arrow heads

[costicaldad]

As we don't have flint IN my country i was wondering what else i could use ,aborigines just used to sharpen hard wood and heat it up to harden it ,could i use glass bottles ect

[david w.]

i dont know about glass but you can use bone ,shell, antler.  Do you have any rocks like slate where you live?  Making slate heads is easy you just grind them against a brick untill you get your desired shape.

here is a pic of a slate head


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[Hillbilly]

Actually, flintknappers here in the states import tons of Aussie mookite every year and consider it to be one of the most desirable types of stone. I'm sure there's knappable stuff there if you look. If you have limestone or old volcanos, you've probably got some knappable rock in the vicinity. Glass works fairly well, too and is good to learn on. The bottoms of those big Foster's bottles make good points.  Even toilet tank porcelain is knappable. I read somewhere once about aborigines getting cut off from their flint source and using ceramic telegraph insulators to knap their spear points. This of course, disrupted the telegraph service to such an extent that the telegraph people started leaving piles of extra insulators around the poles so that the ones on the pole didn't get ripped off.

[Kegan]

Bone works well- like slate you grind it, and then like wood (which also works well- i tried one a few weeks ago and cut myslef ) you fire harden it. Usually it works a little better than wood, if only because once you get a nice sharp edge it will last longer.

[Pat B]

Go to your local glass company and dig in their dumpster for 1/4" plate glass. Makes nice points and you don't have to worry about thinning them.      Pat

[costicaldad]

thanks guys  plenty of stubbies and lime stone  I'll also try bone ,no antlers though ,never heard of mookite more lernin i supose

[Hillbilly]

If you have limestone, there's likely chert (flint) in there somewhere. Do a google search on chert in your area.

[mullet]

 There is also some nice opal I've gotten from Australia. Like Hillbilly said,if you have limestone you probally have chert of some sort.

[stiknstring]

I am sure you have TOILETS in your country. Bust the tank up and use the porcelain to make some heads...also called "johnstone" or "thunder chert"

[Justin Snyder]

Do a search formookaite, also known as mookite, mookalite and see if you can find some. It is only found in Australia and is one of the prettiest knappable stones you can find.  Justin

[stickbender]

     Hillbilly beat me to it.  I read the same thing about the insulaters.  Got a dump in your area?  Look for old tv tube glass.  Nice and thick.  Like he said if you have limestone in your area, you should have some chert, of some kind or another.  Also go to a glass, or window store, or manufacturer, and get the scrap glass.  You should be able to get some thick stuff also.
Good luck.
                                                                      Stickbender.