230 - Knapping Gnarly Nodules

[@skelitalmisfit12]

This video was beyond satisfying for me. Thank you for sharing your skill! Always awesome to watch an absolutely great Flintknapper work his magic.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@donbright894]

I'm just getting started on flintknappin. The video helped me in a lot of ways! I'm fortunate to live in an area where there is some of the best chert in the world. I have collected fine chert from Del Reo to Georgetown, Tx. Thank God I don't have to pay for the chert through my learning process. Thank you for saving the chert. By the lessons I have learned from the video. THANK YOU!

[@Chief2Moon]

I'm from northwestern Ohio just below Lake Erie& have a 5lb chunk&some smaller pieces of "flint ridge" from around our Licking&Muskingum county area. This flint has almost every color of the rainbow & I've left them outside for a few years with thoughts of someday trying to find the points hidden inside. Haha. As I watch your videos, my courage to attempt working them is beginning to grow. Up to now I've only made points out of spalls from various Ohio flints like "Coshocton", "Upper Mercer", "Pipe Creek" & brown"Glacial Flint" from Canada, mainly using pressure flaking.. The points I made were put on home made arrows& given to Boy Scout groups, school kids, family& friends. I'm not in your league, but I really appreciate your videos! You have my thanks!

[@cronkthecrunk]

Thanks for the spalling video, I told my wife this was gonna be a "cheap hobby" (I have lots of expensive hobbies) so buying stone isn't really an option and finding it is half the fun! But when I do find it I don't want to waist it.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

I understand completely. 😁

[@kenlemaster]

Hit ‘em like you live; hard and fast! Seriously Thank you for your videos and your time. They are informative and entertaining and really help a lot!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Glad you like them!

[@snailface1981]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I'll let you know how I get on! Take care

[@snailface1981]

This is an insane level of skill. I've just been knapping for 2 hours straight and barely got a preform. Well done that man! Hats off to you. :-)

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

+snailface1981 Thanks! I've knapped a LOT of nodules. Still got LOTS to go... my yard has stashes of small nodules in several locations. I collect them and bring them home whenever I get the chance.

[@chrisbass2167]

like the longer episode it gives me a good incite to processing stone nodules. just getting in to napping myself

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Cool. When I started knapping I was always looking for FULL explanations and demonstrations without editing. I try not to edit any of my vids.

[@jedediahbc]

Your a very good flint knapper, you made some good moves on some of those rocks I couldn't have done that good in a million years.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thank you.

[@maknifeandrods7701]

Love these vids I pick up some good trouble shoot things that you take for granite (ha ha ha ). I found that I need to wale on hitting my indirect to get some flakes to travel. I thought I was hitting it till watched you closely. And now can get turtle backs off. Thank you.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Good deal.

[@irishmutt2]

So glad you showed this, your skill is jaw dropping (especially to a beginner)! Awesome work and very informative. Thank you for haring.

[@MontanaBarNone]

Man those really ARE some gnarly chunks! You just know the old boys had to deal with stuff like that too! Great vid, Patrick......

[@classicalsam]

I love trying to get inside other flintknappers heads and this video is perfect for that! It's cool to see you approach such a large sample of rocks. I can start getting a better glimpse into your overall strategies than is possible with a 10 minute video.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Glad you liked the vid, Samuel. Sometimes I think my videos are too long but apparently a lot of people don't mind.

[@bryanrodas9186]

Excellent work you do, this helped alot with working difficult material as I often find in my Area & have had difficulties working them, thanks for the video!

[@christopherbunik2116]

Thank you and you are a great teacher.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

You are very welcome

[@ericjohnson4768]

Love it, even the kid at 26 minutes :) I have lots of kids and that interuption was helpful in removing some frustration from raising my own :) Love your videos and they are very helpful :) Glad you chose to share.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

+Eric Johnson Thanks! Yeah, my kids are always around... I've got six. :-)

[@ericjohnson4768]

We have 8 :)

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Dang!

[@genegorringe7395]

Good work brother I love it 😀 Gene Gorringe Mi 👍 ✌️ 🇺🇲 🇬🇧

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thanks, Gene

[@baremetalHW]

Great vids!! I see you worry about time... honestly... if I am in for 5 min then I am in for however long you make them... Plus I can easily move around the video and trim it down if I so choose.. Thanks for teaching and for posting!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thanks. I used to check the stats a lot but now it's no big deal. I'm on my phone now, though, so I watch the time so the camera doesn't cut me off automatically at around 30 minutes.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thanks Kurt! The old boys knapped some really gnarly stuff, that's for sure. I won't even mess with it any more if it doesn't flake easily.

