Stone Axes, Adzes, Celts and Chisels-Pecking and Grinding Class

The Roots School Celts, Adzes, Axes and Chisels Class in 2014. Students used direct percussion and block on block for basic reduction, followed by pecking, grinding, sharpening, and hafting. These stone tools are very effective in all manner of projects. For more information please visit
/ rootsschool
www.RootsVT.com
rootsvt.com/adults/celts-adzes...

[@davidrratelljr6978]

To all who participated and made your own tool in primitive ways my hat goes off to you it takes great discipline and endurance to get to the end of your hand made piece of your history simply thanks and I enjoy seeing all those blisters being made and the smiles!

[@dasdew2]

Any one else find it a bit ironic to use a modern steel chisel and file? Still, these are impressive, I want to make one.

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

dasdew2 It is a four day class so after the students spend three days making the head they only have a day to bust out the handle...hence metal tools. Not to mention it is much easier for me to have a set of 12 metal tools than 12 stone tools for students to beat on.

[@beaal5641]

+ROOTS School 3 days making the head?? It shouldn't take that long though it can be done in just a few hours.

[@harleyinglis5360]

+Bea Al Making a good head that will last, Slow and steady will win the race at building.

[@beaal5641]

Harley Inglis it still doesn't take days

[@harleyinglis5360]

Bea Al but still not everyone has time to do that. If I was a wild person yes I could.

[@raztuss]

OKAY, I JUST WATCHED IT AGAIN WITHOUT INTERRUPTIONS, AND SEEN WHERE TO FIND THE INFO I ASKED ABOUT. THANKS AGAIN.

[@tariqxl]

Excellent video. As with all who give their time to teach strangers all across the world, thanks.

[@Waverider-Zeta]

This is a new meaning to Savage AF

[@vollickplaysgames]

is it just me or is this like.. primitive skills porno. i love it. i was tired and kind of bummed out today and after seeing this i just want to run off into the woods and make shit !

[@hudsonrussell3088]

Same

[@vivciivygigiyv1790]

Me to

[@ethanpetersen3840]

I actually did run off into the woods and made shit.

[@myke4895]

What kind of shit? Stinky?

[@andrewburgess633]

yeah- this is the only thing that makes sense these days- make tools out of stone and go build...go eat...

[@rondias6625]

Outstanding !

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Many thanks!

[@stevetipps5876]

beautiful and useful tools, thanks

[@i_love_crpg]

Never in my life, have i seen such a bad ass stone chipper LOL srsly ppl have no idea how hard it is to do this shit they think its easy

[@turboknapper7985]

Well done on all counts!

[@landgabriel]

Very impressive work!

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Thanks!

[@lawrencehuxham]

nice video here, did some good work on how to make stone age axes as well as chisels.

[@nassimourabia4087]

This is some serious stuff!

[@HipposHateWater]

@ 3:45 Mmmmmm.... Dat adze.... (Seriously loving the geometry on that one. So primitive, yet distinctively modern.)

[@alexbarnett8759]

HipposHateWater when adze is lyfe 😂👌

[@GarrettSzilard]

I'd so love to do this kind of stuff as a hobby!

[@williamwhite9481]

Then do it. Just go out in the woods and have fun.

[@nsdtgabe4082]

William White he probably doesn’t have the time

[@adventuresoftheoutdoors4699]

I think I have this kind of stone and have already made a few very crude ax heads with it.

[@gregc.brownassociates6678]

Thank you! I will be making my first adz...

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Best of luck! I recommend counting 100 pecks or grinds before you expect to see a change!

[@nakoawarrior3186]

Neat, but one visit to harbor freight, and I can get wood carving tools and files, but they make other things too. flint stuff is a little more useful. As a kid I tried to work flint it was like titanium. kool video.

[@BardofCornwall]

Very cool!

[@karmicmessenger]

beyond cool

[@trinkladd]

Nice tool bag, what's in there? "Rocks"

[@raztuss]

JUST WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR,,,,THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MAY I PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, OBTAIN INFO ON THE SCHOOL OR ANY AND ALL DVD'S PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. DID I SAY THANK YOU, THANKS.

[@bencrain7083]

It's easier than you think to make them I just finished a mortar and pestle just 2 days ago. Just start pecking I'd like to know how many pecks I've made in the last 16 years doing this i would imagine over couple of hundred million times.

[@kofY84]

nice video but I just want to point out that making a hole in the handle with modern tools kinda ruins it...

[@5tonyvvvv]

***** Doesn't make sense, you spend all that time making the stone axe head which is genuine, but then use modern steel tools to make the wood handles? All these classes cheat..Why cant you just do the real thing and show everything?

[@janinecat1865]

5tonyvvvv Days of doing the same thing with a coarse stone. DAYS more.

[@5tonyvvvv]

Janine Cat What?

