Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: HickoryBill on January 30, 2011, 10:51:13 pm
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I've been thinking about knapping out a knife from glass, maybe a piece from the bottom of alcohol bottle.Anyone ever try this/ think it may work? Been wondering how well it would hold up and keep and keep an edge?
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it depends on the shape of the bottom of the bottle
but yes most will work
as far as holding an edge,it is glass but obsidion isnt far off from it
so as long as you put and edge on it and dont abuse it it should work pretty well
dont plan on trying any prying with it,that will snap it for sure(unlike steel blades)
there are better choices of materials if your looking for a duty knife like rhyolite etc
good luck
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I just want a very primitive looking knife for gutting and skinning.
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well i make them
but aint never used one for anything more than decorations
it will work for your intended purposes
but like i said other materilas would make a better choice
simply becuase they will not need to be resharpened as often
the harder the material,the better it will hold an edge under use ;)
but then on the other hand
its also harder to produce a knife from the harder materials
its a catch 22 dont ya know ;) :D
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What would be a good thickness to start with?
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well ifn your working a slab of material then 1/4"-5/16" is good
if your working a spall,howecer thin you can make it with out breaking it ;)
how big of a blade are you looking at making (length)?
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The blade itself 2 or 3 inches. About a 2 inch handle, that I can put a leather lace up handle wrap on.
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knives are cool to look at but if you want to gut a critter just carry a bottle and break it when you get there. the untouched edges are the sharpest. this coming from a guy who pretty much only knaps knives. ;D
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I'd be careful with how thin ya go too if your knapping out a working blade. With glass and obs your going to at least be chipping the edges while your working on a critter with it. If ya get around any bones with it - it would take little of nothing to snap it :-X..
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sent ya a PM..gut
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Have been using stone knives to skin with for years. The glass is Ok for cutting, but not very good for skinning. I have a big blade made out of Piute Agate and a small one that Shannon sent me. The big blade has skinned three elk, a deer, and a moose and has never been reworked. Shannon's blade is perfectly shaped top to bottom and front to back which makes for a very strong blade. Used up a lot of obsidian blades for cutting and gutting and some for actually cutting the meat for the freezer. My opinion: flint, jasper, some agates for skinning and obsidian for cutting. Indian Joe
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Thanks for the replies! I might give it a try.
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If you need some glass to work with I can send ya some to play with...
it`s 1/4" thick & makes an ok knife for looking at, but as others have said
it`s not the greatest to work with. PM me if you`d like some, I`ll get it to
ya in a few days if you don`t already have a source...
Bottle bottoms take more work getting them flattened out than starting with
basically a slab... I have more sheet glass than I can use & the Mrs. says I should try
to spread it around if there are others who can use it, sounds like a plan to me if
you`d care to help me make some room in the chipping area.
Tim/Lobo
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Yeah I'm interested. Do you wanna trade? OR.....
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If you want to make a glass knife, the best glass I have found is from a TV screen. It is almost 1/2 inch thick. It has a curve, you can usually get it flat when you thin. Watch out for the silver stuff inside, I wash all that stuff off before I start knapping. Bill