Flintknapping With Dr Bruce Bradley

I have always found flintknapping interesting. Frankly, I have a love for prehistoric history and really wanted to try it. Now, I have some books on it, and they do a good job of explaining the whole process. But images and drawings only go so far in explaining angles and stone preparation. So after buying a basic flintknapping kit I wanted more information before trying it. The DVD really helped bring the information together. It went from theory on the pages to fact as I watched Mr. Bruce Bradley shape the flint right in front of me.Yes, after watching this DVD I did some flintknapping of my own. Practice really, but his DVD really did help me get an idea of how theory met the real world of judging, preparing and shaping the stone.Now, I would suggest making sure to wear protection, for both your eyes and, yes, your lungs. Flintknapping, unless done in an open area, can be dangerous as you produce tiny flakes that can do damage to...well, just about anything. I would suggest a painter's mask. And make sure to clean up afterwards - I suggest if done inside to put down cardboard or something to catch the flakes. Or outside if the weather is OK.There are websites out there with kits you can buy and extras tools and, yes, pretreated rocks! Enjoy!

This is a very interesting video, showing some surprising techniques for carving flint that I would not have imagined. The video quality is rather poor, but overall it is an engaging video that interested viewers will get a lot out of watching. I would recommend it.

The good doctors takes you through a complete day in the life of a neolithic hunter using his knappingskills on one piece of obsidian from hand-ax to scraper to replaccement point.Worthwhile demo and a broad overview.

Good video on flint knapping. Dr Bradley makes it look much easier than it is. Not very long but he covers all the major aspects of the craft.

I felt like I got hustled by buying this. It lacks any real information about how-to flint knapping.

A few years ago I bought Dr Bradley's DVD of the Solutrean Technology and found his demonstration quite fascinating. However the vid had several dead sound zones once during his chipping on disc 1 and a total sound bomb on disc two after his museum tour of artifacts. If not for the sound problem I'd give this vid a higher rating, but because of the sound loss so can't. Too bad really as it was going well until those above mentioned events.Cliff Owens

This video was not made to teach flintknapping and Bradley runs through the process pretty fast. So don't expect this to be a great instructional video. What this does teach is how our ancestors probably used basic stone tools to hunt. First he shows what tools an early hunter would have carried with him on a hunting trip. In his senario the hunter kills a bison and breaks his spear point. He shows how the hunter would have used a simple stone flake as a blade to skin his bison. He then shows how the edge would have been re-sharpened so it could be used to cut up the meat. Finally he shows how the hunter would have turned this same simple blade into a spear point so he would be armed on his way back to camp. If you have ever found an arrow head and wondered how it was made then you need to watch this video.