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hammerstone loose grip

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GlisGlis:
I'm slowly getting the hang of knapping
i'm in the phase where I sometimes see what I'm supposed to do and teorically plan my next move before doing the current one. So even if I've got tons of questions crowding my mind I'll ask only one
Apparently percussion is far esear than pressure flaking for me. (maybe also due to inappropriate tools)
Today I was trying percussion with a small hammerstone using glass laid on my thigh.
I found that as long as the glass mass was big enough (big piece) my striking was better
I also found that loosening my grip on the striking stone (almost like I was throwing the stone) at the very last moment emproved alot the quality of the flakes
Does it make sense for you? why is that? less vibration dumpening from the hand?

the picture is from the glass I hammered this morning.
very few pressure flaking at this stage.  I'll ruin that later  >:D

sorry for the blurred image
Luckily I'v found one of my neighbor likes gin (luky me not him) that comes in nice light blue bottles

le0n:
it's probably traveling at the initial (intended) speed if you are loosening the grip before contact.

another guess is that it is not rotating due to anatomical reasons.

nice color glass too; kind of wish i had a gin drinking neighbor.

JackCrafty:
Loosening the grip before the strike will weaken the strike.  This is good if you were hitting too hard before.

GlisGlis:
Ty for your replys
I had the feeling that the it was snappier and cleaner

AncientTech:
Glis, since you are working glass, I want to mention that there is at least one historical record, that refers to Native American people collecting bottle glass, holding the edges against a boulder, and then tap chipping on the opposite edge.

Also, the obsidian knappers of the Northwest routinely held the edges of obsidian against soft slate anvils, while tap chipping the opposite edge with a stone percussor.  Today, what can be seen on the edges of these anvils are the pockmarks from where the obsidian edge was in contact with the side face of the anvil.

If you practice with this, you will notice that the stone seems more resistant to the blow, with less give.  You will probably end up striking less at the stone, while learning to make a sharp arcing swing that clips the stone's edge. 

Anyway, there seems to be a historical precedent for the use of stone anvils in hammerstone flaking both glass, and obsidian.

Also, I have found in working freehand, that I do better when standing up.  In wielding the hammerstone, my arms feel a bit more mobile, when I swing standing.  This really comes in handing, while driving hard blows into raw stone, and while torqueing the stone, with the other hand, to create large overshots. 

Anyway, these are two approaches that might be worth experimenting with.

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