I was helping one of my daughters with some research on ancient people of the Americas.

I became intrigued by the weaponry and tools of the Aztecs. We got a little sidetracked, but it was all interesting. During a search we found a lot of info about obsidian knives.

There's even a bunch of articles as to why the obsidian blades - though they were stronger than the Toledo steel blades - didn't help the Aztecs when fighting the Spaniards.

There weren't a lot of pictures to be found. But some very interesting articles.

The Aztec sacrificial knifes had a basic shape this was what looked like a little man squatting holding the blade which was usually made out of obsidian, a glass like element retrieved from volcanic rock. The knives were extremely elaborate and usually made of ivory or wood. The knives themselves were kept by priests; it was them who later preformed the sacrifice.

http://www.centercross.com/forumpics/azobsbl.gif

Corning Museum on Glass (http://www.cmog.org/page.cfm?page=278)
University of Houston article (http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1086.htm)
Obsidian (http://www.pacaritambo.com/gems.html)

Pat,

There is a large group of people doing that style of knives still. I think there are even a couple that either match or exceed the abilities of the old masters. You can find a wealth of information by doing a search on flintknapping. I did this for a while, but stopped for the time being when my kids came along. Little kids running around and chips laying around with a molecular edge just didn't mix. I still have all my equipment (moose antler billet, deer and copper points, quartz hammerstone, etc) and as soon as my kids grow a little bigger I will probably start again.

This is a very rewarding hobby, probably along the lines of what a lot of people feel making the steel knives from scratch. It gets really fun when you search out the material, flake of a blade from a core, and then knapp that down into a finished piece of work.

This makes me miss it:( :( But for now I am focusing on learning the art of steel knives, and how to do everything with them. I am eager to get to the point where I learn forging and move onto doing some of what Jonathan Loose is talking about with smelting.

--Carl

Hey Pat,

That is very interesting! It's easy to forget that flint was used up until pretty recently in the Americas. I understand they even had wooden swords with obsidian chips for edges.

Replicas prove to be pretty useful but no match for muskets, cannons, smallpox and steel!

Which reminds me about the Pacific Islander's use of sharkteeth for a similar weapon...

I knew this forum would make me want to learn a bunch of new stuff.

Carl,

Flintknapping is intriguing stuff. I have a student who paid me in some big chunks of obsidian from Oregon. They're still waiting for the right project to come along.


However, blades of the Aztecs swords, made of obsidian, were sharper than steel. They could behead a horse.

-http://www.cmog.org/page.cfm?page=278


Maybe I'll have to make a macuahuitl!

Jonathon,

While doing the flintknapping, I read quite a bit about the weapons that were made using flint or obsidian. The aztec swords were basically clubs that had the obsidian shards attache to the front edge with a pitch glue. From all accounts they were very deadly. They also made darts for a wonderful weapon called the atlatl that was deadly to far greater ranges than the muskets of the spanish (reports of 100-150yard accuracy) and able to punch through the armour that the spanish wore. From my readings, if it wasn't for the smallpox, Cortez would have been stopped early and easily.

Flintknapping is really fun, and a great way to hook into some primitive history for all of us. However, be careful, it is addictive, and if you read the books that say the number one tool to have on hand is a well stocked first aid kit, believe them, I have the scars to prove it:D. Also, Oregon produces some of the best obsidian you could hope for. If it is some of the better stuff you could probably sell it fairly easily if you don't find a use for it.

Speaking of new materials, I just picked up a mammoth tusk for some of my handles. I am looking at a lot of knife making before I use it up:D :D :D

--Carl