Time Team's Phil Harding's Flint Knapping Demonstration

[peppipoi]

LEGEND :}

[jockmchaggis3]

Phil Harding linking present to past, the original Stone Man

[ZED74]

I heared something about heating the rocks in a fire to make it more workable or something , is that true ?

[Simpson654]

@ZED74 Never heard of heating flint. You use a harder stone to knap at first, then an antler to do the smoothing. Most of these techniques have been rediscovered by trial and error, so anything might work, but if you can produce identical stone tools without resorting to complicated techniques, why go there at all? In the late stone age they used to polish the tools to a smooth shape, but that's not for your everyday basic tools. For than a million years just a sharp edge sufficed. He's good.

[morbidious]

My cousin is an archeologist. He began teaching me flint knapping two summers ago. I watched him make a 9 inch knife blade and finished it out nicely with a caribou stag handle. It was fantastic! he did it inside of two hours.

[EDBO23]

I would love to get some of those flakes and make some arrowheads!

[thighfungus]

look at old Phil knapping away there..

[GoldenRatio]

Brilliant video. Just what I've been looking for.

[s2000r1titan]

Everyone loves Phil!

[forcefriction]

on a recent archaeology trip, our group found countless amounts of flint debitage near silburt hill and west kennet long barrow in England!

[thighfungus]

thats because phil dosent clean up all his chippings! lol

[folkmagic]

I saw the event adverstised in the local paper, wish I went now :( Good to see it on Youtube - Thanks DD :)