Hard flint?

[NickPerry]

Decided to take my first shot at flint knapping, after some searching I found something that I'm quite sure is flint (I found another piece too, but it is way to small)

please note: I want to do it using only primitive tools, IE no copper/steel w.e just other rocks, and maybe sticks and fire.


This is the rock:


after breaking several stones over it (mind you, it was mainly sandstone till I found a rock that held up a bit better) I managed to get one chip off:


something tells me flint isn't supposed to be this hard to chip.. is it not flint?
should I heat treat it?
what does heat treating do?

any input at all will be helpful, thanks!

[Chippintuff]

What is exposed there is pretty nice material. If I were to cook that whole rock, it would explode. Most of us have to flake or saw it down to less than an inch thickness to get a good result with cooking.

The big problem with that rock is that it is so round. There are no really nice places (platforms) to hit on it to get the flaking process going. I would say that one is way over a beginner's head, but there is one way a beginner might crack that thing open. Knappers call it "bipolar percussion". Put it on a tree stump or some such sturdy support with the long dimension vertical and slam down on it hard with a bigger rock that is harder than sandstone. I'm not saying this from experience, but I have seen what others have said about it. Just be aware that pieces of rock can come off there just itching to rip something open or break it.

WA

[nclonghunter]

NickPerry, what I can see on the end break is some good quality rock. Everything Chippintuff said is spot on. I only knap with stone and bone now. No metals of any kind. There have been several "ABO" techniques developed over the years so you will have a few to experiment with. As you have already seen a good hammer stone is the first up in the reduction process. I have several from baseball size down to ping pong ball size. Mine are a hard granite. Don't be afraid to hit rock and break it, that's how we learn. 

[NickPerry]

Thank you guys for the valuable input.

then smash it I shall! =D at the very least it should make for some entertaining footage (it's for a you-tube series I'm about to start up)

Thanks again! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow when the sun is out again

[bjrogg]

Good Luck with your knapping Nick, that really does look like some pretty nice stuff you found there.
Bjrogg

[Zuma]

  It's just a rock.
There should be more where you found that one.
Chip and NC got it right,
Zuma

[Outbackbob48]

I understand your wanting to knapp with the primitive tools but the learning curve is long even with copper and more forgiving rock, I would learn the basics with more forgiving rock and copper  tools to start out and after much rock breaking you can always go to your ABO tools.  Like  was said above that is not a beginner rock your starting with, the round ones are hard to get into. Just my .02 worth. Bob