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Posted 6 Months ago
ulfjansson
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graphgraph
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I've been doing some reading lately and have seen several anecdotal comments that say that flint can be made into a sharper edge than good steel. Does anyone have any objective facts that they can direct me to to confirm or refute this? Thanks.

Also, can anyone direct me to a site where I can purchase a piece of actual flint (as opposed to churt, obsidian, jasper, noviculite, etc. - all of which can be knapped into edges and points.) I need a piece of 'flint' about the size of a Zippo lighter. I can find lots of sites that offer flints already cut for the size needed for flintlock firearms. I need a piece larger than that. Thanks again.

Steve Kramer Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Posted 6 Months ago
mortgage
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I think there is a big difference between sharp and practical. Because stone is harder than steel it should take a sharper edge but because it is more brittle than steel that edge would be more delicate - probably more delicate than is needed to make a practical edge.

In the stone age, that's what people used to cut things so sharpening stones has been done for a very, very long time as we all know. I've seen them made from flint and obsidian and even found a couple of obsidian ones once myself in the Mt. Jefferson primitive area in Oregon. The few stone age arrowheads I've seen are quite sharp and effective but wouldn't be very durable as a knife. I assume those people used stone for knives also but there is no doubt metals completely replaced them when the technology became available.

My experience with modern ceramic blades is similar. If a ceramic blade is ground to an angle as sharp as steel or sharper, the edge will be delicate and, in my opinion, too delicate to be practical. Steel is still the way to go. Sharp and practical.

Fred Knife Outlet http://www.knifeoutlet.com
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Posted 6 Months ago
RAZA
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Well, i live in england, in the south. Down here, you cant dig for 20 seconds without hitting flint, and i mean big pieces, way bigger than a zippo. If you have any friends in the south of england (thats england in europe, not new england) im sure they could send you some big bits, though you would have to chisel off the layer of top rock. Flint knives are often sharper than steel, though the egde is very rarely a consistent straight line, and the edge is prone to breaking, as flint is quite brittle. Hope i helped
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