[@scarz1951]

Very nice work! I'm envious of your skill.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thank you!

[@ka1bbg]

Hobbit, we will take anything you put up for us! you have so much to offer the flint community... the more technique we see the better our chances of making usefull stuff.... brian in nh

[@deedeeedwinburks8614]

You said in one of your videos you use a turkey baster to heat your rocks in. I went to the goodwill and bought one. It goes to 450 degrees so I baked the rocks for 3 days, to me it didn't do anything for the rocks. So, I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them for 4 days and it worked great. Mr Freeze Crack told me to never bake rocks in the oven. I've made some 3 inch arrowheads but I'd love to make a 12 inch spearhead. I subscribed to your channel last year and I watched your videos over and over to see how you hold your hands and what angle you hit the rocks. I've made a lot of birdpoints and got them as thin as a dime, just can't make a 12 inch

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Yeah, a 12 inch spearhead is difficult for everybody. Finding a large enough piece of flint is half the battle. That turkey roaster might not have gotten up to the right temperature... maybe that's why it was cheap. It's ok to heat rocks in the oven as long as you have good ventilation in the kitchen, like a range hood or an open window with a fan.

[@rockslyde1776]

Thanks for doing this video. Answered a lot of questions.

[@jerryvega232]

you Sir are the best ive seen thank you for your knowledge.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thank you, Jerry.

[@deedeeedwinburks8614]

Hey Mr. Crafty, I'm using my Wife's phone but I'm Scot. I'm in the hospital with her right now. That's what happens to most of the rocks I Knapp but I'm not a quitter. I still can't make a 12 inch spearhead "Yet". But, I've learned a lot from your videos. Now I'm trying to use hammerstone, I'm not doing so great just yet. Thank you so much for showing me how to make arrowheads

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

You're very welcome. I'm glad you found my videos useful. Hope everything is okay with you.

[@namentatic4978]

do you knapping with your wifes cell phone

[@deedeeedwinburks8614]

I don't know what you mean but, my wife passed away Thursday the 10th of January 2019

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Very sorry to hear that.

[@nathanvirdell1102]

Jack, where do you pick up those impact stones? I think you said they are quartz of some sort. I notice you use either the same one or similar ones in many of your spalling videos. My dad's place is in Llano, so I've tried pink granite stones on Fredericksburg flint and haven't had much luck driving long flakes, and I've broken lots of pink granite stones. The quartz in Llano is mostly of the clear variety which is super hard but fractures easily like flint. Any advice would be appreciated.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Llano has a strange mix of stones. Most, maybe 90%, is not good for knapping. Granite is only good for abraders. If you go to San Antonio and look at the landscape stones being used for the new construction, for example, you will get a better idea of the cherts and quartzites that are good for knapping.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

That is a piece of Llano river chert. It's part of the Edwards formation and responds well to heat treating, most of the time.

[@yomomma1178]

Hey Jack to learn the basics is it better to make a bigger blade or is it the same for smaller arrowheads if you can make some more videos on bigger blades and also is there any obsidian in Texas by any chance or anything that comes close to it I live around the Eden Brady area San Angelo Texas area just wondering if there was any obsidian or anything close to it

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

No obsidian anywhere in Texas. There will be knap-in in Brady Tx this April. Send me an email and I'll give you the details.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

My email is [e-mail]

[@TheAngryFishh]

Does flint and chert have to be heat treated to knap it?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Nope.

[@darrenhoffman6658]

I never seen the way you pressure flight by hitting the other one as you set it on to the surface of the Rock do you have a video of showing how that works the mechanics I'd be interested in watching that even how to make them I'm always interested in trying new ways been doing it for 13 years I'm still there youngster I do appreciate your videos you seem like a very nice person is willing to teach and person like me that's what we need I appreciate a response back thank you Darren Huffman from the Ozarks

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

I've got a lot of videos, so just look around a little bit more. I've also got a "Beginner Series" playlist that might help you.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Jack, I like using hammerstones because they are free. :-) Seriously, though, I like using hammerstones because they are very versatile (they will flake all kinds of stone, especially the hardest) and they don't make my wrist sore like billets and boppers. They are not necessarily better.

