• Hunting
flint is one of my favorite things to do. It's an adventure every
time I go on a rock hunt! Over the years I have searched far and
wide for the finest and most colorful materials for my works.
Many
times I have come up empty handed. I always wondered where the
"Mother Lode" was. In my travels I have found some fantastic
sources in the 12 years I have been Knapping. It is a very satisfying
experience.
Here
are some tips for your next rock hunt!
•The best advise I can give to the "flint
hunter" is this: familiarize your self with geological maps
of the areas you plan to hunt. Look everywhere, in plowed fields,
creek and river bottoms, construction sites, under bridges and
eroded ditches.
Beware
of "freeze fractured" flint. This is flint that has
been exposed to freezing and laterally frozen. The problem starts
with this. Flint and all other stones contain moisture deep within
the stone, when the temperature falls well below 32 f- the result
of the expanding freezing moisture that fractures the flint.
This
is a bad thing for knappers. This material is useless. You want
pure un cracked stone. If you plan on getting the highest grade
stones, get them before it freezes. This is especially true with
flint from construction sites.
Searching
creek bottoms is a lot of fun. Take a big copper billet and start
testing rocks. You never know what you might find!
• In summary, do a lot of research.
Don't waist your time in areas where there is no flint to be found.
Don't expect other knappers to reveal their sources. Many a knapper
has spent years to find their "honey holes".
Always get the land owners permission to hunt rocks on their property!
Try to hunt areas that have not been exposed to freezing. Use
common sense, take a day off work and a tank full of gas and have
fun exploring the country side.
It's
great fun! you never know what you might find!
ENJOY!
