Knapping is the shaping of
flint,
chert,
obsidian or other
Conchoidal fracture stone through the process of
lithic reduction to manufacture
stone tools, strikers for
flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and
flushwork decoration.
Knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final product. For stone tools and flintlock strikers chert is worked using a fabricator, such as a hammerstone, to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. Stone tools can then be further refined using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking.
For building work a hammer or pick is used to split chert nodules supported on the lap. Often the chert nodule will be split in half to create two cherts with a flat circular face for use in walls constructed of lime. More sophisticated knapping is employed to produce almost perfect cubes which are used as bricks.
There are many different methods of shaping stone into useful tools. Early knappers could have used simple hammers made of wood or antler to shape stone tools.
