FLINT COSTS WHAT?!!
By Val Waldorf
From Chips, V0l. 11, #4The phone rings and the conversation goes something like this:
"I need to buy some rock for knapping and hoped you could ship me something. What’s it gonna cost me?"
I tell the fellow that I have some heat treated Burlington in blanks, for $3.50 a pound plus shipping.
"It costs WHAT?!!…Well, I guess I’ll have to pay that even if it is overpriced…I’ll take 100 pounds and be sure its all in thin blanks over 8" long, I want all pink and red material…"
Now while I try to keep from rolling on the floor with laughter I will try to explain to him and the rest of you the basics of buying material, so you won’t make the same mistakes.
Some material is going to be sold in natural form: in rough chunks; nodules which are smooth surfaced and look something like flattened eggs; or tabular pieces (brick-shaped, often these come from large nodules that have been split apart by freezing and thawing).
Let’s start with the chunk rock, for example, the Burlington chert my "customer" wants. If you went flint hunting and collected this rock yourself, you would find it in large chunks and/or segments of nodules, almost all of them laced with cracks. Light tapping with a round hammerstone vibrates the chunk apart. Solid chunks are spalled with a hammerstone or large copper billet. Here you drive off very large flakes and make one point from each "spall". Unfortunately, much of it will yield spalls that are only 4 to 6 inches long with good ones over that size being the minority. In fact, getting back to the above conversation, We might break up 500 pounds of Burlington chert to get one premium 8" blank. To produce 100 pounds of blanks this customer wants will mean we have to process only about 10,000+ pounds of rock! To top it off, only a few deposits of Burlington contain enough minerals to make them turn red or pink after heat treating, most of it will be dead white or have only a slightly pink color. But he wants it to be pink and red. Gimme a break! We’ll keep those blanks to work ourselves, thanks.
In most cases, because of the waste and extra weight, you won’t find huge chunks of chert for sale via mail order, although you will find it at knap-ins. Most knappers will break up these large chunks in the field, bringing home angular chunks, tabular pieces and spalls to work or sell. If they have done this for you, so much the better. Some material, like Arkansas Novaculite, may be offered at knap-ins in chunks up to 100 pounds or more. In this case, expect some cracks.
Obviously, flint knapping is a very wasteful process. Starting in the field, fully ½ of a large chunk may end up in the refuse heap and you’re just getting started. Any thinning and trimming at all will cut the weight down another 50%. If you paid $2.00 a pound for a chunk, you could now have $8.00 a pound invested in what’s left, which makes the pre-blanked or spalled material look better and better. You may still have to heat treat it, which adds more time and expense. The advantages of buying this way: The large blanks, or any nicely colored spalls you get will be yours, they will not have been high-graded by the knapper/rock seller. In fact, this may the only way you will have the opportunity to work these spectacular, high colored pieces. Consequently, skilled knappers don’t hesitate to buy their stone this way, when they can pick it and see what they are getting. In addition, if you are willing to make small points, you can use a lot of the debitage instead of throwing it away, keeping your cost down.
At this time, raw chunk rock sells for 50¢ a pound to $2-3. a pound depending upon the material. Expect to pay the most for rock that has a lot of color potential, doesn’t need heat treatment, or is obviously very solid, and the lesser for cracked, colorless, rougher-textured stone, or that which will have to be heat treated to be workable.
With nodular material you may find it to be more solid, but you will want to examine the nodule carefully. The flint may be surrounded by a chalk-like coating called "cortex"; this will be chipped away and discarded. Sometimes a nodule formed around a fossil, which will be right in the middle. It could be a brachiopod, or in some cases it is a chalky, globular mass resembling a puff-ball mushroom. (Don’t ask me what kind of critter this really is). Flattened nodules may also have a rotten or coarse center. If the surface of the flat nodule shows a discoloration or a texture change on the center and top of the nodule, it will probably go all the way through the flint inside.
Additionally, spalling a nodule that looks like a cannonball can be a daunting prospect for the beginner. If possible, enlist the aid of an experienced knapper to break up one or two and give you a few pointers, lest you end up with a pile of gravel. The advantages here are that a lot of the nodular chert is of fair to high quality and will require less or no heat treatment. In addition, you may have an option here of breaking the nodule into numerous medium-sized blanks, or "center cutting." In that case you will only get one big blank out of the center and a lot of flakes for making small points. Again, very wasteful but the only way to get a very large blank. Of course, you could have it sawed; more expense but one that saves rock.
Occasionally you will find very thin, flat nodules which look like dinner plates. These can be extremely good and reduce waste, but from some flint deposits they have very hard centers. Search the pile for half nodules; if the centers appear to lighten in color, watch out.
Nodular chert is now priced somewhere in the $1-3. per pound range, again, depending upon the quality and whether the material will need to be heat treated.
Some material will be available in a tabular form. These are brick-shaped with numerous square edges. Creek pebbles also fall into this category. Size is usually small, 3-4" being the average. Most knappers pass’em by because of their size, and because they can’t deal with odd shapes or square edges. This, despite the fact that some of the finest chert in the country, of types that do not even need heat treatment, are only available in this form. Frankly, D.C. loves the challenge of working creek pebbles and he never passes up the opportunity to search a gravel bar for these little jewels. I rarely see anyone offering these through mail order, but at knap-ins, we occasionally see good tabular stone or creek pebbles, of the types that need heat treatment, available for $1-2. a pound; a little more for the scarcer stuff. The advantages: Often they are soaked with minerals and heat treating makes them colorful, this makes them highly desirable in spite of their size. Waste is kept to a minimum.
