How to find and identify flint

Flint has been popular amongst hunter-gatherers since they first discovered it could be used to make fire. How to find and identify flint was one of the most important skills our ancestors had to learn, being utilized by ancient people who used it to make tools and weapons, plus it was the source of ignition for the flintlock muskets firing mechanism, but what exactly is it and where can you find some?

Flint is actually a type of quartz rock and is formed naturally within sedimentary rocks such as chalk and limestone. It’s a very common mineral and can be found all around the world in any area where sedimentary rock can be found, but isn’t exclusively limited to these locations.

It comes in various different colors including white, black, brown and even a dark shade of green, so how can you tell if its flint if the color changes so much?. Here’s a few things to look for to find out if it’s a piece of flint you’re holding or just a useless rock.

Where to look for Flint

It is most often found near deposits of chalk or limestone but another good place to look is the back of the beach where it meets the land. Often when you find flint it will be covered in a layer of calcium rock like in the picture below, so don’t take everything you see at face value when searching for it. The calcium layer is very weak and falls off easily, but a calcium covering on rock is normally a good indicator that flint may be present.

Surface

The surface of flint should be very smooth and have an almost wax like look to it. If you can find a flat side to it and gently rub it with your finger it should be smooth and not like a low grain sand paper.

Spark

The most important feature about this mineral is its spark. The best way to get a spark from flint is to give it a good clean and then skim it against something hard, preferably a piece of rough metal. If you’re trying to create a spark on another rock with some flint you’ve just found you will have to make numerous strikes to remove any outer oxidized layer before getting to the raw flint.

Sharpness

Since flint is related to Quartz it acts in the same way, with it chipping and shattering as opposed to just cracking into two pieces like a rock. The edges of flint are very sharp and were made into knifes and arrow heads by ancient tribes, so if you’ve found what you believe to be a piece then take another rock and chip an edge away until its as thin as you can get it, if its incredibly sharp and not dull and rounded like normal rock then you’ve got yourself some flint.

The main thing to be careful with when handling this mineral is the last point, it’s very sharp. The edges can be razor sharp if knapped properly and although they chip very easily it will hold its edge until it shatters.

The video below is a good example of how to find flint along the shores of rivers.

How to get a spark from Flint in the wild

It is possible to get a spark by smashing it against a hard type of rock, but the best method is to use something made of metal, which can be extremely difficult to find in the wild. The only real option is to use something called iron pyrite, which is very common but can only easily be found on beaches. This material is actually iron sulfide but is more commonly recognized by the name fools gold, due to it looking similar to gold when found underground.

(A section of cleaned iron pyrite, with a similar color to gold. When found on the beach, they will be a much duller color and almost always come with a layer of thin rock or calcium build-up covering the outside, which needs to be cleaned off before they can be used to make a spark.)

The only way to find this material without digging is on beaches that have an iron deposit nearby, but it is often difficult or impossible to know if there is one without digging around. When found on a beach it will look much different to fools gold, with the image above being a good example. These strange-looking things were believed by various ancient civilizations and hunter-gatherers to be the ends of lightning bolts and were often considered gifts from the gods. They can create a spark on their own when struck by a piece of harder metal, but they are not as effective as flint. When struck with a piece of flint, they create a shower of sparks and make excellent fire starters, but you will need to make numerous hits to clear the oxidized layer from the outside.