Obsidian or Absurdium ?

[Colonel26]

I love this stuff. Great information guys.

[orvet]

Roland,
That point of yours does not look like any obsidian I have ever seen. I have never seen magnetic obsidian, at least not here in Oregon. I’m not sure there is such a thing but I’m no expert.

The edge on yours does not look like obsidian to me. It looks different than any obsidian I have ever seen. I don’t have any good examples of arrowheads but I happened to remember some broken chips of obsidian points I run across the other day in my shop. These are little pieces of arrowheads that someone has found.

The picture is lousy, at 4 AM I’m not going to set up a perfect environment to shoot a picture, but I think you can see that the edge of obsidian is rather jagged and can be extremely thin. There is at least one piece here that is translucent enough that you can see through the edge.

I should have put something in the picture for scale. Suffice it to say all those chips will sit on a Quarter.

Someone mentioned using obsidian in surgery, because of the incredibly fine sharp edge that is achievable with obsidian I understand it has been used in microsurgery. I think the article I read said they use it in some sort of surgery around the eye. Maybe it was a cornea transplant, I can’t remember now, but they do use it surgically because it gets so incredibly sharp and the edge can be very thin.

[CheckSix]

A long time ago, I majored in Geology. I've forgotten a lot though. I Googled magnetic properties of Chert and came up with this...
Apparently, some regions of this mineral have magnetic properties...
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/ ... 00035/full

[kootenay joe]

Dave there is no mention of strength of magnetism that can be found in chert. I think they are using devices that detect very low levels of magnetism and the degree of magnetism is too low for a magnet to adhere. Do you think this is a correct reading of the article ?
kj

[CheckSix]

My point was, If there is enough magnetite or hematite in the chert/flint, it may be enough for a magnet to be attracted to. This is my idea to explain the knapped blade you have.

[kootenay joe]

Yes, i do understand that, but this blade is strongly magnetic, able to get a small magnet to jump up 1-2" to stick to it.
My question is: could chert contain enough magnetite or hematite to be this magnetic and still be a chert ? Or: do trace amounts of these 2 substances cause an intense magnetism ?
I just tried filing the edge as suggested in an earlier post. The blade is extremely hard. After a few minutes of filing one small area, i have exposed a tiny spot of shiny appearance. If metal it is: heavy, hard & strongly magnetic.
What i now realize is that regardless of blade composition this is a real dagger with lethal ability. The edges are about as sharp as a regular dagger, i.e. not shaving sharp, it is the pointy tip that gives a dagger the ability to puncture & penetrate. Shaving sharp edges are not needed for it's function and are difficult to obtain given the blade geometry.
Knowing that it is better than just a 'tourist item' class of knife helps me accept it, even without knowing what the blade is made of.
kj

[CheckSix]

Your knapped blade that attracts a magnet, may have just enough Iron in it, for this to happen. Try the other way around, take a steel bottle cap for example, that the magnet will pick up and see if your knapped blade will do the same. If it doesn't, then it is just high enough in Iron content, for the magnet to be attracted to it.

[kootenay joe]

I'm away from my knives for a few days but when i get back i will do the experiment as you suggest and post the results (~ 5 days).
kj

[terryl308]

kJ, could your knapped point be made out of meteorite? Can't believe anyone would use it because of the cost but I believe it is magnetic. Terry

[Dinadan]

Since it attracts a magnet quite strongly I still think it is most like a steel knife made to look like stone. Here is an example of one from Sage Blades. Not quite as convincing as Joe's knife since it has bee sharpened.

[kootenay joe]

Mel, i'm away from my knives right now but i think you are correct. I had expected it to be a 'pot metal' with plenty of lead because it is heavy. But lead is soft and my blade seems very hard when i try to file it. Do you have an idea as to what metal it might be ?
kj

[orvet]

This is quite interesting.
I will have to see if I can find a picture of a David Yellow Horse knife I sold several years ago. It had a steel blade that was made to look like it had been napped.

[knife7knut]

I would think that a pretty credible representation of a knapped knife could be created in steel much the same as jigging a bone handle.Using a die grinder(or maybe even a drill press)with a ball mill cutter before the blade is heat treated would be a fairly easy thing to do.Getting the steel to look translucent is something else entirely.
Here is my only knapped knife I bought off e-bay for $15 awhile back.Not sure what the handle is;maybe a raccoon jaw.

[orvet]

Here is the picture of the Yellowhorse I had.
It was made by Brian Yellowhorse, not by David.

As I recall he called it Native Steel.

[kootenay joe]

Dale is the blade steel with transverse grooves cut into it ? Or ??
kj

[orvet]

I think so. It is definately steel.

[Sut Tatersaul]

Hi, All:
This thread reminds me of a long forgotten knife type, that I always wanted to acquire. I always wanted a complete knife, made from knapped flint, or obsidian. I have watched flint knappers in many parts of the USA, and Alaska, making knife blades, spear & arrow points, and other tools, and was amazed at their skills, and vowed to someday get a complete knife made, to complete my meager collection of Indian artifacts. Well, as so many plans do, that one fell by the wayside, and now that I'm too old to follow through with having a knife made, I'd still like to have one made. Any suggestions on what maker would be the best to deal with? Thanks.
Sut Tatersaul

[Sut Tatersaul]

Is the Kenny Hull mentioned on this forum still making flint, and obsidian knives? I would like to have one made, but can't seem to find information on Kenny Hall, mentioned on this forum. Anyone know how to get in touch with him? Help needed for this old block headed "poop". Thanks.
Sut Tatersaul

[kootenay joe]

Sut, go to ebay.com and search "obsidian" and it will bring up knives similar to mine and said to be made by "Kenny Hull".
kj