Knapping Porcelain

I've heard sinks and toilets make knapping material, but never seen it till now. So a visit to the local rubbish dump or a nearby neighbours skip may yield some material.

Here's a guy working a large lump, it looks pretty knappable. Make you wonder how a porcelain plate would knap.

I would love to get my hands on some big old insulators.

Old porcelain plates are good for small arrowheads and I'm on the lookout for scapped toilet tanks, they are quite flat and fairly thick. The yanks call this stuff Johnstone!

Pocelain is a bit powdery, so start off much wider than you would do normally. It's like knapping an Trebor extra stong mint!

I found an avocado toilet cistern in a skip, and got some funny looks as I dragged it out and into the back of my car.

Biggest problem I have is removing all of that lurverly coloured glaze.

i have had to resist taking old toilets home from junk yards - the GF has enough trouble understanding all the junk i collect, if she turned up and found i'd wombled a bog and proke it into bits in the outhouse i really dont think i'd ever get laid again.

and that just wouldnt do

oh, and i have seen plenty of johnstone around too - the scrap yard at work is a major draw for me - we have a blacksmith who is a born hoarder and recycler, it's worth working there for that alone!

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This little Desert side notch arrowhead was once part of a pocelain plate! It was pressure flaked down from a triangular sherd.

very nice - does it take a good edge?

I wouldn't mind having a go, but what plate to buy. Are general plate made of porcelain of do I have to look out for anything special.

Any pocelain plate will do, check out your local charity shop and look on the base for the mention of porcelian!

The edge is kind of sharp, I think it would do the job if used.

Having sliced my finger on a shard when I was knapping a lump of the avocado cistern, yes it does have a bit of an edge.

I don't think the edge would last any time, but arrowheads made out of porcelain would be effective.