Flintknapping Quartz, Making Quartz Arrowheads
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- čas přidán 11. 01. 2022
- primitivepathways.com Billy Berger shows how to make arrowheads from quartz. Quartz was used heavily in prehistory for spearpoints, arrowheads and knives, but today most knappers won't even touch it due to much better options being available, like glass, obsidian, and flint. I always enjoy copying the old guys, and if they used it and it was good enough for them, then I feel it's only fair that I learned how to work it too. So I have. And now I'm passing this knowledge on to you. Quartz points can be very sharp and I've even used a quartz point to harvest a deer. So they work!
- Zábava
i can't believe that quartz can make points. i see so much of it out here in the high deserts of colorado and never imagined it could flake or be worked like that. much respect for your skill.
I've never tried knapping quartz, but I know from getting cut bye it that it is very sharp.
Yeah quartz was used a lot on the East coast. Give it a shot!
Colorado hunter here also the quartz I find is usually hammer stones it's much denser and very hard there is boulders up by florissant Colorado is so hard you can't even chip it with a rock hammer the quartz out there has mostly come from the old mountains and has been weathered a lot longer than the Rockies I have found a few quartz points in 40 years but I mostly hunt the high parks like south park and the wet and san Luis valley and there is way to many options that quartz is rarely used but I've seen a small rabbit carved out of a piece and I've seen several pieces of jewelry made from the real clear stuff but when I did knap quartz was not on my list !
@@primitivepathways This is so cool. I was thinking what local stone to use, but here in finland theres not much good knapping stones here that i know locally. I have heard over here quartz was often used, but this video helps lot
Same here, I just started a new job and our people used quartz, quartzite and ingonish rhyolite. (Cape breton) I'm mi'kmaq. What brought me here. But that quartz looks deadly asf.
14:19 i come back after like 6 years and hes completely lost his mind and gone primitive. 10/10 ive loved watching this from a young age and now i remember why, billy you are a treasure.
Thanks John!!
Here on the East coast I have never found a flint artifact but found many quartz. Unless you miraculously find yourself near flint deposits, knowing how to work with quartz is much more valuable knowledge than working flint.
I am very impressed and inspired to try this on the quartz in my garden.
Awesome. Being in VA, most points we find are quartz and quartzite. I've tried making some out of it, its so hard to work with, gave me a whole new level of respect for the old guys making them back then. True craftsmen.
Oh yes, quartz was used very heavily up there in Virginia. Some of it works really well, other stuff can be tougher and more challenging. But they were really skilled at making arrowheads from such tough material.
I’ve realized the prevalence of quartz points found by the southeastern headhunters I watch, but it never occurred to me that I’ve never seen it knapped. You made a really nice piece, from some difficult material. Awesome point collection, and even better mongrel hound imitation. Great video, Bill.
Thanks!
Great demonstration of working quartz into a arrowhead!!! Very impressive!!! And what a great collection 👊
I'm in the Georgia piedmont and learned to knap using quartz. I like the challenge it provides and the satisfaction of getting a decent point out it is immense. Glad you made this video even though it would have been more helpful to me about three years ago, lol. Keep up the good work and rock on.
So there ARE a few quartz knappers out there. So glad to know I'm not the only one crazy enough to knap quartz in modern times. :)
Also in the piedmont area of Georgia, any ideas where to start looking for flint? I’ve found tons of quartz but no flint so far
Wow! Thanks for tackling this subject. I live in an area without flint or obsidian. I'm motivated to try this and other materials. Great job!
What a beautiful craft. Honouring our ancestors' skills. Thank you for sharing.
Here in Virginia quartz and quartzite is widely available its all about being able to find the good stuff. I've made hundreds of points out of quartz its no joke it can be wicked sharp like obsidian. The best stuff comes from boulders that when you get to the middle has less freeze cracks and internal fractures. What you made is beautiful and like you said it looks like ice there is no material like it thank you for the video.
Love seeing new uploads from you. So calm and pleasant. Thanks!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for all the variety of stones you Knapp. Also for everything you do. I've been watching for a long time, and am currently learning all I can , and making tools and points from non stone or metal materials. Pretty much every thing that can be hunted or done with stone and steel, can be accomplished without it. At least all survival needs anyway.
