Homemade points and things.

[GL]

I knapped some flint today. My left index finger, my right thumb, and the pad of my left hand all have holes in them now. My thumbs are sore, my fingers hurt and I am dusty and have little round flint flakes in my shoes. My homemade Ishi stick is wearing out, my quartzish hammerstone is pitted.

Is it just me or is flint seemingly created specifically for knapping? That stuff knaps fantastically. I used a few rhyolite flakes and they don't like the stick like flint does. Rhyolite seems to like the hammerstone and a wider tool like an antler(petrified wood tool I found). Flint makes sweet little pops and rhyolite makes dusty crumbs with the Ishi.

I made a 3/4" obsidian triangle today that you could do surgery with it's so sharp. I also made a nicely flaked and rounded scraper from flint. I need to make a new Ishi because I have almost killed the one I made.

I have a new found hobby and I love it. It passes the time easily and leaves me with a cool thing to show off. My memory card in the camera is stuck on "locked" but I will have a new one tomorrow to use.
Anyone else want to post their homemade points?

 

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[The Grim Reaper]

I tried flint knapping once and wasn't very adept at it. I could make a nice Blade or a Stemmed Point, but could never get the notches right. I always ened up breaking off the tangs. I either threw all of mine away or gave them to kids so they wouldn't get mixed in with my good pieces, so I don't have any pics.

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Flint knapping is one of those things where if you try it the first day you'll know if you're going to like it or not. Some people don't have the patience for it, and that's fine. Not everyone likes it.

On the other hand ... there are those of us that start out doing it, and spend unGodly amounts of money on chert/flint and tools. It seems like we were born to do it, and do it every day.

Here are a few points that I knocked out this past month.

Here is a rough preform that I knocked out of a spall of cooked Keokuk Chert today. I love this material because you get a lot of 'strawberries' and pink lines through it when you heat treat it.

Here are two of my best points so far. The Clovis on the left is from Heat Treated Carter Cave KY flint, and the Dovetail on the right is from raw Keokuk.

Like I stated earlier ... the most expensive part of this hobby is the chert. I don't spend a lot of money on chert since I live in a treasure trove of material sites here in Kentucky. Locally, I can get Sonora, KY Hornstone, Indiana Hornstone, Carter Cave, and Ft. Payne (Tan, Brown, and Black). I bought the Keokuk from a guy in Oklahoma, and I need to find a good source of Flint Ridge. I don't mess with Obsidian or Glass right now. I saw a guy at the Bardstown, KY Knap-In last year almost sever his left pinky working Obsidian. Definitely wear gloves if you are working that stuff. One wrong move, and it's bye-bye appendage.

 

[DreamcatcherNC]

Lucky in Ky. The Clovis and dovetail are some of the best I've seen. How difficult was it to get the flute in that Clovis?? I've knapped obsidian and rhyolite but never with results even close to those two. Great job!!! Bravo!

 

[GL]

I am disappointed that I can't do it inside right now.
I was given a small chunk of purple glass I was told is obsidian. I made what I thought was pretty keen little triangle this morning and now it seems almost trivial compared to that fluted Clovis.
Man alive thats some beautiful knapping. I WILL be that good one day.

 

[luckyinkentucky]

The flutes on any point are a "practice and practice more" type thing. I used my pressure flaker to make a nipple in between the two ears, and struck each flake off. Some knappers 'cheat' and use a fluting jig that does all the work for you, but I try to be as authentic as possible. If you look closely you can still see remnants of the nipple between the ears. I didn't grind it enough, and left some of it, so that it wouldn't ever be mistaken for an authentic piece. I also diamond scribe all of my pieces. That's another way to make sure they don't show up at an artifact show 15 years from now with a fake provinence attached. Any authenticator will take one look at it, and discount it just because of the scribe. That's good. You don't want to make points to fool people. You do it for the enjoyment of replicating the ancient arts.

I learned to flake by hitting large nodules. After I learned how to spall a nodule without loosing much material I moved on to making preforms. After I had making preforms down I moved on to pressure flaking, and on down the line.

A lot of your harder materials like Jasper, Agate, and Rhyolite aren't meant to be percussion flaked. A lot of "Lap Knappers" use these materials. The reason they are called Lap Knappers is because they use Lapidary tools and equipment to shape the rock before adding the final pressure flaking that defines the point. I would suggest you watch a few instructional videos on YouTube, and maybe buy a few videos and books. Mark Bracken at http://www.flintknappingtools.com has quite a few good videos, tools to purchase, and books to read. My favorite book is called "Old Tools - New Eyes" by by Bob Patten. He brings a new perspective into flint knapping, and shows you how to actually "think" through the process like the ancient flint knappers did. Also, DC Waldorf's "The Art of Flintknapping" is a must have for any flint knapper. It covers the basics of flintknapping from start to finish, as well as, teaching you how to look for natural resources in your own area for materials.

