 300 degrees for a few hours and spalled some of it. The spalls need a bit more heat to finish em, might try 350 next time.
Second part of my comment is that, I've also learned in the last few years is that the native American's in my area had to trade goods with distant tribes for "knappable" stone, pretty much some kind of chert that came from about 100 miles away, near the state collage area of PA. That pretty much sucks for me but, it was good to learn because I was going nuts trying to find some kind of chert or some type of stone around here that was knappable.
The large slo mo blade is in the box I am sending you. If your vet uses it lease let me know how it works and if he can the pics that would be great. I know these blades have been used for human surgery also, especially when minimal scarring is a concern. I have used them several times on myself to dig out obsidian that was embedded in my foot that healed over, it works!....
@paleomanjim thanks. I really enjoy your videos and I cant thank you enough fot taking the time to reply to my questions. Alot of people here on YT have told me that your videos are the best for learning about knapping and they are right. I thank you for the videos and for working to keep this art form alive.
Great vid and I can't wait to see the series on using them.
Thanks Jim where i live hammerstones are plentiful down at the beach
Yes, but being dropped off in a remote area there is no way to be sure of what types of rock can be found so to be sure I'd probably choose the hammerstone and avoid the need to search for one later. In survival conditions, and especially cold climates, it becomes necessary to be able to make tools as fast as possible, leaving time for shelters and other survival needs....
hey Jim. so i built a couple of copper boppers like the ones you showed in your video. the stone i currently have is TX mined chert. i went at it with the boppers i made and had to really hit it to get any flakes and wasnt getting many clean flakes. lots of Step Fractures. lol i have some hammerstones being shipped to me. with chert should i be using abo tool? is there a trick to knapping chert? i have some obsidian being sent to me. sorry i have tons of questions lol
I will do a video showing that soon as it is a great way for knappers to be able to make use of debitage the often gets discarded. You can get very aggressive with small thick junk spalls and just go for it by thinning with one or two massive flake removals. It usually works and when it does not you have only wasted a small flake so the risk of breakage is worth it....
I have been wanting to get into flint knapping, and i'm betting the gravel pit next to my house might have something I can use.
good video, only thing that sucks is that where live at in PA there are tons of rock that makes killer hammer stones, but when it comes to knapping there isn't any stone around here that is "knappable" (I'm not sure if I made up a new word or not but I'm sticking to the word" I've met some of the best stone knappers in PA and have gotten some of there scraps, other than that I get to knapp glass...
No trick to knapping chert. But you need to select a harder hammerstone for tougher cherts than you would use for obsidian. Boppers work well also, but I believe hammerstones are better and more efficient for the earlier stages. The problem is that boppers are used much differently than hammerstones and trying to use a hammerstone like a bopper will not work. It's all personal choice, but if you want to use hammerstones it is probably better to stick with them....hope this helps....jim
Yep. got it and will mail the blades out to you later today....thanks...
I like to use the darker color glass simply because they show all the ridges and flake scars. I just think they look more like a work of art than the clear ones do. As far as having a big chunk of glass, I have seen people use TV screens. Luckily my TV just petered out so I can try the glass screen for knapping, just have to be careful not to breath the gases emitted from breaking the tube open. Well, happy knapping man
Montana agate is beautiful rock, but can be tough as nails! I have worked a lot of it and usually heat treat it first. It heat treats very well at low temps (300-350 degrees) and then becomes very glassy....Paleo point types were made from the stuff! ....
I am writing this before viewing more than 02:00 of this video.
Would it make sense to take the largest pressure flaker, and look for a round stone when you are there?
BTW Thanks for all your videos!
mrbluenun
Yeah,I'd need to heat treat the agate below the camp fire for a few hours, really tough to work raw....
Atlatl and dart. These are the weapons that preceded the invention of the bow and arrow and used in many different parts of the world, including America, Australia and Europe....
Hello Mr Jim.I just love all your films sir.This may seem a mad comment but I use lumps of "tough" chalk as a "hammer stone ".Gets me through awkward problems sir.Seems daft but it works.With respect.