Absolutely true. Great job with challenging material. Your spalls in the beginning were as impressive as the point you made!
Thanks!
Amazing! The time it takes to make one tip. Definately an eye opener as to the hardships of hunting and foraging to survive. Most modern humans are soft. Great Job 👌
Welcome back Billy 😄👍✨
Thanks Bum Butter!!
Wonderful stuff! Thanks for sharing!
thanks Billy - watching the clip I could feel what a decisive revolution this was : Bow and arrow , and the latter one with reinforced sharp points ! Regards from Munich / Bavaria
Thanks!
Your points look just like what I have found in NorthCarolina Piedmont area since I was a kid. Great knapping, perfect camera angles and narration. Quartz and Rhyolite are “man rock”.
Thanks!! Maybe I'll do another knapping video showing how to work rhyolite. I've got some!
That's a great point... but at least three times I was screamng in my head, "stop while you're ahead!" 😅🤣😂
As usual a great presentation. As a boy in Northeastern North Carolina I found a quartz point in a field. I included in my rock collection project for Science Class. Got a good grade but when I got my project back my point was gone forever.
Knap on Abo! You're a wonderful teacher.
Man that's a bummer!! I'd be mad if an authentic point of mine was taken.
Lovely to see another video from you again! Your definitely a man extremely important part of the knapping community.
Thanks so much!
I have some really big pieces of quartz from North Carolina. Gives me good hope to try working some. Great job!!
Great job on the quartz point. I was almost equally impressed with that killer dog bark and pretty darn authentic cat yelp. 👌👍😃
Great video! A refreshing break from all the chert and flint videos. I have also knapped the local white (flint as we call it) quartzite and it is not easy to work. I have a small collection of real points most of which were atlatl dart points that didn't depend on a cutting edge but on a super fine tip that would punch deep into, if not through a deer.
I will be starting making videos this spring and I can tell you, your 2006-ish DVD like videos have inspired me more than anything else. 💪♥🙏
Thanks so much! I plan on uploading more soon, so stay tuned. Wait till you see the next full length DVD I'm currently working on!
You are on fire with this! Love it!! ❤
Glad you’re back!!!
Thanks! Good to be back!
Nice point, Billy. Great video.
thanks!
I have seen what I can only describe as an old crafting station here in Virginia. Piles of quartz shards and broken arrow heads. I don't know if the Powhatan had swear words, but the guy who sat in that spot and spent a bunch of time gambling on how fine a point he can make only to shear the piece in half. He probably invented some of the swear words.
I've seen a few places like that as well. And I bet they had some ancient cuss words to go with it!
Great job! I've tried knapping quartz in the past, without any success. I do have several personal finds from Virginia, out of hundreds, that are beautiful examples of near perfect quartz points. Great video, I really enjoyed it!
Thanks!
Our quartz points I find here in Alabama don't even look that good. You did real good. Love the display at the end . Keep up the good work.
Thanks Gary I will!!
I was just about to go mushroom hunting. . . I guess im looking for quartz instead. Great video and thank you for the inspiration you have been posting for years. God bless!
you can do both! Glad you liked the video...thanks so much!
I find alot of broken milky white quartz arrowheads,along with flint arrowheads, off a road named Flint road in Yadkin County NC. There were alot of native Americans in this area of North carolina.
I'm from Alabama. and I find and make quartz arrowheads! loved seeing this video! amazing job, sir!!!
Thank you!!
beautiful video great teaching thank u i have been researching local Algonquin culture here and white quarts was available to them
Great to see you again brother. Great video 👍 keep em coming.
Thanks my man! I wanna start uploading more videos so keep an eye out...
I'm probably within 200 miles of your area. And quartz points are what I have predominately found. This video gives me a greater appreciation for the skill set of the ancients knapping these little wonders. Many of the points I've found on my acreage are not particularly pretty, but are definitely functional for their desired use. These ancient men weren't making high art, but rather utilitarian points designed to lethally bring down deer and other game - as their families and tribe struggled to survive. Plus, points made in the field, on a trek or hunting trip, were likely made much quicker than ones made in a village or more permanent camp. I've found many handaxes that are rather crude - but certainly functional to their intended use. Plus, one wouldn't likely want to carry heavier tools too far - so, they likely cached them for future use when returning to their favorite hunting grounds.
