Stone tools 1: Primitive limestone hatchets / axes 🪨
Channel: Make It Primitive
Date: 2020-03-30

I experimented a bit with making tools from limestone slabs. This is the same material that I used in my previous video, where I used it to build a potter's wheel:

⇨ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ItcRPNau4

To a certain degree, these slabs can be knapped like flint, even though limestone is of course much softer. I built two hatchets this way and tested one as it was after knapping, while the other was ground on a piece of sandstone. A piece broke off the un-ground hatchet, but that was likely due to a weakness in the slab. The raw edge chipped a lot more, the ground edge held up better.

Conclusion: Knapped edges made from this type of limestone get the job done in a pinch, but don't expect them to last very long. On the plus side, they don't take long to make and to resharpen. Grinding requires a suitable grindstone and a bit more time, but the edge will live longer.