Calgary & Southern Alberta

Flintknapping is one of the methods by which people work stone into tools. Also called flaking or chipping, it involves carefully striking or pushing flakes off the stone being worked. This can be done in a variety of ways, including direct percussion, which is simply hitting the rock with another rock (hard hammering) or with a billet made of antler, wood, or a similar material (soft hammering). Flintknapping. Animated image with kind permission of Francis Marcoux

In contrast to direct percussion, indirect percussion makes use of a punch between the rock that is being struck and the hammer doing the striking.

Flint Knapping Courtesy of the Folsom Replication Workshop

Pressure Flaking Tool Kit
Unless otherwise indicated, the images on this page are courtesy of Knappers Anonymous

The final common method of removing flakes is pressure flaking. This is usually done in the final stages of tool manufacture, using a tool made of antler or (more common today) copper. Pressure flaking, in essence, involves 'pushing' flakes off the piece being worked by applying force to a precise point on the tool edge. A variety of other techniques that make use of levers and anvils are less common but not unknown.

Flintknapping is only one method by which people work stone into tools. Another common technique involves grinding down or abrading the stone, or stone grinding. This process involves a combination of pecking, grinding, and polishing the stone into shape. Tools produced in this fashion are generically referred to as ground stone tools.