Awesome man! I live in Georgia and we find a lot of quartz points and blades . Can't wait to try to make some for myself.
There is lots of quartz to be found in the NE area of GA. And some of it is surprisingly good quality. It takes practice, but you can make some points that are killing sharp with practice. Good Luck!
Definitely a helluva flintknapper😮!!
I've done a few points out of quartz. When it gets close to shape your better off just pressure flaking. Lol soon as I wrote that you said I prefer to pressure flake quartz when it's close. Your findings are the same as mine. Wow that's a nice point Billy. Impressive.
Thanks Tony! Hope you're doing well brother!
I have three large quarts stones that I tried to knock off some spalls, and the results were discouraging, making me thing it couldn't be knapped. I will be revisiting that this afternoon.
Love your content!
That looks awesome for what it is.👍
Very, Very impressive. I suspect there were some of those guys way back who were particularly skilled or gifted in making points. I would suspect they were highly regarded and respected in their individual groups.
I am from Alabama and have found a number of very small bird points made of quartz. And like you said they are like milk white. I had often thought that the natives ground them into shape because of how smooth they are.
Yeah that Alabama quartz is pretty good stone. It makes great points!
Thanks for sharing! :)
Really surprised this was possible. I figured that since quartz didn't have the "sheets" that flint does, it would be much more difficult. Impressive video as always!
Thanks brother!
I've got artifacts from the alabama milk quartz you mentioned. Beautiful quartz
So beautiful
Awesome looking points, be a collector in N.W. Ga for 50 yrs and vast majority looks very similar. Considering trying to knap some soon. Thanks for this video. Kenny
Thanks so much! Glad you liked the video...
@@primitivepathways I know I’m a new subscriber but I wanted you to know I have an abundance of milky quartz I obtained while dredging for gold. This is what I want to work to start with. Or would you suggest mail order cheer or something else. By the way I would be glad to share some of this glassy smooth milky quartz. I’m sure you have material running out your ears. Thanks Keey
I live on the east coast also. Lots of great milk glass type quartz near me. I also find it very sharp and very effective. Sometimes I use wooden billets to percussion flake it. Dog wood, persimmon, hop horn beam, rock maple, hard cherry, & walnut. I cut my billets with a flat top, dry out, & round the top edge 1/2 inch. Char burn that end & then burnish against hard wood. This closes the pores in the wood & draws up any remaining sap in the wood. You will find it very effective because it transfers energy more slowly breaking thru the grains rather than around them. Great video. Thank you!
You're right...quartz seems to like a softer billet due to its brittle nature. I saw a guy years ago chipping quartzite with a large dogwood billet and I was amazed at how well he got it to work. But it looked kinda funny because his billet was as thick as a baseball bat and the piece of stone he was chipping was small. But it worked great!
Beautiful work! I'm in Alabama and broke financially so Quartz is all I got at the moment. It's really hard to find a piece that isn't fractured or freeze cracked... I love knapping a beautiful clear or milky white piece that breaks like obsidian though (like he mentioned)... But those are hard to find. 😅
Ive found some beautiful quartz points here in South Carolina along with chert and slate.
beautiful dude!
the ice arrow!
i pick up some nice rolled pieces of smokey quartz out hiking lake Erie.
it looks super hard… who knows i might try to knapp a few chunks of it
Nice work I use alot of quartz here in upstate south carolina
Awesome! 👏👏👏 thanks for sharing. Thank God my town has a barking ordinance!! They have 1/2 hour and if you call they get a $50 fine.
This is awesome to me. In the region that I grew up most of our arrowhead finds are milky rose quartz or milky yellow quartz
Very nice!
I haven’t tried knapping quartz yet, but it’s on my to do list. I live in Maryland , right on the Chesapeake, I’ve found many quartz points on our farm.
It definitely works, but it can be challenging until you develop your technique...
