Just realized I've been wrong about obsidian tools this whole time

I was talking to a guy from the University of Oregon archaeology lab last week, and he told me that obsidian blades can actually be sharper than surgical steel. He showed me some micrographs of the edges at 500x magnification, and it honestly made me rethink how I view ancient toolmaking. Has anyone else here changed their mind about a material after seeing real evidence?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wren1mo ago

Funny you mention that, I actually ran into the same thing a few years back while I was working on a custom knife for a guy who did flintknapping as a hobby. He brought in an obsidian blade he'd made and let me test it against some cheap box cutters and even a scalpel. That obsidian edge sliced through leather like it was wet paper, no drag at all. The catch is it's brittle as hell, so you'd never use it for heavy work unless you enjoy replacing your blade every five minutes. Have you tried one of those micrographs yourself or is that just what the lab guy showed you?

johnson.paul1mo ago

Ha, nah I just saw the micrograph online and figured that was enough SCIENCE for me. Though I bet that obsidian blade would make a GREAT letter opener if you don't mind it shattering every time you get a Junk Mail.