flint knapping in yuma

[desert wanderer]

Deer or elk antler works well for shaping once you have found a good source of chert. Obsidian works the best. It can be found in areas of volcanic activity. Chalcedony will work too and produces interesting coloration in the final product.

Interesting topic guys! Obsidian, Chalcedony, and Chert are found in abundance in my area. I know a place in the Superstitions where there is a vein of chert (at least it looked like chert to me). It's smooth and brittle, and there were chips of it laying all over, as if someone had been breaking pieces of it off for a long time. It is about 30 feet long, and 6 inches wide. It is the strangest thing I have ever seen. It starts at one end, a sort of reddish color, and goes through all the colors of the rainbow by the time it gets to the other end. Yes, it even goes through shades of green, blue and yellow. Has anyone ever seen anything like that?

Jim

Jim, I'm very glad you mentioned Chalcedony, as the most beautiful of all of the arrowheads I've seen, are made of this quartz. Obsidian being the sharpest! Chert has been the most dull of the arrowheads. I've never seen colorful Chert, as most appears as rather mundane white to gray.

[Jim Hatt]

DW,

It is possible that what I saw was not chert. I am a long ways from being even an amateur Geologist. I plan on returning to that area sometime within the next few months. I will get a lot of photos and samples this time.

[Teufel_Hunden]

out of curiosity, what does chert look like in the raw?

[roc2rol]

this may answer the above question
a picture only conveys so much
guess chert can come in different shades/colors
I have some flint which is mostly grayish or brownish
but the big difference is that flint as a waxy appearance
edmostly

[Teufel_Hunden]

where did you find those? that is whats all over YPG but the whole place is closed off to the public...