[@5tonyvvvv]

***** I just wanted to see how it was done with all stone tools, thats all man You dont have to write a book. I see the same thing with people making bows, with stone tools. But first they use a chain saw to cut the tree, HA!

[@5tonyvvvv]

l

[@steveclark5357]

I found 1 made of chalk, yes very fragile, must have been ceremonial .

[@bencrain7083]

Are you sure it's not soap stone? I've got what I've been told is a fish basket weight it's circular almost 8" across with a 7/8" hole in center and 1 1/4" thick made out of soap stone.

[@antonlainio3607]

That is so cool! But can u do tutorial how to flint knap and what u need for it??????????

[@apsutton336]

River stones they r made from cool skills tks

[@eltorrisimo]

Question: is a stone axe used differently than a metal one? The stone axe is being used in a straight perpendicular direction, so it's sort of "macerating" the wood, rather than cutting. Usually a modern axe is used at about a 45 degree angle, so that it cuts across fibers and removes a chip. However, it looks as if the stone axes are sharpened to about 50 degrees included angle, rather than the 25-35 that is used with metal. Perhaps this is the difference? I imagine the edge might fracture if used in certain ways...

[@spongebobsquarepants8403]

one good plus for the stone axe is it bounces so you don't have to pull it off the wood like you would a steel axe

[@hxcbmxallday]

That is a different tool altogether, it’s called an adze. The axe head is turned 90 degrees from where it is on an axe. The axe’s head is vertical, the adze’s head is horizontal. I know the adze was used for planing floor boards to size for ships in recent history. As for why they mounted their axe heads in this manner is personal preference I assume, and the purpose of the tool, as well as the maker, these would have been made by the user, so each is unique.

[@LUCKYB.]

what hardware store did the Celts get their chisels from western auto home depot ? j/king

[@MananagKiVato]

What do you use for rough grinding on the adze and axe heads?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Sandstone slabs with sand and water added. Then add in a crazy amount of elbow grease.

[@bigtruck182]

i am making stone axes what kind of rock are you using? luv them

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Mostly here we are using green stone which is a meta basalt. In general, fine grained and hard as you can find it will make a good ground tool.

[@bradleykmdean]

very cool video

[@MatGTAM]

Any good how-to guides for this?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Not that I have seen, its a tough skill that is a bit tedious and brutal so not too many people take it on.

[@Wanderer_of_Sol]

Well, this is getting shared on Tumblr :) Also what was the music used in this video? I really liked it.

[@Wanderer_of_Sol]

***** Thanks :)

[@landroamer1000]

Is the stone he’s roughing the blade out of with the wooden billet basalt?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Greenstone, which is a metabasalt, and a lot of basalts work well.

[@BRIANJAMESGIBB]

what is the bluestone being used at the start?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Its greenstone, a meta-basalt that beds along the Appalachian chain

[@diariodeunloco5218]

Amigo tiene alguna referencias para poder tallar pequeñas bolas de piedra sin herramientas modernas?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

No, sorry!

[@nsdtgabe4082]

Anyone know what wood is good for grooved axe handles like at 5:01

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

I use elm in this video but a lot of the more flexible hardwoods would work fine.

[@nsdtgabe4082]

Roots School thx man 🙏

[@cortespodcasttrechos6729]

Is it possible to produce swords made from a single piece of polished stone?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Yes but they would be brittle compared to steel.

[@williamwhite9481]

You could but it would have to be something you hang up on the wall. It would break if you tried to hit something with it

[@michaeloshea3090]

Axe adze Celt, where they interchangeable?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Not exactly, a celt is one mortised through the handle and chops differently than a stone axe. An adze bit is angle 90 degrees to allow for different chopping.

[@pablovazques1625]

De que piedra es el hacha?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Si

[@williamwhite9481]

How did you split the rock at the beginning? Also was that just a stick that was being used to knapp?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Its a technique called block n block, and its more like flint knapping but instead of hitting the percussor against a rock you hit the rock against the percussor. The wooden billet, also known as a baton is the hardest dry hardwood you can get.

[@williamwhite9481]

@@ROOTSSchoolVT thanks. Would fire hardened oak work for the billet?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Yeah, it should, even just seasoned would be good.

[@williamwhite9481]

@@ROOTSSchoolVT thanks

[@700ode]

0:17 What stone is he using?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Green Stone

[@700ode]

Roots School thanks

[@ivanvillafuerte5336]

ween i stranded in a big island

[@mihajlogeneralovic6504]

wich stone do you use

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Mostly this video has greenstone, a metabasalt

[@mihajlogeneralovic6504]

Roots School thanks

[@Rockhoundingcolorado]

Is that moose antler?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

For the billet? The billet is dogwood.

[@albertoburrito1874]

how old do u have to be to go to roots?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

8 years old and up, depends on the class rootsvt.com

[@honeycrisp390]

How long did this take?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

This is a four day class we run every spring in Vermont.

