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Originally Posted by pdurrant
Good grief! I knew security was lax, but they aren't checking for non-metalic sharp objects?
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A security guard once looked at it when he felt it in a 'pat down' at the Aquino Airport in Manila. But that's all he did... he looked at it and disregarded it! I put it back in my pocket and proceeded to board. I must say though that the security at that airport was the most stringent I've ever encountered. Three separate pat-downs and metal detector screening before you even get to the gate area. Then one more very careful inspection of the contents of every pocket in your clothing and carry-on. So at least four different security people saw the flint, but only one actually picked it up and looked at it, then gave it back to me.
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BTW, a terrible bit of flint in that picture. It looked like it has been on the surface for a long while. Good flint is smooth and dark. (I'm about 30 miles from a Neolithic flint mine. There's a lot of flint in Norfolk!)
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I'm a long-time flint knapper. (I want to be ready for the next ice age. I'll be the only one on my block who knows how to knap spear points and arrowheads and I'll be able to corner the market!) There are many different types of flint, and depending upon the region from which it came, the color can vary from pitch black to pure white, with all sorts of colors in between. But you're correct in that 'flint' should be smooth. Actually, almost glassy smooth. There were several other 'cherts' used for knapping and they are commonly referred to as flint, but correctly they would be jasper, obsidian, etc. The Norfolk flint is a 'true' flint, found in a chalk matrix. For knapping it really needs to be baked a bit, but once baked, it's easy to work with. I wish I was there to bring home a few hundred pounds of the stuff!
Stitchawl