I live near a creek in Hamilton NJ. Nearby, in the banks are large boulders of white quartz. Since I have been Knapping abo for 30 yrs i have learned some things about Knapping quartz & quartzites. Soft hammer stones are of course great for spalling quartz. When Knapping it I have employed hard wood billets. Dogwood, red maple, hop horn beam, japanese maple, black walnut etc. After you cut your wood & let it dry out all cracks should be gone. When drying you can cut them extra long on both sides. After it checks cut off extra. By heating the ends & rubbing the wood against wood you will burnish the ends & close the poors. This will harden your billets. The use of billets transfers energy much slower than antler & will tend to break through the silicate grains rather than around them. Larger flakes can be spalled out this way also. This also works for quartzite equally as well. Of course they require burnishing more often, but the benefit is that you will drive much larger flakes off your biface without chance of breakage. This makes for very effective sharp tools with greater strength. Vincent James Ajello (Lithic Technologist/Researcher)
Yes I've seen a guy who would knap quartz with a big hardwood billet and it worked great. The flakes he was able to peel off that quartz was amazing. I've tried it but my billet wasn't big/heavy enough. After seeing him work that quartz I knew I needed a bigger billet. But I've found that a heavy moose antler works fairly well...well enough that I jsut use it.
There was a knoll above a smallcreek on our farm in Lauren's County South Carolina where the ground was littered with those white flakes.
Most of the points I found had been made from this type of material.
Very impressive
A great video ! Almost everything I find in my area of the N. Ga. mountains is quartz and none of it refined. In middle Ga., we find lots of coastal plains chert and some quartz crystal '' bird points ''.
I live in south georgia Decatur Co. Would you know any areas to search for raw material?
From the coastal plain of Maryland, tons of quartz, especially in creeks.
Loved the video man. Good stuff from a pro.
Thanks Thad!!
Couldn't have clicked faster, love ya and your vids Billy
Thanks so much!!
Very nice
The ruby mountains of Elko county Nevada are made of some kind of white quartz. The last couple I tried were from there. Varying quality, you will find the clearist in the creek.
There is something so magical up there...
But!!! I did find a little milky white blade of some unknown material in northern Wyoming last September.
I can only imagine trying to butcher my first bear with quartz tools.
Thanks for doing this video. I live in Maine. There is no flint, chert or obsidian or really any salacious, knappable material here. Therefore I buy a lot of rock online. There is however a lot of quartz!! In Western Maine there is a few quarts and tourmaline mines. The stuff they throw out is amazing.
That's great! I'd grab a bunch of that quartz and give it a try. It takes some practice to learn how to work it, but once you do, it makes sharp, deadly points. Just ask the deer I got with one....oh wait....you can't ask him anymore...cause he's in my freezer!
@@primitivepathways Oh, you can still ask, but you're unlikely to get an answer.
Aren't they finding Arrowheads made of shells in Jotunheim now?
@@peterrose5373 I don't know for sure, but I'd bet they did. The Natives used whatever they could get their hands on for arrow points...including shell, gar fish scales, nails, bone, glass, and even green slate!
Dang it Billy!!!! I've got some quartzite in my rock bed CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!
Thanks for uploading this dude. Sent ya a pm on fb. Talk soon.
working that stuff is no joke!!!
Yeah it's not easy. Takes some practice but you can do it. But I understand if you don't want to...glass is a lot easier and much more plentiful.
Very greatful I found this video I'm from jersey and I'm always looking for rock mostly cohansey Quartzsite I have here don't know if I heat treat it I can nap it better
Fantastic video! This arrowhead took you about 10 minutes to make, and you really seem to have some serious skill. Do you think a prehistoric hunter would have been able to turn out an arrowhead much more quickly than this?
Awesome glad to see another knapper work with quartz, I live in the piedmont of Georgia so it was used heavily in this region if the old ones did not travel and trade for other stones. I too Knapp quartz it’s a challenge but a rewarding one once finished 🏹🙏🏾
I know a good place to find quality quartz with a nice grain to it
Awesome! Glad to know there are other quartz knappers out there and I'm not the only crazy one...hahaha.
@@primitivepathways yeah brother it makes me happy and I bet the old ones are smiling seeing that work being done. It be a honor to meet you tho man, I remember back in 2015 when I was 17 watching you making a hickory bow and you helped chipped, carve me to be a better knapper and bowyer
Living in South Carolina this is almost always the type of point you will find
Oh yes...quartz points are VERY common in the southeastern states.