[@honeycrisp390]

Roots School approximately how long does it take to make a axe head, then the entire axe itself

[@hardcorecrepergaming2571]

ja nemam materiala za ove sikire sjekire al bi volio jednu ovaku za rodzendan

[@awesomegamerx1725]

da li znas na sta je ostrio

[@02C4]

the part were you lose me is when you started yousing iron tools to make stone tools not hating but well?

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

I get it. Sometimes I approach things from a purist mindset. Of course, the old joke was bout how far to take it, did you drive a car to the school, did you hunt the food you ate while making it with traditional weapons? Etc. In this case, it is a class setting where as the instructor my main goal was to help folks understand how to shape the stone and haft it. The stone shaping is done with all traditional methods and it takes bout 3 full days of hardworking pecking and grinding. At this point I have to choose between having people use stone tools which requires using green wood and working it 95% of the way and then carefully curing without checking over the course of a few weeks, or using steel tools and already seasoned wood and having students leave with a finished and functional tool.

[@ztoxicman]

if thous rocks were alive i would feel so bad for them right now

[@agustinvazquezocampo1171]

Es silex

[@stanwebb2272]

Now that class is over and you have your hand ornament let move on to tools like a plow to plant corn, wedges to split logs, chisels and on to many other instruments to do heavy chores hoes, rakes etc.... you were in hand tools 101, take hand tools 102, 103, and 104

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

These tools allow us to chop down trees and then shape them into tool handles, bows, shelter poles, etc. Since we are not doing much farming with stone tools and the ground is very rocky here we focus on that. We do make chisels and the celt head work great for splitting if you take them out of the handle.

[@user-zj8ri8gz1t]

я сделал i am crafted

[@menjobleeko4135]

wow, that's not a very acute angle, sho nuff chops though.

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

+menjo bleeko I agree, when my teacher, Erret Callahan told me 65 degrees i was not too confident it would cut. But it stone, and not nearly as tough as steel when thin, so it makes sense. We mostly work wood green(soft) till the project is 90% done then let it season and finish...

[@Milutin958]

Da li se to vraćamo u kameno doba ??????????

[@Milutin958]

Does it go back to the stone age ??

[@awesomegamerx1725]

ne ne stvarno ne ali da li mozda znas sta je ono na sta je vuka pa ce ostrilo

[@Milutin958]

serbianGameplays Ne znam naziv te vrste kamena, u mom kraju je takav kamen crvene boje !! U njemu je bezbroj vrlo sitnih kristala belo-žućkaste boje, cenim da je to kvarc !! Poseduje mogućnost oštrenja metalnih predmeta, ček sam negde video pažljivo oblikovan i probušen takav kamen pa navučen na drvenu osovinu !?! Jedan lik ručno okreće taj kamen na osovini, a drugi lik oštri neku alatku !!! Ovde na videu imaju i sinterovane brusne kamenove, kakvi se upotrebljavaju u industriji ! Prvi, veliki komad kamena je moguće i da je prirodan, malo vode po njemu, možda i kvarcni pesak pridodat i eto ti "oštrača" !!! Vozdra.

[@karmicmessenger]

+Milutin958 Many would say that we never left

[@pablovazques1625]

no reprobe historia

[@pablovazques1625]

un momento yo nunca repuruebo historia

[@ryen4020]

samw

[@DragonsLord76]

Да, блять, рашпиль это самое подходящее для изготовления каменного топора. молодцы :D

[@tanfo8]

Let's keep metal out of Stone Age tool making

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

+tanfo8 This is a video of a class in which we have 4 days to teach people how to peck and grind and haft tools. If I make the class longer it has to be more expensive, ie less accessible. So when it makes sense for people to do easy wood working tasks in a class setting, then I have then use metal tools. I demonstrate how to use stone, tools, and how it is different. One of the major differences, which I am sure you know since you know so much about stone age tool making, is that most stone age wood work is done on green wood, which is then carefully dried so it does not crack, and then finished, since green wood is so much softer than dry hardwood. This process can take weeks as you need to dry it slowly and carefully to avoid checking. So I have people use dry seasoned hardwood, which is painfully slow to work with stone tools. I also dont have 15 pecked and ground stone chisels and axes lying around to let students beat on. If you want to make some and donate them to the school, we will surely let the students use them.

[@user-di1ub8ux6t]

Эй! Какое зубило и напильник в каменном веке?!!!

[@patrickmihajlovic4112]

Opticly very well developed.... bzt as an "instruction" or "guide" completely useless !

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

Yeah, just showing folks some scenes from the class we run!

[@weefurny657]

Please speak in your videos

[@ROOTSSchoolVT]

+Weefurny Check out the series of knapping videos I just posted, I dont shut up at all!