Description
Please note as our agatized coral options have changed: Coral is getting much tougher to get. The best locations for this rock are over time being turned into housing developments and shopping centers. In fact, those construction sites are where large quantities of coral come from but the foundations are in and there’s no certainty of availability of a future coral supply. We have shifted gears a bit to offer the best rock possible to our customers. Some knappers have a tough time with abstract nature of coral so we have decided to skin all the cortex and work through 90% of all the tough spots here in the HuntPrimitive shop. This of course increases the labor costs, but guarantees a very high quality of stone with very little waste on your end.
These flat rate boxes of heated treated spalls and/or flakes of Agatized coral are ready to work upon arrival. Agatized Coral is essentially million+ year old coral heads from when Florida was a shallow sea. Over time, silica replaced the organics and now we have some really nice rock as a result that breaks sharp and clean once heat treated. There is a ton of work that goes into finding, spalling and heating coral, but the end result is very worth it. It knaps pretty well once heat treated, but I still consider it better for the intermediate or skilled knapper as some of the pieces are a bit abstract and require greater skill to thin down. you have your choice of white only, colorful only, or a 50/50 mix of both.
Understanding Coral: Before heat treating, often times the rocks look quite grainy, rough or drab. Once heat treated, the rock quality and color improves significantly, but the outside appearance remains the same. It is only once you create a fresh break does is reveal its true color and new slick texture. In the sample shown below, you can see where a flake has been removed to reveal the much better rock that is inside.