I had fun one afternoon on a beach on the Ilse of Wight. But since there is no flint near where I live and I did not have any tools, save that stone on the beach next to the flint, nor any instructions, I do not think what I made was any good. I did blunt the 'knive' I had made, to many children on the beach and no way to take it home, and kept it as a fun memory.

Willeke

If you can't find flint, just use the bottoms of beer bottles or wine bottles and you can make small things like arrowheads. I made a few and while they aren't very good, they are a lot sharper than just a sharpened wood arrow point.

Hallo guys, this is a quite old topic but I didn't want to start a new one, therefore I'm using this  

Thanks to some mornings of nice weather, I've been able to go for a walk at Portonovo, the rocky beach south of my home.
I've found TONS of flint, some very nice, some less, but I filled 3 big bags and I went home.
I begun knapping this flint some days ago, resuming my training in this skill. I proceeded slowly, making a lot of waste, and some mediocre tiny blades.
Today I went for it again and - miracle!
Ever had that feeling that the next blow will remove exactly that chip, which will just be the perfect size, and the core won't broke, and you can do what you have in mind, and this is not boasting, but just a certainty? You knap, your face's muscles relaxed, your hands moving fast, the raw material quickly becoming an object.
This happened to me today: I begun knapping at 4 pm, made some small blades, made some arrowheads, and then I took the worst core and begun knapping it. I saw a perfect angle and decided I'd love to have a long blade.
So I knapped, the certainty invaded me, and here's what I've done in a few minutes (really, 10 or 15 minutes of work!):





(1) is an amygdala, the tool I love the most; (2) is a knife blade, (3) is a smaller (and worse) amygdala and (4) is the longest blade I've ever made.
I didn't knap the cigarette, tough. It's just for comparing the size  
The blue amygdala is my first one.


And here are the other things I made today:


the branch was a cutting test for the amygdala.


my arrowheads.

Guys, I love knapping and that feeling.
Two things are fondamental: a good striker - you can see my two strikers on the top of the penultimate pic - and a perfect flint.
Greetings,
Mauro.

Thanks Bill, you're right about the blood but I was so satisfied with my stones that I decided my blood had to be my trademark 

The red stone is the most typical flint of my region, a very smooth flint, imperceptible grain, but it was so widely used in ancient times that it's terribly hard to find a decent core today. I just had a small core the size of my fist, and all I was able to make from it was that arrowhead 

You solved my doubts on the pressure flaker: cow bones! Now I had 3 big cow bones (well, 2, I destroyed one in an attempt to make dices) but they're really old, all fractures and scars. Do you think they may come in handy?
Should I give them a particular shape to retouch my flint?
The one I already used, despite its surface fractures, was compact inside, and very hard to work.
Any suggestion is appreciated!!!
Yesterday I knapped some more and I managed to produce a lot of small blades, will post pics soon 
Many thanks my friend!!
Mauro.

My knapping goes on, here's what I've made 2 days ago:


Some more simple blades, together with older ones.



The core from which I took the majority of these blades, together with another flint core (red) and a small obsidian one.
You can see which traces this kind of knapping leaves on cores.


Two new burins (grey ones), because the red one is getting old and wearing out as I make holes in small stone pieces that I'll use as parts of a necklace.



A retouched blade, medium size.


My scrapers...


...my arrowheads, with some new ones...


...and an overall view of my flint tools, both new and old.


These are my flakers, sandstones ones are the strongest, while chalk ones tends to wear earlier, but I've found them more precise.
I'm working on the cow one because I really need a pressure flaker (I made the blue amygdala with one, and I can see how well it worked!).

Bill, I do have cow leg bones, and am going to follow your advice of boiling them, even if they're really, really old.
Don't want any more risks 
Greetings,
Mauro.

Thanks, have a try if you can, knapping can be very satisfactory!!
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro, would it be possible to send me some of those blades? i have no flint nearby, nor any good-knapping rock, and do not know anyone who drinks enough beer to make using beer bottles practical.