flint - Uses

A type of chert, occurring as grey, rounded nodules in chalk or other limestone. It breaks into sharp-edged flakes and hence was used as a Stone Age tool.

For other uses, see Flint (disambiguation).

Flint (or flintstone) is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline silicate form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chalcedony.

The exact mode of formation of flint is not yet clear or agreed but it is thought that it occurs as a result of chemical changes in compressed sedimentary rock formations, during the process of diagenesis.

Uses

In Europe, some of the best toolmaking flint has come from Belgium (Obourg, flint mines of Spiennes), the coastal chalks of the English Channel, the Paris Basin, the Sennonian deposits of Rügen, Grimes Graves in England and the Jurassic deposits of the Kraków-area in Poland. Flint mining is attested since the Palaeolithic, but became more common since the Neolithic (Michelsberg culture, Funnelbeaker culture).

One of the most commonly used materials for the manufacture of stone tools during the Stone Age, as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades (depending in the shape) when struck by another hard object (such as a hammerstone made of another material). When struck against steel, flint will produce sparks, which when directed onto tinder, can be used to start a fire. This occurs when the hard flint knocks off a particle of the steel, which is heated by the impact, and then burns with oxygen from the atmosphere. Striking a lump of flint against a piece of steel to make fire is not particularly easy or convenient (although it is much easier than other primitive fire-making methods such as using a bow and drill). Starting a fire with flint is a staple of scouting lore. Flint was used extensively from the 13th century until the present day as a material for building stone walls, especially in parts of England. In chalky coastal areas of England flint has also been used as a building and walling material, predating the common use of bricks but laid in a similar manner, using lime mortar. For instance, flint was used in the construction of many churches and other buildings in East Anglia. Flint pebbles are used as the media in ball mills to grind glazes and other raw materials for the ceramics industry. In England flint pebbles were traditionally an important raw material for clay based ceramic bodies; after high temperature treatment, to remove organic impurites and induce certain physical reactions, calcined flint performed a similar role to quartz sand used in other countries, i.e. Because of this historical use American potters now, erroneously, refer to all siliceous fillers as flint.