Knapping is the shaping of
flint,
chert,
obsidian or other
conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of
lithic reduction to manufacture
stone tools, strikers for
flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and
flushwork decoration. The original Germanic term "knopp" meant strike, shape, or work, so it could theoretically have referred equally well to making a statue or dice. Modern usage is more specific, referring almost exclusively to the hand-tool pressure-flaking process pictured.