Creating a knife using iron bacteria

[chenille]

@teknocholer

Whatever the result, the process is obviously extremely tedious, all to produce a knife inferior to one that an experienced flint knapper could turn out in minutes. As you say, the practical use of iron had to wait for a higher level of technology, with bronze as an intermediate step.

Hmm. There are people who skipped it though. The Beothuks used iron arrowheads and tools…made by a process a lot like yours, taking nails left behind by Europeans and reworking them. For whatever reason they ended up replacing stone versions; the Newfoundland heritage site at least mentions the advantage that they were easier to resharpen.