Basal grinding?

[huntnman]

I hear y'all talk about bases being grinded, but have no clue what that means. Is it the edges on the base are ground smooth? I'm new to the typeing and ageing stuff.
thanks in advance.

 

[Tnmountains]

Yes you are correct. They would grind the base and sometimes the sides so it could be lashed to a spear knife or arrow and not cut the lashings. Many points it seems have diff grinding at various places. Lets see what some experts say. Welcome to T-Net artifacts its a great place to learn about your hobby.
TnMountains

 

[The Grim Reaper]

huntnman, on early Paleo points they would grind the side edges near the base so the lashings wouldn't be cut. In the Archaic period they would grind the ends of the base and sometimes even in the notches for the same reason. You can usually feel this grinding quite easily by running your fingers across the bases.

 

[Fla-Gal]

Dorkfish,do you have a reference for this (like a drawing from someones book ?) so that I can get a visual thanks...

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Fla-Gal, this is the only thing I could find on basal grinding that shows the process. This guy is a flint knapper and he shows how to do basal grinding. I hope this helps.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4413976_do-basel-grinding.html