to chip with

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An excerpt from Stig of the DumpHe's going to sharpen the knife, thought Barney.  But no, it seemed more as if he was sharpening the stone.  Using the hard knife to chip with, Stig was carefully flaking tiny splinters off the edge of the flint, until he had a thin sharp blade.  Then he....cut through the creeper that tied Barney's feet.1.  It says using the hard knife to chip with, meaning to chip the stone with the knife?2.  Which of it, the stone or the knife had a thin sharp blade?3.  What did Stig use to cut loose Barney's feet?Thanks

KrisBlueNZ · Accepted Answer

1. Yes, he used the knife to chip (verb) (or "chip away at") the flint. He used the knife to carefully flake (chip) tiny splinters off the edge of the flint, to make the edge sharp.
2. The flint had the thin sharp blade. Stig was using the knife to chip away at the flint UNTIL he had a thin sharp blade. This implies that the thin sharp blade was forming on the flint, as he chipped away at it, and he stopped chipping away at the flint when the blade he was creating on the flint was sharp enough.
3. The sentence does not state whether Stig used the knife or the sharpened flint to cut the creeper that tied Barney's feet, but it's fair to assume that he used the flint, otherwise there would have been no reason for him to sharpen it. Why didn't he just use the knife, and not worry about sharpening the flint? I don't know. Maybe the previous paragraphs in the story explain this.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Kris,

I was a bit confused about which tool was being sharpened. I checked the paragraphs they seem to have left out the part Stig chose the tool to do it.

Thanks a lot.
Have a good day

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