Norfolk quarries (Needham chalks) latest info.

So I took an trip to Castle Acre today. Notices up that all their flint sales will now only be from their Caistor quarry. They're moving all their flint from their quarries there. Luckily it hadn't all been taken yet so I managed a car load. Though initially they wanted me to go over to Caistor.
Pricing. They had me go in over the weigh bridge. I loaded up 280kg and they priced it at £131! Had to put some back as I didnt have that much cash. Left with 180kg for £80.
Pricing for their whole nodules is now £500 per ton! Even the pebble size pieces are going at £190 per ton.
Just a heads up for anyone planning a visit.

Short video of the largest piece I picked up with the rest of my haul in the background. https://youtu.be/QZE8uDFnDms

That's interesting to know, than. Castle Acre used to be where they  took all the flint from other quarries. Some nice looking flint you go. The look like it came from Essex, the Castle  Acre and Caister stuff is chalky. From you other vid, the quarry hasn't changed, it has 5 times the flint of Caister.

that is interesting and i know they query it but hate paying for flint,

Thank you very much for putting this information on here. 

I eventually decided that my beginners knapping would get better if I actually had a quantity of good flint to break instead of making sporadic visits to drive byways across fairly local (wiltshire) chalk fields, scrounging relatively small poor quality nodules, coming back home, smashing it all up in short order, thinking I will never get any better, then not getting round to going out again for months. 

So I drove to Caistor and bought what Rob weighed as "about half a ton" for £160 cash. (Would have bought more but the kids had managed to get very hot and cut themselves playing on heaps of flint in the baking sun and I thought my wife's patience had better be congratulated rather than mourned). 

The difference is night and day. I am not now miraculously a good knapper now but the flint is predictable so my errors are clear. I have also successfully made better things from the Caistor flint in just a week, than I have from the local flint in about 3 years of collecting a few nodules of mixed quality, smashing them up and then not going out to get more for many months.  

The nearly 4 hour drive both ways was worth it! As was the advice to ask to see the flint round the back. 

I would be interested to know what experts think is the difference between the "white" flint and the "brown" flint. I got both types.

Thanks

wow half a ton, that should keep you busy for a while - have you any pictures of the flint? and your Knapping

Hello Barnacle, would be happy to post pictures -would love to get some tips for improvement- but how? Do I have to click I want to "host a picture". Not sure what this means so I didn't do it. Is there a size limit? When it comes to technology I am still somewhat primitive I am afraid.

hi just testing with this pic as i know some settings recently changed, 

host  an image. 
select file - my pic is 500pxl x 600. 
send (Blue Square with arrow and line under)- 
copy the second link and paste to the thread.




This Arrow was made by a member on here but not me unfortunately

Thanks Barnacle. Here are some arrow heads I have made form the flint. As you can see I have a long way to go in learning to knap. I was experimenting with trying to copy some of the styles of Saharan points I have and I was trying out some different ideas for sharpening.

It interesting because I did not think of the flint as having so many imperfections (the white on the third one up on the left hand side is cortex but all the other lighter patches are less good quality flint) but the arrowheads must, I presume, be a reasonable cross section of what I have broken. Still its miles better than the stuff I was scrounging off field edges. Got loads left too. There is some lovely flint in the brown nodules but it is often on the outside of a nodule and poorer material in the middle. I imagine I would choose slightly better stuff another time.

I would be really grateful of any tips you have to pass on. I am trying to learn to make sharper points (I hope there is some sign of a progression in what I have done! Most of what I did was with copper. I am not very good at getting things sharp with antler I seem to damage a lot of antler when I go down to a small point. For a really sharp true stone age point, I am wondering if I should try deer incisor teeth? Muntjac canines? flint itself? I know a lot of good American guys make sharp serrated points and I have some Saharan ones like that but not many. From what I have, I wonder if it was not the choice for a last sharpen of an old point? Big serrations seem a bit of an easy dodge. Anyone can make a serrated thing cut but no one cuts meat with a saw by choice.

Some nice arrowheads there. 

That Caistor flint, the white stuff is good stuff, full of nasty stuff inside but that nasty stuff knaps unlike with other flint, the brown stuff only really works if you have a good quality nodule.

 I usually sharpen by really thinning the edges quite a way back, then creating very tiny serrations with a notcher with soft steel nail in it.