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question about knapping slabs

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Blacktail:
i have been trying my hand at knapping slabs....i trouble i am having is that my flakes wont travel as far as i want.. i even can make 4-5 passes and i still have saw makes...i can have a 2inch slab and whittle it down to 1/2inch and then the saw marks are off.i am just waisting to much rock....i am doing it the same way graig does it in his movie lap knapping but dont know what is going wrong...SO,if you guys who knap slabs could give me a list of things that might be going wrong that would be great..thanks john

mullet:
  What kind of rock are you using? It may need heat treating. If it is Obsidian, we need some pictures of what you are doing. If it is Obsidian, I can run a 4" flake, on a slab. I like to start out running short flakes. Then grind the flakes that were run to get the Ovate shape. Then grind the edge again and run flakes to the center or all the way across.

Blacktail:
eddie,the rock is obsidian..how are you grinding the flakes that you have just taken off....thanks john

mullet:
   John, I cut my slabs about a 1/4". I run a series of short flakes, about a 1/2" long down each edge. Then I go back and grind the runs down as flat as I can. This starts to give it that rounded look. This also helps the flakes run smooth across the top without diving into the center, like hitting a brick wall. That is what starts the ridges and stacks. When you get that Ovate shape going you lessen the angle the flakes are running. Then, grind the edge you want to run at an angle, like setting up a continious platform. Then run your series of flakes down that side. Then turn it over and do the same thing to the other side. If the piece is real wide, 3 to 4 inches, you might have to use this technique for all four sides.

  I hope this makes sense.  Maybe if I can get the wife to play with the camera and get home before dark I can do a "build a long"

Blacktail:
eddie,what i have been doing is the zig-zag edge...then sheering the edge to one face then grinding the edge down and taking off a series of flakes...and i repeat this over and over...but for some reason i just cant get the flakes to run more than 5/8 inch.thats my furthest flaking..john

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