[@tariqxl]

+JackCrafty Thank you... I've been looking for a video on nodular pieces, I am subscribed and must have over-looked this one. Unfortunately my local area pieces are far more nodular and the same thing that happened to you first piece happens a lot to me. It must be workable though as my area had significant stone-age activity and supposedly has some of the best flint.... Maybe its where I'm looking.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

You never know. Sometimes "special" rock was transported into an area even thought there was workable stone available. But keep looking, and I'll bet some of the stone can be improved with heat.

[@tariqxl]

JackCrafty Yeah heat's an option although from pieces I have seen the material seems like it doesn't particularly need it. Some has cement or crystal geodes inside. Judging from watching this video, personally I think its where I'm striking lol. And what I'm striking with, I'm yet to find good hammer stones. We have no fast moving water just a stream, we do have miles of coastline though so the search continues. May need a trip to the Lake District :)

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Sounds awesome.

[@Jake-vn2iq]

Hey Love your videos man! I have learned a lot from watching you. I just started knapping a few months ago. Right now i only have a few spalls of Novaclite. I have been having a lot of trouble with thinning those spalls. Is the best way to thin a spall with that scissoring or zig zag method around the edges. Im an Anthropologist, and most of my work has been in Lithics, andI really want to get to the point where i recreate some of dart parts and larger spear points of the peoples i have been writing on.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

yes, a zig-zag technique can be used for basic thinning but advanced work involves creating or spotting other types of platforms. I recommend the writings of John Whittaker if you want a prospective from inside the field. I'm an outsider. :-)

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

www.grinnell.edu/users/whittake

[@Jake-vn2iq]

Thank you so much! and I will certainly check out some of his writings. :)

[@weaponsweekly5555]

Is it better to use a hammer stone instead of a billet or bopper on nodules

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thanks, Brian!

[@serhiitelizhenko858]

incredible work!

[@immortaliserwow]

Your vids are great! I really love the aesthetics of some of your blades. I have a question though - why do you heat the stones? Was that historicly done? Why is done? Arent the flint stones good as they are already? Thank you

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Heat treating was done often in the past, wherever the stone was suited for it. Many stones will not knap well without heat treating and sometimes the difference is literally miraculous. Some flint is great without heating, of course, but I think all stone was experimented with-- even the "good" flints.

[@bienvenidogonzalez7595]

JackCrafty 2

[@affintlewoodlewix]

Thanks for this. Really informative as ever.

[@andrewwilson8317]

Really tempted to have a go at knapping a blade after watching this. Here in Wiltshire close to Stonehenge we got masses of flint everywhere!. The local building vernacular is to use brick and knapped flints with lime mortar made from roasting the chalk to make quick lime. Was interested in the heat treating of the flint nodules. I know flints for early flintlock rifles were made here but don't think they heat treated the flint?. Are there different types of flint? Is there one better than the other?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Hi Andrew. No, flint for flintlocks was not heat treated. In fact, the tougher the flint the better. And there is quite a difference in flints. Some are extremely knappable and some, on the other end of the spectrum, will require explosives. heheh...

[@hilmiazhari8491]

chert found my country is very tough and lots of cracks...

[@irishmutt2]

*Sharing. What does the heat treatment do and why is it done please?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Where in NH are you? I grew up in Portsmouth.

[@jamescostello5097]

I am a flintknapper also and really enjoy your work. How do you put your picture. On your Profile page for you tube?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

James Costello I think you can just run your cursor over the image and click on the little pencil icon in the corner.

[@jamescostello5097]

Thanks I will try the pencil icon.

[@navdoc8065]

Why do you heat the rocks before starting to wok them?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Heat treated rocks chip more like glass. But it only works with certain kinds of rock: chert, flint, agate, and jasper.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Glad you think so. :-)

[@Slappos]

how do u know which cobbles are good for spalling?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

+yoomd1 You can't really know for sure until you do a few test flakes but the ones that look solid, with no cracks, are usually OK. If they are flat you can sometimes strike them like bell and if they produce a tone they are solid.

[@snailface1981]

I've been knapping on and off for a few years now, and I'm still plagued by step fractures sometimes! Reckon it's just practice practice practice! I like the accuracy of the indirect percussion you use, I can only get Norfolk Flint here in the UK, it's bloody hard stuff!!! Do you think the copper would stand up to it if I made one?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

+snailface1981 Yes, a copper tip and UHMW plastic rod will hold up for about 20 hours of intense knapping on extremely hard material before the joint between the copper and plastic loosens too much to be effective. The tools will last longer if not used until the finishing stages, for example. The initial stages can be accomplished with hammerstone work.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

One of my favorite things to do is put rock into the oven, without knowing what it looks like inside, and then cracking them open and seeing the colors. :-)

[@yomomma1178]

Nothing a lot had to do with me heat treating it wrong plus I keep using a lot of roadside Flint gravel to Flint with I think that's my biggest problem is just too many cracks too many unknowns the rock is just too banged up

[@rockytoprelics76]

Awesome!! Very cool stone!!! Also thanks for the sub!!!

