Flint-Knapping Course

During this course you will be learning the various techniques and skills our pre-historic ancestors required to detach flakes from sharp stone so arrowheads, knives and other tools could be produced.
During this course you will be fashioning flakes removed from a "core" into arrowheads. Although this course is very hands-on, a fair bit of science is covered to give you the ultimate understanding of how and why it works, so you will be able to take this skill home to perfect.
We focus mainly on the Òpressure flakingÓ technique, as it enables you to practise the science most accurately. You will then be able to take the lessons learned from pressure flaking and use them to detach larger flakes using direct or indirect percussion (techniques which will also be explained and demonstrated)
We will serve you lunch in the form of bread, butter, ham, cheese, jams and other spreads. We will make sure there are plenty of hot and cold drinks available for you throughout the day. If you attend an evening course instead, coffee or tea will be provided.
The day-course is taught from our specialized course-site or in Ballynahinch co Down.
This course is often also offered as a weekend course. In that case, the course is spread over 5 evenings, each 3 hours long. The benefits of attending the evening course over the day-course are that you get more hours in total and you get to immerse yourself over a period of time allowing a learning curve with practise in between at home. The downside is that you would commit to 5 sessions.
This course does not require you to have a lot of equipment available, but below is a list:

Required:
¥ Plate, drinking-mug (Not for evening course)
¥ Notebook and different colour pens
¥ Leather gardening gloves for handling sharp stone
¥ Cloth or other suitable container for bringing home your projects or extra flakes

Recommended:

¥ Camera
¥ Some snack food (IE: travel-mix, dried fruits, chocolate)
¥ Cake / biscuits (to ply the instructor with on evening courses)