 

[GL]

I must have watched a hundred or so videos on YouTube.
I researched the Ishi thing and made a crude one for messing around. I found that I have something like a proto-talent for making rocks very sharp using the stick and a small stone. As I practice I will get better I just know it.
For now though, I am content learning from established knappers and from videos while just trying out new ideas on bits and bobs I find in creeks and on hillsides. Thanks for your tips, they will be heeded. Again, my cover is tipped to you sir. You are an artist.

 

[WhiteCountyPaleo]

Nice... I work mostly glass. Had some cuts nothing too deep.
One time I had a little cut from working a little slab of glacial
flint I found in a ravine and just kept swinging the hammer
stone. My hand turned black and red from the dried blood.
No big deal it just washed off. The swinging of your hand
will bring the blood out.

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Another thing you might try is breaking up a toilet bowl, and practicing on the scraps. Don't use the one out of the downstairs bathroom though ... you don't want your wife firing you. You can find them a dime a dozen, and might check around at your local plumbers. SOmetimes they get them out of peoples houses, and have to pay a fee to dispose of them. Of course your don't want the dirty bowl part. You just want the thinner tank part of the toilet.

 

[GL]

Johnstone! I have plenty.
Today I made a delicate little flint notched point about 1/2" long maybe smaller. Very tiny and very sharp. I broke another I had going that had super deep notches and was maybe an inch long. I need to go collect up some more flint for sure. Flint is still my favorite material in my limited experience.

I am running out of Obsidian since the bit I got was only the size of a pink eraser.
I am now moving onto glass.

 

[GL]

Okay, I now have a new SD card so here's what I've done so far plus my tools.

The brown thing is actually petrified wood I scored in a creek.
Not much, but it's a start and I like doing it.

 

[GL]

Okay so I used up the blue glass base I found at an old homesite.
I had no real plan one what it would look like when I started, I just kind of went along with the flow. I did notice that I REALLY need a leather pad or something, glass flakes are freaking sharp!

Neat. I like this hobby way too much I think. I caught myself looking at Obsidian on Ebay last night...

 

[MEinWV]

GL,............Dude!...........Please get some leather! I can feel the cuts and smell the blood. LOL! A good idea is to work on a plastic tarp and then safely dispose of the chips. You don't want those chips in the yard if you have kids or pets or if anyone walks barefoot.

I made an Ishi stick about 18" long and tucked it under my arm for leverage. I put a copper welding tip in the stick and beat it square with a hammer to toughen it up.

Your stuff is looking good so far! Can't wait to see more!

 

[GL]

I've been using a folded work rag to protect the hand. Rag looks raggedy now.
My hands are like a roadmap of scars and cuts in various stages of healing. I work with them for a living and if I don't bleed at least once a day then it's a wasted day. Today I managed to slice the inside of two finger joints lengthwise. Darned papercut-like boo boos they are. I got five cuts today at work, none from the glass.

I just know I have a sheet of leather around here somewhere. I have an old baseball mit. Maybe I'll cut it up for a pad. At any rate, I really like this. I appreciate any and all comments and I will post another picture tommorow. I have another THICK glass base that I got from the same homesite. There is a dirt road right beside the old homes dump area so there's plenty of Mason bases and old bottle bottoms everywhere in the washouts. Does porcelain or milk glass knap?

 

[MEinWV]

Yeah! Milk glass and porcelain should knapp ok. Of course, some glass is just too brittle and I'm not sure if it is age , environment , or the manufacturing process that does it. Some of it seems to have a grain to it, like it is built up in layers or something.

Toilet tanks are porcelain! Some call it "johnstone", I like to call it "thunderchert"

 

[MEinWV]

Here is my first! One side still shows the embossing, but it is part of the learning curve.

 

[MEinWV]

This is my very first, but I made it from a nice piece of Thompson Center black walnut. I used it on a belt quiver when I shot indoor archery. It was a fun project.

 

[GL]

I love it! The belt buckle is great.

 

[MEinWV]

Here are some points that a guy in my area knapped. He has been at it for years and is a pro.

These were made from various materials such as glass, 2 types of obsidian, Flint Ridge flint, and Mook jasper from Australia.

HK

 

[GL]

Wow I have a long way to go.
I made a green Mt Dew point that is curved like the shoulder of the bottle. Found the glass in the driveway of a shop I was working at and spent about 10 minutes making it. I also found some pieces of what appear to be shower door glass. Pretty thick and has a hammered texture on one side. It knaps FANTASTICALLY! The light blue ones are from that. The little ones are flakes I wasted time on and came out decent for flakes.
The large base tried to use was way too thick and I wasted a lot of material to get it to a point and even then it came out crooked and rough and way too thick. I have found it easier to toss out ones I break in the process.

I used an old cowboy gunbelt for a leather pad and it works great. Only bled on my pad once! Seriously, I think I have an addiction. They still aren't awesome and worthy of the Natives who inspired me, but everyone has to start somewhere.