Edited by Clive Hilton, Wednesday, 10 Mar 2010, 12:59
On a beach that we visit on the south one can find endless numbers of chalk pebbles, varying in size and form, though typically they fall into the category of round ovoids that range in size from small eggs to large chocolate easter eggs. As it happens, there are also just as many flint lumps scattered in clusters. On a lazy summer's day my thoughts idly turned to the flint and how early man might have first tumbled across the discovery that shattered shards of flint could make first rate tools. In a spirit of empirical research I began bashing bits of flint together and very quickly had before me a selection of lethally sharp proto-tools. Seeing the chalk lumps around me triggered the idea that it might be interesting to see what my new tools could do. So, I put flint to chalk, sat on my haunches and began carving. To my great thrill and satisfaction the flint sliced into the chalk with ease. Some happy hours later I had several assorted carvings. As I got used to the materials I got a better sense of what they were capable of. Here's a couple of the heads that I created.
And here's a typical flint lump from which the flint shards were knapped. Some of the shards were thinner than razor blades and sharper too.
Caught knapping
On a beach that we visit on the south one can find endless numbers of chalk pebbles, varying in size and form, though typically they fall into the category of round ovoids that range in size from small eggs to large chocolate easter eggs. As it happens, there are also just as many flint lumps scattered in clusters. On a lazy summer's day my thoughts idly turned to the flint and how early man might have first tumbled across the discovery that shattered shards of flint could make first rate tools. In a spirit of empirical research I began bashing bits of flint together and very quickly had before me a selection of lethally sharp proto-tools. Seeing the chalk lumps around me triggered the idea that it might be interesting to see what my new tools could do. So, I put flint to chalk, sat on my haunches and began carving. To my great thrill and satisfaction the flint sliced into the chalk with ease. Some happy hours later I had several assorted carvings. As I got used to the materials I got a better sense of what they were capable of. Here's a couple of the heads that I created.
And here's a typical flint lump from which the flint shards were knapped. Some of the shards were thinner than razor blades and sharper too.