Much of what is available now, especially if you buy through the mail, is already spalled out. It’s in the form of large, thick flakes. As you can see, this really reduces the weight and the waste, so you would think the price would be higher. In addition, you may be able to buy spalls that are already heat treated. At the going rate of $2.50 to $3.50 a pound, these are almost always a bargain. The disadvantage: You won’t find many 8" spalls for sale. And they won’t be flaming pink or red!
Now we get into the category of blanks. Some reduction has already been done, cutting down on the weight even farther. You can really see what you’re getting, and if the knapper/seller has the ability, he may already have knapped away problem spots. Heat treating may or may not have been done (be sure to ask). Pricing is occasionally quoted by the pound, but more often by the piece or by the inch. The price varies tremendously depending on quality, color and size.
Be wary of rock that is artificially colored. The color may penetrate only a few thousandths of a inch. I am sorry to say I have seen this for sale, and the novice knapper is invariably disappointed to find that the bright red blanks are grey or brown inside. Also be aware that some material changes color dramatically during heat treatment but that the color may only be on the outside (just like the artificially colored stuff). There is quite a bit of this and it’s a crying shame the color won’t go all the way through the blank. In this case, it’s not the fault of the seller, it’s just a peculiarity of the material.
I have not discussed obsidian and glass, which are in categories by themselves. Obsidian or natural volcanic glass is one of the few knappable materials reliably available at any rock shop. It does not require heat treatment and is commonly seen in a variety of colors and textures, from solid, opaque black and green to transparent clear with stripes and swirled lines of black, brown, and red. "Rainbow" obsidian may have alternating bands of metallic blue, green, gold and silver. "Mahogany" obsidian is brown with swirls of black. "Silver sheen" or "gold sheen" reflect these colors when held at certain angles. There are many more, all are workable but the price will be higher for the sheen types. Chunks or slabs will be available. Fortunately, this material tends to be very solid, even large chunks should be crack free. However, you should beware of ash lines, which are common in the layered varieties. Many natural flows of obsidian are full of volcanic gas holes and will not knap. The price will vary from 50 cents to $5. per pound for super premium, high quality material. Typically, some of the most expensive is the rainbow variety with turquoise blue and gold stripes, sometimes referred to as "electric blue." The price is based on the number of stripes per inch. Of course, obsidian doesn’t require heat treatment.
Slag glass in chunks is also common at rock and flea market type shops. Large chunks of multi-colored glass may look tempting, just be aware that much of this material is full of bubbles. Avoid those pieces and choose the opaque or semi-translucent varieties; they will work more like chert. Also be advised that some varieties of glass, in particular the very transparent pieces, loose their color when thinned. The average price is 50 cents to $2.00 a pound.
Last, you may be offered sawn slabs. This is an area where the price varies wildly. The advantage here is that you may be able to buy large slabs from material that would otherwise yield only small flakes. Some gem grade material for bird-point making is only available in this form. It’s expensive -but not nearly so expensive as buying it in chunk form and throwing 90% of it away. The disadvantages are that you will pay big for sawing, and if you haven’t worked sawn slabs before, you will find it difficult. Those flat-sawed surfaces are hard to get rid of and the square edges can be a nightmare.
So what can the novice knapper do? The best thing is to go to a knap-in to buy your rock. Any number of experienced knappers will be happy to walk the grounds with you, and help you pick out good stone. They can point out cracks and flaws, and they can usually tell you which stones need heat treating, the temperatures and procedures. Consider the amount of reduction that has already been done when comparing the various offerings. While at the knap-in, it’s okay to dicker a little on the price and you can expect a discount if you buy a large quantity. You will save big on shipping so take that into account as well. Once you find a rock seller that you can deal with, and he has stone you like, you should be able to mail order from that person, with some confidence.
Now if you have never attended a knap-in, here is something no one bothered to tell you. If the knap-in is advertised as being scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, many rock sellers will show up Thursday or even earlier! By Sunday, the good stone is all gone and so are a lot of the knappers. Arrive early and buy the best. I always advise novice knappers to look for the plainer colored, by the pound spalls or blanks which are already heated and ready to work.
While at the knap-in, walk around and look at what the rest of the fellows are working. Ask them for a sample flake and other pertinent information such as heat treating temperature. Mark this on the chip with a felt-tipped pen. In an afternoon, you’ll be able to collect chips and identify dozens of different materials. This certainly makes it easier when you want to buy rock through the mail. At least you will know what it’s SUPPOSED to look like.
Remember that no one can see inside the rock. You buy rock "as is." Do not expect the seller to refund or replace what you break. For the most part they want your REPEAT business and want to provide you with quality material. But if you really do feel you have been sold a bad lot, ask an experienced knapper first –before you complain. It’s probably your fault and not bad stone.
When it comes down to it, picking up and transporting a big pile of rock around is darn hard work. Regardless of the form it comes in, you are really paying for the handling on a bunch of heavy rocks –not for the stone itself.
So the next time you hear a want-a-be knapper ask for 100 pounds of pink and red, 8"+ blanks, you can laugh your behind off and I’ll join you. PS: Got any for sale?…It costs WHAT?
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