I live in southwest Virginia, and there are some locations where quartz deposits are massive....boulders weighing hundreds of pounds! I've used a sledgehammer to break off pieces to work.
I've attempted knapping it, but I always made the mistake of trying to refine it too much. What are your thoughts on heat-treating it? Do you think it would make it more homogeneous and easier to work? Soaking it in water seems to improve workability, but it is not substantial.
By the way, I love your videos! You never stop describing what you are doing throughout the entire production, which doesn't force the viewer to guess and speculate. I also appreciate your willingness to show your failures, as well as your accomplishments! Can't wait for the next video!
Quartz can not be heat treated unless u want it to get worse. East coast quartz is formed with smaller crystals making it better to knap however having the knowledge of what can be knapped, and not is crucial. Identify quartz in your area that is pure and focus on using that than boulder quartz. East coast boulder quartz even though it can be really good is a 50/50 in whether or not it will be viable.
Thanks Danny! Glad you like my videos. I'm not sure if quartz will heat treat, but I did have a guy give me some quartzite that was heat treated and it really did improve it. However, quartz has a different crystalline structure than quartzite. But cooking the quartzite definitely did improve it.
That point turned out great and what a fantastic frame of quartz work! I'm from western NC and have worked with a decent amount of quartz too so I know the effort that went into those points. You should come up to the knap in at Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia NC in August.
I attended my very first knap-in at the Schiele Museum, but it was a LONG time ago before I could even drive! I'd love to come up there and attend another one. It's been too long. I'll look into it!
Alan, is that next month at the Schiele? I lived a few minutes away from the Schiele Museum for 20+ years. I love that place. Live in Kings Mountain now and would love to see the knap-in. What are the dates?
@@jonpatterson7211 Hi Jon, yes next month. August 5-7. Some people get there on Friday but the biggest crowd will be on Saturday. Hope to see you there!
@@NCWoodlandRoamer Hope all who went had a good time. Sadly, we had a death in the family the day before and I wasn't able to attend.
@@jonpatterson7211 I’m really sorry to hear that. There was a really good turn out for the knap in.
Living in the Ottawa area, up here in Canada its quartz or slate... I made a few bird points cause of it being more granular and crumbly... We also have something called calcite looks like quartz but reacts differnt
I found about 700 quartz points around Montgomery AL growing up. One of the interesting things was that the archaic points were always well made out of quality quartz. The Woodland points were often made out of inferior material (rose quartz, sugar quartz, more inclusions) and had poorer craftsmanship than the archaic points. When it came to bird points, occasionally I would find them out of quartz, but the majority of times they were made out of black flint. P.S. I only found one quartz drill about an 1 1/4 inches long, but 50-100 black flint micro-drills about 1/2 inch long.
I've seen the same with points in Georgia. Many of the older points were made of better quality quartz and showed better workmanship. And we find black flint arrowheads here too. I wonder where that black flint came from?
Would heat treating quartz help? Thanks for your video
DUDE! I’ve got about 200lbs of quartz that I’ve got in my shed! And a ton without fractures all through it, I’m totally gonna make some sick points
Awesome!! Quartz is really good if you can find some clean stone without any fractures.
Thanks for sending the email. I thought you might find it interesting to see the difference between the two plaques of Archaic vs Woodland, but couldn't figure out how to send it to you. Of additional interest I have about a one inch point made out of crystal clear quartz. It looks like glass, but is not. You can read a book through it easily.
Agate and jasper points are fairly common here in Washington state but they're still hard to find.
That's awesome man. Did I miss in the video do you heat treat the rocks first? And also when you shoot a deer do the little shards fracture off inside the cavities that you have to clean out the meat? Thanks for another great video dude I've been watching you for like 10 years
HEy brother, thanks so much for being a follower! I didn't heat threat the quartz in this video, but I've actually worked some quartzite that was heat treated and it really did improve it. It was glassier and chipped easier. Usually I don't have to cut out the meat along the wound channel because the stone points don't chip if they hit muscle. If they hit bone, then they do tend to chip a bit, but i've never had flint chips in my meat. But you could always just trim the meat along the wound channel if you wanted to. But I've never had to.