Robert Meadows Thanks, I can see where where tough chalk could have a great grip on the platform. Always good to be able to share this stuff, thanks again...
lol Don't feel bad, I looked for flint in my area for years. I searched roots of fallen trees, creek beds, dried river beds, corn fields and never found a thing. Then I researched where the local flint came from and learned that it came from well over 70 miles away. lol I thought flint was everywhere since I have seen so many arrowhead collections around here. Oh well. Glass is plentiful, I just want to melt it down into a big glass block so it is more like knapping obsidian.
Good info Jim. I was going to collect some lime stone to try out as a hammerstone but now I think it will be way to smooth to get a good grip. What type do you prefer for knapping glass with? thx man
Increase the temperature 20 degrees per hour or slower until you get to desired temperature. Hold at least 8 hours then cool slowly....
Hey i have been watching your videos and prob missed the type and where to find good hammer stones. In one creek i have lots of grey chert/flint, but seems to have alot of freeze fractures and then the other I have more sand stone than I know to do with. I know I cant use the sandstone, because it just crumbles. Im completely new to this and was wondering if any tips on where to find and what to look for?
i live in a part of Montana were agate is plentiful but i hate/ love how many cracks there are sometimes it breaks into a good spall for making points or blades but most of the time its really hard to get a good platform but possible
Haha. Got that same smash line on the palm of my hand. Must come with the territory.
oh I hear ya, a big ol' blob or block of glass would be nice, I've often thought of the same thing... than again it would be nice to go find rock I could knap just sitting on the ground somewhere around me, all the time I spend hiking, hunting, metal detecting, and gold prospecting I look at and dig threw tons of rocks! but bottle bottoms prevail, I try to stick with green and brown, the clear are harder to find when a piece gets in your skin and blue don't come along as often but looks good.
part 3, just blabbing on with what I was saying about not finding knappable stone. It was driving me nuts because ever since I was a child I've seen and found arrow heads around here, my cousin found a stone tomahawk head just a few months ago and it's beautiful. but other than arrow heads I only find flakes the were left over from making them. to finish my story, when I got into knapping I searched like crazy to find stone with no luck and as of 2 or so years ago I know why.
Great video. Wisdom from a master.
i will have to try heat treating it i usually just use raw material, how long do you treat it for?
Great vids Jim. How do you judge hardness of the stones?
A good way to tell hardness is to take 2 hammerstones and tap them together. The sound can be a clue, a dull sound indicates a softer stone. Then inspect the point of impact, softer rocks will have a larger divit or impact scar. Hammerstones from gravel bars or river beds can sometimes have a very hard outer layer or polish to them. Sometimes by banging 2 of these polished stones together you can remove the hard outer layer and expose the softer inside. These often make great hammerstones and can be very durable. Great question, I should have covered that!
Gloves are for whimps:) seriously I need to be able to feel the flake area with my finger to be able to maintain good control, gloves just get in the way. I get a few small cuts at time but nothing too serious yet!.....jim
what is the name of the weapon you mentioned at the beginning?
Would a soft hammer stone be better for spalling obsidian since it’s so brittle?
Yes, absolutely, medium or soft sandstone works great for obsidian. Tougher raw cherts and flints may require harder hammer stones
Great stuff Jim but i still use a 7mm here.
Thanks...I guess another trip down to the river is in my near future ;)
why not pick a flaker and just find a hammerstone?
anyway, I have some good nose shaped knockers... you used any shaped stone knockers? They seem ambidextrous, with a pointy end and a blunt end.
9:00 you are holding a robin effigy. see the paint?
Would granite be a good hammer stone?
No, way too grainy and crumbly. It can work for early work, but much better stnes out there
water ,rivers and glaciers , make for round rocks, glaciL valley with a river bed in the bottom,look at rapids an waterfalls, and where the current slows ,outwash plains .every rainstorm is a surge of energy ,also look after the bulldozers , and or they're alwaYs digging at the graveyard. flint in river bed can be stresses an fractured ,move up river till you dont see flint any more ,look left an right for same rocks ,up the hills ,upslope.rock is heavy ,go collecting then edit for texture hardness frActures ect. before you tote it all to the car ,
Thank you, great information
I would not pick the hammer stone as chances are I can find something in the wild to do its job.
