Knapping

The original Germanic term knopp meant to strike, shape, or work, so it could theoretically have referred equally well to making statues or dice.

The factors that contribute to the knapping results are varied, but the EPA (exterior platform angle) indeed influences many attributes, such as length, thickness and termination of flakes.

These "soft hammer" techniques also produce longer, thinner flakes, potentially allowing for material conservation or a lighter lithic tool kit to be carried by mobile societies.

Knapping gun flints, used by flintlock firearms was formerly a major industry in flint-bearing locations, such as Brandon in Suffolk, England, and the small towns of Meusnes and Couffy in France.

Knapping for building purposes is still a skill that is practiced in the flint-bearing regions of southern England, such as Sussex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and in northern France, especially Brittany and Normandy, where there is a resurgence of the craft due to government funding.

[3][6] However, it is unclear how severe the issue may actually have been in prehistoric working conditions, as silicosis is aggravated by a lack of ventilation and the use of metal tools which produce more dust.

Ancient knappers, working in the open air and with stone and bone tools, would have had less prolonged exposure to dust than in more modern workshops.

[8] Modern knappers are advised to work in the open air to reduce the dust hazard, and to wear eye and hand protection.

[6] A 2020 survey of 173 knappers found that 86% used eye protection, 57% wore gloves, and only 5% used a respirator, mask, or fan to control dust (although 68% preferred to knap outdoors).

François Bordes was an early writer on Old World knapping; he experimented with ways to replicate stone tools found across Western Europe.

English archaeologist Phil Harding is another contemporary expert, whose exposure on the television series Time Team has led to him being a familiar figure in the UK and beyond.