Primal and modern viewpoints are contrasted to facilitate switching perspectives for full understanding. A short course in detective work helps people find stone suitable for knapping, and it is not always flint. Archaeological quarries can tell us a great deal about how to exploit the stone once it has been located. Only certain kinds of rock can be knapped into tools. Many common types of usable stone are described to show which are knappable.
Some simple tests give useful clues as to the structure, strength, and elasticity of a stone.
You can choose from a wide variety of tools for hammering, punching, pressing, or just holding the work still. The choice of materials from which to make tools depends on the stone to be flaked, or what the knapper is comfortable with. Illustrations show what the tools look like and how they are used. We are more used to breaking things inadvertently than under control. The process of fracture is too complex for a strictly theoretical description to be practical.