True.
I would like them
if you have flintknapping down antler/other tools, meat and clothing will come after you make your first kill
Excelllent.
Very good.
Many thanks!
Hey Jim, have you ever worked with agates?? I find them all the time at the beach and the other day I found a arrowhead made out of a agate and looked realy cool I never new they used them tho and I have found good size ones I thingk it may be used for whale hunting the local tribe here were whale hunters.... They are a very hard rock tho
Yes, agate makes great arrowheads and points and I have worked a lot of it. Most Agates are very tough to work and benefit from mild heat treatment. Beautiful stuff too! Some of the better agatges can be worked raw. The Paleo boys made a lot of agate Clovis points....
Wow, that's great and very interesting!! I don't thingk il be working with those any time soon I'm still in the stage were your fingers have blisters and sore bones in the hand haha but sure is fun thanxs for all your videos it's helping a lot.. It's is very cool watching you read the stones when your braking in to them... I guess just takes lots and lots of playing around with them!
Bum Lips Would you be willing to sell me some of ypur larger agate pieces? Let me know.
at 'efhlith@gmail.com'
Thanks,
Ed Hellwig
why does basalt does not make a good hammerstone?
Pascal St-Jacques Basalt does work as a hammerstone. It sort of boils down to what is available in the area you are searching. So many things to consider, including shape, hardness, strength, and grittiness. Basalt is strong and can have the right shape, but most types lack good gritiness, or the ability to GRAB the edge of the biface. Gritiness is an important factor in hammerstone selection.
9:24 for the OCEAN.
very cool
i need some hammerstones
Check stream or creek beds, if they have sand stone in them you will likely find somethng suitable
is there money to be had at this
Trace Schrock No! It is a hobby....it is not about money. The rewards come in discovering something about the past, almost a connection to the past, and the idea that these skills could be useful in survival situations......
Hmmm...why would you carry a hammer stone when you know there will be decent hammer stones where you're going??? I would choose the pressure flaker...that way I could pick up a local stone to use as a hammer stone to get into the cobble...and the pressure flaker to finish the tool.
While ordinary rocks can be found in most places, good hammerstone are actually hard to find. Very few rocks have the quality of a good hammerstone. When I find a really good hammerstone it becomes quite special and even more special after it has become seasoned with use......
Thanks for the reply...I agree that "special" hammer stones are harder to find...but "decent" hammer stones are pretty common. What's NOT common is decent pressure flaker material. You pretty much need to find some antler...and then process it into a usable tool...which can be a daunting task without any modern tools or materials. Even the clean removal of a tine from a beam under such circumstances can be very tricky. You will invariably resort to breaking it off...and who knows how that will turn out. I will admit that I'm a little bit spoiled when it comes to quality hammer stones. I happen to live in western Montana and quality hammer stone material is abundant in virtually any creek bottom. I assume that's true of most of Alaska...although having never been up there personally myself, I couldn't be sure. Of course different environments require different tool sets...so knowing where you'll be going...and what you'll be doing is instrumental in your decision making. The nice thing about having a devoted quality pressure flaker is that you can much more efficiently make use of the smaller debitage flakes that a hammer stone would simply crush. Anyway...thanks for the discussion. This video reminded me of my college days in the Anthro/Arch department...we would run these sorts of scenarios back and forth in an attempt to get into the minds of primitive peoples on various landscapes. By the way...I've learned a lot from your videos...it's really been interesting to see some of the more theoretical flint knapping techniques properly demonstrated...and the quality of your work is outstanding.
You can see those little large pieces in there 😂😂🔫
Just rocks. Lol
say what?
@@paleomanjim just joking around jim .
It is 6 tools, not 5.