Talk:Flint

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Flint in north america

Flint occurs quite often in North America. Do we have a source for that comment?

Do we need one? The American indians seemed to have little trouble finding it - 90 percent of their arrowheads are flint, at least in the northeast US. I used to live near the Onandaga limestone outcrop, and flint was as hard to find as sand at the beach. PAR 15:46, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There is a park in Ohio, near Neward, called Flint Ridge where american indians mined flint. The pits are still in existence. I'm also aware of Indians mining flint in Wisconson, but don't know the exact site. A link to an Ohio website on this follows: http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/flint/

Composition

In the explanation of how it works, the steel is burning, but I know different. Try heating flint from a lighter with another lighter. Throw it down on concrete. No steel, yet it burns, so the flint is burning by itself. Perhaps it is incompletely oxidized Silica. IOW, Si²⁺ becomes Si⁴⁺. I had speculated that it was Iron Phosphide. Thanks for filling me in. I wonder if Iron stabilizes flint. Brewhaha@edmc.net 11:07, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Modern "flints" aren't flint. They are Ferrocerium. The flint/steel roles are reversed. True flint (from the ground) doesn't burn, Ferrocerium does. -- 21:41, 27 August 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.33.121.200 (talk)

When flint is struck against flint it still produces a spark. --84.92.184.12 00:56, 10 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, all you need to do is throw a flint pebble on brighton beach at night to prove that it sparks. 81.102.245.79 23:24, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Image

Anyone noticed that the image of the flint walling in england is on it's side? no-one ever lays flint, or brick for that matter, vertically. 81.102.245.79 23:24, 4 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Flint Composition

Last time I checked, flint wasn't a form of quartz. Where did they get this from?81.145.240.137 (talk) 16:41, 30 March 2008 (UTC)Lance Tyrell[reply]

Just added a couple references for you. Vsmith (talk) 19:03, 30 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Usage

Erroneous or not, the term "flint" is used by British potters (Hamer and Hamer, 2004), as well as American (Rhodes, 1969, reprinted). - Marshall46 (talk) 21:23, 9 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No the term is not used by British potters. However yet again the underlying flaw of Wikipedia is demonstrated: just because a reference can be found then it can be put into an entry irrespective of it being correct or not. (The Hamer & Hamer book is full of errors.) I have modified the article, not because the British use of "flint" is correct but because a reference has been found to this erroneous useage, and one which is not used in the UK (and if it is, it is both rare and incorrect) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.222.172 (talk) 03:18, 10 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This is a discussion about words, not things, not about whether British potters use the material flint, but whether they use the word "flint" to describe a material they employ. They may use the word correctly, they may use it wrongly, but we are trying to find out whether or not they use the word. In order to do that, we simply have to find examples of its use. I have given one example. Here are two more: S.Murfitt, "The Glaze Book", Thames and Hudson, 2002, p.15 and M.Wondrausch "On Slipware", A&C Black, 2001, p.37. You might also like to check the online catalogues of Potclays and Potterycrafts, both of whom include a material which they describe as "flint". So I think that establishes the fact that the word is in common use among potters in Britain.

Incidentally, I would be interested to know what is the material that they erroneously describe as flint? It sounds as if you have some expertise there.

If you would like to become a regular contributor to Wikipedia, do think about creating a Wikipedia:User page. It's also helpful to other editors if you sign your contributions. Marshall46 (talk) 09:29, 10 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Having worked in the British Ceramics industry for many years I can assure you that both flint is no longer used and the use of the word for other fillers is exceptionally rare: I would saw unknown but occasional examples may be found. I also note that your finding of a couple of uses of the word (although no description of what the material is or when or how it is used has been given) can not support the claim of "facts" and "common." My edit, which you reverted, acknowledged there may still be some people who use this out of date terminology. I will modify the article to both reflect the use in the UK & US, and give supporting references.

"Flint is a microcrystalline variety of silica obtained chiefly from France and England ... It is prepared for use by calcination and grinding ... Flint is the term commonly used by the American ceramist to designate the raw material used to introduce free silica in glaze batches, irrespective of the mineralogical nature of the raw material." Ceramic Glazes. 3rd edition. Parmelee C. W. The Maple Press Company. 1973.
"Flint - odular chalcedonic silica from the chalk deposits of W Europe and elsewhere. These flint pebbles are calcined and ground for use in earthenware and tile bodies. In the USA the term 'flint' is often applied to other finely ground high-silica rocks used in whiteware manufacture." Dictionary of Ceramics. 3rd edition. Dodd A. The Institute of Materials. 1994.
""Flint has traditionally been used in the UK ... Prior to milling flint is calcined" & "Manufacturers have now changed to quartz" & "Quartz from the Cheshire Plain and The Staffordshire Moorlands are extensively used by the UK whitewares industry." Changes & Developments Of Non-plastic Raw Materials. Sugden A. International Ceramics Issue 2 2001. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.222.172 (talk) 16:30, 10 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You didn't use to edit under the name of Theriac, did you? Marshall46 (talk) 17:41, 10 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, I didn't. Why do you ask? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.81.245 (talk) 18:40, 10 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have made this change: "the word 'flint' is now ~~erroneously~~ sometimes used". Wikipedia reports usage, it doesn't judge it. Marshall46 (talk) 09:27, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Changing just the word erroneously made it harder to understand; hopefully what I changed it to helps. 69.148.26.227 (talk) 04:09, 29 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have simplified that sentence and removed "misused". How can a word be "misused"? If it is used in a particular way, that is the way it is used. Wikipedia reports usage, it doesn't judge it. Marshall46 (talk) 09:30, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

But you have corrupted what is given in the references, which is surely editorilizing and hence you are not reporting usage. The use of "flint" for quartz fillers is inaccurate to what flint is, and hence the subject of this article. Wording that is accurate to both the references and the useage needs to be chosen, and the latter includes that what some, almost exclusively US potters, call flint and which is not actually flint. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.126.226.253 (talk) 09:14, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot understand your comment, but the point remains that potters in the English-speaking world still use the word "flint" for one of their materials and potters' suppliers still sell a product they call "flint". Marshall46 (talk) 11:05, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My point was that your description was not accurate to the reference. The important fact is what some US potters call flint is not flint. And this usage is nearly exclusive to the US. Also, the English speaking world is very big and many of us know the difference between flint, quartz, cristobalite, tridymite, silica, calcined flint etc, etc. :-)