just saying hello

Hi, all I've just registered on this forum, I'm 71 and can still fight an ape!. My interests are anything nature oriented, hunting fishing bushcraft archery hence my interest in flint/slag glass knapping I'm in the middle of making my tools based on Ishi, but using copper. Having trouble finding hammer stones cant find any!. I've been researching knapping on you tube for weeks now and I just know this is for me. I would like to know where I can get slag glass if anyone can help. That's it Oh by the way if the apes still standing after 2 hits I'M DEAD.

Welcome to the forum - not sure about Slag glass, is this large lumps of waste you are after? - if so last i saw was in scotland lining the side of b and b drive the umps were about 1ft round - just wish i had snaffled some now.

it's foundry sand  used in making moulds, it usually turns to a glass after firing, the moulded item is broken out and the slag glass is thrown, road building uses tons of it as hardcore but it seems it cant be got in the quantities knappers would use. Thankyou for your welcome. I was hoping someone on here would be able to help

bodger wrote:it's foundry sand  used in making moulds, it usually turns to a glass after firing, the moulded item is broken out and the slag glass is thrown, road building uses tons of it as hardcore but it seems it cant be got in the quantities knappers would use. Thankyou for your welcome. I was hoping someone on here would be able to help

The ox is slow but the earth is patient

bodger wrote:Hi, all I've just registered on this forum, I'm 71 and can still fight an ape!. My interests are anything nature oriented, hunting fishing bushcraft archery hence my interest in flint/slag glass knapping I'm in the middle of making my tools based on Ishi, but using copper. Having trouble finding hammer stones cant find any!. I've been researching knapping on you tube for weeks now and I just know this is for me. I would like to know where I can get slag glass if anyone can help. That's it Oh by the way if the apes still standing after 2 hits I'M DEAD.

The ox is slow but the earth is patient

Hi,

I got some slag glass from a landfill once but don't know where you would get it. Another source of glass is old TV screens, just tell everyone you know if they are disposing of and old TV you will take it off their hands. I've got given several TVs this way. Other options are 8mm thick glass bathroom tiles from Ebay and those cheap Chinese 2 for a pound magnifying glasses.

Thanks Grendel, you must be the guy on you tube with his stock pile. I am really interested in the foundry stuff it seems stoneage, I know about knappable glass but that foundry stuff looks ancient if you know where I'm coming from. It sounds as though I,m a knapper the truth is I've not even begun yet, but I do know what I'd like to achieve. I guess I'll step up the scavenging!!. I will do glass though as it is a good learning curve. Thank you

i wouldnt of thought a flint sourse would of been to far from you?

That's right, And if I was looking for flint I wouldn't need to ask about foundry slag glass, but as I particularly want slag glass I thought it would be a good idea to ask on this forum for slag glass hope my SUBLIMINAL message hit. Thank you barnacle but I'm looking for slag glass.

Just re-read my reply to you barnacle, and thought you may be offended, I do hope not as it's offered as humour I wouldn't dream of offending a "Knap Meister" especially as I will need your guidance in the near future!, talk about shooting your myself in the foot.

Hello Bodger, is it the swirly green opaque slag glass your after? I've seen small pieces used as hard core on some path ways, though it tends to be full of small bubbles.
I've spent some time knapping glass but usually thick slabs as you can see from my avatar.

Just thought, John C. Whittaker wrote about running knapping lessons in the US using Molybdenum slag as a substitute for obsidian, also you could have a search for "glassy blast furnace slag" and see what comes up. Hope this helps.

I just did a search "glass making factory UK" in google, there are several factories making glass around the country, maybe their rubbish bins  have some.

If I was a beginner I'd still get a few magnifying glasses, glass tiles or beer bottle bottoms to practice on before I went into the slag, as spalling it into thin pieces to knap is a skill in it's own right and can take an awful long time and waste a lot of material before you get anything to knap. Practicing spalling on flint is also a good idea so you don't waste any slag glass you get while learning. 

Here in the midlands alot of industy produced slag and i often find lumps in the fields and see garden walls built from it, i have some myself in a wall in the garden - i will keep my eye out for some now i know what you are looking for.

Thankyou everyone, perhaps I should avoid slag glass I didn't know it had air bubbles etc I thought it was solid and easily knapped, I saw some on you tube a uk guy who said it was pretty good, so being me I jumped off at a tangent into dreamworld.  Thank's barnacle I originate from leam/spa fords was just up the road there and the slag was everywhere!!.

The guy on youtube with the slag glass was me. That lot had no bubbles and knapped well. I found a single lump on the river bank once and it knapped poorly due to bubbles but my experience with slag glass has been positive, so far.

Thank's Grendel nice points, I will now renew my search, I've tried google for foundry's in Hampshire, no luck!! trouble is I don't drive so cant get to landfill or other places. Keep on keeping on.