I found a point with one perfect side, the other side was barely touched at all. I was curious why. Now I know. Thanks!
If you head away from the mountains quartz gets VERY common along with other things. Areas that didn't have good stone selections like southeastern NC are full of unusual pieces like bone, quartz, gar scales, fire hardened wood, even slate. Coral is also pretty common.
Yeah quartz is really common throughout the world..... I've seen original quartz points from Africa!!
@@primitivepathways
I'll have to look that up. I never really studied much into Africa cultures. I'm more familiar with the ANE cultures that spread from central Asia into Europe and the Americas with some mild familiarity with older East Asian groups but mainly just the ones that contributed to the weaponry of tribal groups in North and South America.
I actually looked into it and turns we don't really have much of anything except various kinds of quartz and some Ryolite a little north of us. Apparently most of the chert pieces found here were imported from elsewhere either through trade or migration.
What is your opinion on Nutting Stones? Many theories but as, one that makes flint tools, how do you dress the ends of your antler billets? I think Nutting Stones were for this.
To be honest its nice to see you make a quartz point. Im up in Canada and around here we have quarts and slate. When i first started knapping i was watching you use flint and obsididan. I was like how dose he make it look easy then i made my first bird point out of quartz it was thicker but it lasted for a while. It finely broke last season hunting grouse i missed my mark and hit a rock... My favorite point is no longer... But i will make another... I was wondering if you would make one out of slate next
I don't have any slate where I am, but if I can find some slate I'll make a point out of it!
@@primitivepathways its winter here but i could find some for you
In our collection of Lenape artifacts we have brown jasper don't know if they brought it here from Delaware or Maryland can't find flint in jersey. I'm taking a trip to Ohio around Zanesville flint ridge this spring for the flint they have there
I am a gold prospector and rambling the Tennessee and North Georgia mountains, I have come across 2 quartz quaries. There are chips and broken points everywhere. Now you can't walk 10 feet with out stepping on chert and flint and Jasper. The river banks are covered in the stuff. So why did the Indians prefer quartz??? I have found numerous arrowheads panning. They are all quartz!!!!!
Working quartz feels like working a really hard plastic it likes to bend on me a lot and it's super flexible.
Some of it may. I don't chip quartz that often, but whenever I do it seems weaker and more brittle than flint. Quartzite can be REALLY tough, however. You really have to blast the hell out of it with a heavy, soft billet to get it to flake.
@@primitivepathways yeah that's why I use a complete different technique to knap quartz I found slate drifts help a lot in quartz knapping due to how soft it is.
I been looking for arrowheads for years. But can't seem to find any in my area. Any tips for the eastern maryland area.
Dogwood works well with quartz. Looking good though. I'm told that the best pieces were heat treated (glassy,) but I never did anything but weaken the stone. Might have to be buried in coals for a few days for slow temper, the same way ceramics cool slowly. Honestly, I haven't knapped in a while but had decided that littered glass bottles were more practical than working stone.
Glass works great. I love bottle bottems.or porcelain shards. I like making them a little thicker for strength reasons.too thin and they break easy if they strike something solid. But just a tad thicker and man I had some survive bouncing off sidewalks. Realy fast to make too.
yeah I've heard that hardwood billets like dogwood work really well with quartz.
I started using quartz for striking sparks instead of flint because its far easier to find where I'm from- almost all the beaches have loads of it. Biggest problem is that it doesn't hold its edge very well because its more crumbly
I see your keeping the bandaid company in business
I feel like an 8 year old again writing down the types of tree names that is on top of Billy's head for making primitive bows on my notebook when watching Billy do primitive things 10 years later.
Hahaha!! I love it!!
Hi, I live on an old Maryland farm 1720 land grant from the lizard scum king of england to Richard Bennet, I recently found a large QUARTZ SPEARHEAD in the spring house well while I was digging it out while the drought water table was low. its like 3" long x 2=" wide
Would the point hold up to sanding/grinding on a stone to remove the extra thickness?
Yeah I'm sure it would. I've never tried it before but I bet you could do it.
What other non flint can be knapped?