I finally stopped cleaning my stone tools wrong after a field school mishap

I spent like 5 years scrubbing my flint scrapers under running water with a regular brush. I thought I was being thorough getting all the dirt off. Then during a dig near Waco in 2022, the field director walked over and asked why I was ruining my edges. She showed me how the water pressure actually micro-fractures the flake scars over time, especially on softer chert. Now I use a dry boar bristle brush and only blow off loose dust. My tools actually hold an edge for weeks instead of days now. Has anyone else accidentally wrecked their finds by cleaning them too aggressively?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_knight3924d ago

Honestly, I'm not totally sold on this being that big of a deal. Tbh, I've been scrubbing my points under the tap for like ten years and my edges still cut just fine. Maybe it depends on the type of chert you're working with, because I've never seen any micro-fractures on my stuff. Ngl, sounds more like that field director was just trying to make you feel bad for wasting water or something.

riley_coleman824d ago

@gavin_knight39 you might be getting lucky with tougher chert but softer stuff definitely shows wear over time. Drier cleaning is a game changer once you see the difference side by side.