Slate knife

A quick demonstration of a stone knife that I ground out of slate. All the work was done using primitive methods. I started with a large plate (actually a broken cutting board), then broke it into smaller pieces by scoring it and then snapping it over a log; split it into thinner sheets using a stone wedge; chipped the rough shape out by using somewhat pointed river stones as hammer and anvil; flattened the faces by grinding on a large granite boulder with a flat side; then rounding off the perimeter and creating the edge profile with a hand-held sandstone shaping tool. It could be made in a few hours, with more time spent giving a nicer "finished finish". On my knife there are visible scouring marks on the sides from quartz chunks in the granite, and I don't think this detracts from its style.

This particular specimen is very thick for a slate knife, and most of the plate is around 4mm. More typical for slate knives is 2-3mm thick. But most were also hafted to wood or bone instead of being a single solid construction. It makes it stronger, in any case (at the expense of cutting efficiency).

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• slate
• knife
• primitive
• survival
• grind

[insanezy]

i have seen slate tool and flint and obsidian but what about granite would it be possible to make a blade out of granite

[themomaw]

@insanezy I've never seen cutting tools made of granite. I don't give it a high probability of success. The reason slate works for grinding is that it's a very soft, very fine-grained stone that can be made into a precise and smooth shape. Like a knife blade. Granite by contrast is rough and chunky. It has discrete granules of various things in it. But I've never tried, so that's just my guess. I'd be much interested in knowing about it, if you attempt a project. :)

[KungFuKid1015]

Have you tried to sharpen it with a common grinding block used for knives? Or possibly sandstone? I am currently making some arrowheads that I am grinding on a block. The material for the arrowheads is slate I believe. But I found this information in a book that was one primitive skills and crafts. It is said that grinding arrowheads and knives is much easier than pressure flaking and is easier to master. Just curious as if you had tried to sharpen them yet.

[themomaw]

@KungFuKid1015 I sharpen all my slate items to the best of my abilities with other pieces of slate. I've made small bars for that purpose. I haven't noticed any practical difference between using "real" sharpening stones (I tried diamond) instead of rocks.The slate is just too soft to take a razor edge. You can, very delicately, hone the slate down to that kind of perfection but it will chip the moment you so much as think about cutting anything with it. Sorry. If you want razors: knap. :)

[hellokitty2007]

So this shows that cave men were vegetarians ?

[themomaw]

No? Certainly they did eat a lot of vegetables though. Plants don't move, they're easy to catch. :) I have used this knife to cut meat, and it will, but not very well. The edge is too obtuse for that kind of work. I have used a much thinner (less than 2mm) slate blade to cut meat, and it works pretty well. Archaeological evidence suggests that ancient peoples used slate knives a lot to process fish in particular.

[insanezy]

@themomaw assuming i could get a small slab of granite and some tools to work it i would definitely try it

[KungFuKid1015]

@themomaw Thanks. Like I said, I am currently making some slate arrowheads, and they, I believe, could do the job if I were to hunt with them. The points are sharp, and I have ground the edges down to a fine enough point to where they would easily go through an animal, like a deer, if I were to shoot one.

[MrRugercat45]

Also, that knife can be used to sharpen your steel knives! Slate is used in a lot of natural sharpening stones, the Finnish stone I have is slate, but with a high garnet content, or something like that. A knife and sharpener in one! When you add the water, it forms a "mud" like Japanese stones, and it sharpens faster with the mud, definetly. You can also rub oil or fat, lard, whatever on the blade, it gives it a nice glossy, polished look.

[MrRugercat45]

About time someone did a slate knife vid, I'm making them lately, but I am having trouble finding slate, a friend in Maine gave me a couple pieces, and they were good stuff. The slate here I have, in East TN, is pretty soft and bad quality. I'm wanting to make traditional Ulu's and knives like the Inuit and other Northern cultures used, until quite recently. Try cutting some fish and such, I want to see that, bet it would work better. Nice work, really nice!