[Dusty Road]

Heat treating changes the structure of the flint making it easier to knap and will even change it's color and give it a glossier apperience. These pieces are from the same stone after heat treating. The finished pieces were done with smaller hammer stones, bone and antler.

[eartrumpet]

Nice work. Around here it is all obsidian, no flint. I’ve tried my hand at working obsidian and made some very crude tools, but they were still razor sharp. One day we had an elk hung up on the hoist and my son wanted to try obsidian on it. There were several nodules that I had found, so I split one with a rock, then flaked off another piece and ended up with a wedge about 3” across. It cut that elk hide and helped skin it off as good or better than any knife.

I have found many obsidian tools that are not finished to a high degree, but if you handle them a bit, you will suddenly discover your fingers fitting them and a cutting edge will be in the perfect place to do some work.

[Smokin' Joe]

I have tried a time or two to knap flint, but did not know about the heat treating. What does that entail, or do you have a source I can learn more from?