Flint

Chert.

Flint is a form of the mineral quartz that was widely used historically to make tools and start fires. Related minerals, such as chert (of which flint is one type), can serve the same purpose.

Uses

Fire

Flint can be struck against an iron-bearing substance, such as steel or pyrite, to create sparks. These sparks can then be used to light a fire.

Tools or cutting edges

Flint was used in the manufacture of tools during the Stone Age as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades (depending on the shape) when struck by another hard object (such as a hammerstone made of another material). This process is referred to as knapping. The splinters or the larger remaining piece of flint can be used in tools where a sharp edge is needed, such as the head of an axe, a knife, a spear, or an arrow. If possible, knapping should be done in the open air to avoid hazardous flint dust, and with hand and eye protection from the sharp flint shards.

Natural sources

Flint is formed in chalk and limestone and is harder than those minerals, so it can often be found near where cliffs of chalk and limestone are eroded such as on shorelines. It can also be found as nodules inside larger formations of chalk or limestone. Other forms of chert occur in their own geologic layers called "bedded chert". The banded iron formations, an important source of iron ore, consist of chert layered with iron oxides.

Dependencies

• Flint
  • Fire

See also

• Diamond
• Graphite
• Knife
• Obsidian
• Zeolite

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Flint, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Chert, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Knapping, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).