A flint-knapping kit.  Clockwise from the top... medium size hammerstone, antler hammer, fine pressure-flaker, small hammerstone, medium pressure flaker.  Centre of picture - pressure flaking pad.

 

 

 

Three paleolithic-style handaxes

 

 

 

 

 

A large neolithic-style axe.  Weighs about four pounds.  The rawhide bindings are not to hold the axehead in the handle - they are to strenghten the handle and reduce the risk of it splitting in use.

 

 

 

Here is the same axe again, but look at the size of the axehead beside it!  It is a replica of the biggest original I have seen that was definitely used.  I am six feet four, weighing in at about sixteen stone and I reckon I'd have trouble using it - this proves that prehistoric people were not weedy, undernourished runts!

 

 

Moving forward slightly in time, at the end of the neolithic period, people started making daggers from copper or bronze.  Of course, metal was very scarce and only very rich or important people would have had a copper or bronze-bladed dagger.  So, what did other people do?  Well, they got their friendly neighbourhood knapper to make them a replica in flint! These are modern flint copies of old flint copies of old bronze dagger blades - with me so far?

 

And here is how a flint-bladed dagger might have looked.  It is set into the handle using a beeswax / pine resin glue, and the handle is bound round with a rawhide thong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six hilted knives, plus the above dagger (second from the right).  If you look closely you'll see that five of them have not been bound with rawhide.  The middle two have been bound with cord made from deer sinew, while the cord for the other three has been made from stinging nettles!  Come on one of my knapping workshops and learn how!

 

 

All the following photos show examples of my speciality - tools made by pressure flaking. 

Here are some sickle blades and knife blades.  The tool at the top is sometimes referred to as a "slug knife" by archaeologists - goodness knows why!

 

 

 

Barbed and tanged arrowheads - "Wessex Culture"

 

 

 

 

Barbed and tanged arrowheads - "Armorican Culture"

 

 

 

 

This is a close-up of an arrowhead in its shaft - stuck in a sawed slot with the beeswax / resin glue, and bound round with sinew to reduce the risk of the shaft splitting upon impact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, two mystery objects - copies of originals.  They are about 5 inches long.  No one knows what they are for - being so thin in proportion to their width they are far too brittle for chisels.  You will have to take my word for it, but they are incredibly difficult to make.  So, my theory is that the originals were made by someone just showing off how skilled they were (which I why I wanted to copy them, of course!)