Cumberlands

[ToddsPoint]

No new posts here for a while so I thought I’d post these. Two Cumberlands I made 20 yrs ago from Dover flint. Difficult to work but carries a good flute. I got the material while on a dig near Dover TN with Mike Gramly. I made the points from quarry debitage I found near the dig. The Indians had piled up reject material into a “wall” about 10’ long. Material came out in 3 grades. Grayish grainy stuff was junk. Then a medium quality that was charcoal to black color. Highest grade material was all black and a little slick or tan and a little slick. Judging by the debitage we found the Indians were probably Mississippian and were making larger tools like spades, hoes and large woodworking tools. During the dig in Nov. we stayed in an empty civil war era house with no heat and like to froze to death! Good memories though.

 

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[Older The Better]

Those are nice, as far as fluting goes those Cumberlands would have to be at the top as far as difficulty I assume. Did you use a rig of some kind to stabilize the point and hit the perfect spot at the perfect angle or just a good strike like normal?

 

[ToddsPoint]

I used a jig and lever fluted them. I imagine the Indians held it and gave it a good whack with a tremendous amount of skill. I never got good enough to do it that way. It took many attempts before I had any success with the jig. Also, not every type of flint is conducive to making long flutes. Surprisingly, grainy Dover fluted pretty good.

 

[newnan man]

Those are excellent!