[@clipcalhoon]

any tips for heat treating material? i have a wood stove thanks awesome vid

[@supernaturalswampaids8083]

You deserve far more subs!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

+Reck Tominvayed I know, right? ha Maybe if I take my shirt off and build a mud-wall hut? :-)) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gauwl5iHrr5orq8

[@supernaturalswampaids8083]

JackCrafty Ha! I'd watch XD

[@jedediahbc]

You are a master!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thank you!

[@tarxantoo]

Looks like some of those rocks were over cooked. Try making a biface first then cook it but not so hot or long. Thin ones can take more heat. Also cook it at 180°-200° for 6 to 8 hours then turn it up to your flint temp .

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

tarxantoo Sounds good. Thanks.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

You're welcome!

[@ozarksRAWKSTAR]

Exactly what I needed 2 see..thx!!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Good idea!

[@setsappa1540]

Thank you!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

You're welcome.

[@jamescostello5097]

How many years have you chipped rock?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

James Costello I started knapping in 2007. I couldn't make a decent point until 2009. :-)

[@cronkthecrunk]

Lol I see you too have one of those bipedal background noise makers =P

[@yomomma1178]

The same thing happens when I use Texas chert it's sucks to learn by using it I can't wrk it to save my life

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Give it time...

[@hansenator5000]

if i were to go to the llano river would i find flint in the banks?

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Yes. But the flint does not appear everywhere along the banks. You'll need to cover a lot of ground sometimes. But there are spots where it is everywhere. It's hit or miss depending on where you are. Within the actual city of Llano, for example, I didn't find any pieces worth knapping.

[@hansenator5000]

thanks. That's good to know if I ever come out to Texas. I've heard there's a lot of chert there.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Yep, there is a LOT of flint and chert here but the good stuff (along banks and road cuts) gets picked up really quick. It's getting harder and harder to find good pieces on the surface unless you get permission to explore private land.

[@hansenator5000]

Good to know. Thanks

[@seanharrison6285]

sitting here at midnight watching a guy smash two rocks together

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Me too.

[@luhstephen6782]

@@KnapperJackCrafty , how much can 1kilogram this chert in Texas?

[@luhstephen6782]

@@KnapperJackCrafty , how much can 1kilogram this chert in Texas?

[@luhstephen6782]

@@KnapperJackCrafty I mean the prize 1kilogram

[@luhstephen6782]

Sorry, how much can one afford a kilogram for?

[@yomomma1178]

I think more better soild rock my be better to use it's just too iffy to do it with Flint off the road or cliche roads

[@janmycek9012]

idk why but watching this is arousing

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

I've often wondered why this video is so popular. Maybe that's it.

[@janmycek9012]

they say that that a very small sections of the brain actually react to flintknapping in various ways , and some people have brains that are naturally used to flintknapping so it isn't hard to believe that the human brain has molded into that stone.

[@darrenhoffman6658]

OK thanks

[@ronaldgoodrich5460]

I need to learn indirect.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Yep. :-)

[@demeatriexallen5104]

2:14 in tennesse

[@T.J-and-Soul]

Sh!t I'm ten years too late 😭😭😭

[@deedeeedwinburks8614]

It's ok Jack Crafty, u didn't know. I'm extremely sad, I just didn't understand ur question, do I Knapp with my wife phone? I don't know what u meant.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Someone else asked that question about your wife's phone. That wasn't me. :-)

[@deedeeedwinburks8614]

Oh. I humbly apologise Sir.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

No worries.

[@demeatriexallen5104]

Am that is

[@dalegreenlee9126]

man I need lessens for that my points looks more like a drunk man's points lol

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Haha... I've actually seen drunk guys make points. :-)

[@dalegreenlee9126]

Yea lol I have trubil with them. But I try to make them I actually got a few that I made which looks descent but how do you get the terttil of with out looking the size to much of it

[@edgarshanes4770]

Stop turning your stone and you will have a better video!

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Turning the stone is part of the "observe, evaluate, and attack" process. Without it, it wouldn't be a flintknapping video.

[@KnapperJackCrafty]

Thank you!