Main Discussion Area > Flintknapping
Stop Settling (pic heavy)
Chippintuff:
I agree with what I understand Nathaniel to be saying. Since we do have a luxury of tools, plentiful material of almost any variety we could wish, unlimited instructions and collaboration and time that we can spare without going hungry, we should do the best we can. I agree with that fully. We are enjoying perfecting a trade that is as old as mankind, and in doing that we are celebrating with our best efforts.
As to broken points, my percentage is low, but I also have many that I have been stumped on and have laid aside for another day before I did break them.
Some ancient people had abundant stone to work while others had little to none. We not only have abundant stone, but we have the greatest selection of types and grades that has ever been available to anybody. Let's make it shine.
As to thin, some exceptionally well made points (e.g. Thebes and Eden) were thick. All the little triangle points and tiny drills i found as a kid were delicately made. A point just about has to be perfect to be really thin, so naturally the best of craftsmen made those.
In defense of crude points, sharp cuts even if crude. I have a lot of points that are crude by my present standards. They were made when I was starting out, and they would have brought home the bacon. A knapper who cannot get them as thin or as delicate as another knapper should not feel embarrassed about his quality. We have all been there ourselves. Maybe it is not good to get complacent and stop striving for that next plateau, but our road of development should be appreciated.
WA
Lobo69ss:
I`ve been knapping for several years now. Many of my points have hinges &stacks that used to bother the crap out of me... I was sitting by the campfire on a fine evening with a few friends while participating in a living history event. While yakking about how the day had been I was doing some finish work pressure flaking a couple points for my trade blanket... wound up snapping an ear off either by trying too hard or maybe not paying close enough attention to the details... I threw it into the fire pit cussing my bad habit of screwing up my points too often.
A friend retrieved the point & asked what ws so wrong with it to make me that upset over a little mistake? I pointed out the tip of the ear missing & he asked if I had any of my authentic points with me for display purposes... I did so he told meto get them out & find him a REALLY nice 1... I spent a few minutes looking them over & handed him a finely flaked close to paper thin Madison triangle... He looked at it with appreciation for the workmanship of someone we`d never get to meet, and then asked me what took so long finding a good one? I showed him the box of points & blades I had in front of me, some were thick & chunky, symmetry was off on quite a few, hinges & stacks on others...
Looking them over he then asked if I thought that the "screw ups" got used or thrown into the fire pit... Well most likely they would have been used as they were, since they tended to show at least some use wear & perhaps some refreshening or resharpening, some had impact fractures on the tips from being used on a hunt...
He told me to remember the 3 gottas of lithic technology... they`ve gotta have a sharp point to start a cut, gotta have sharp edges to continue the cut, & gotta be thin enough to be hafted in whatever way they were intended to be used :spear point, arrowhead, or knife blades}... Thin, pretty, exquisite workmanship didn`t make the list for everyday tools.
Doyal pointed out that if I was intending to make jewelry as in a necklace point or something of that nature then it`s GOTTA be pretty `cause pretty sells... A hinge or stack back off of the actual cutting edge won`t stop a point or blade from making a cut, a thicker point has more mass to achieve deeper penetration into an animal for a surer kill, a thicker knife blade will resist side forces {torque} better than a thin blade will...
Somewhere around that time I realized that I`d tossed a lot of usable points out trying for a G10 when in the real world a G8 would work just as well... I don`t think of it as settling for less than the best as when making jewelry points I do aim for the moon, but for most knapping I recreate the things I`ve found in corn fields & creeks that actually were used in the past.
bjrogg:
I think we'll said Lobo. My cousin has many primitive stone points and tools really make mine look like jewelry pieces. The real work is done by the B-C people of the world. I agree we should try for our best and owe the animals we try to harvest that we perfect our skills to the best of our abilities. I have not hunted yet with my points, arrows, or bow. I have practiced a lot and made vast improvements in both my arrows and my shooting skills. I don't think I'm quite there yet but I believe I'm close. Zuma I think hit it on the nose. It doesn't matter how good you equipment is if you don't test it a develope the skills to properly use it.
bjrogg:
PS Sasquatch that is a beautiful collection and I do agree some stuff is not good enough to hunt with.
mullet:
Nathaniel; we have points down here that are paper thin and long and wide, your Hillsborough, Newnans and Marions. They are few and far between and usually heat treated coral or high grade chert. The man most of us learned from in Central Fl, Claude Van Order, can replicate these in his sleep. But, he will tell you it depends a lot on having the highest grade material. The majority of arrow heads here are triangle, Pinellis points, and Hernandos. The Hernandose with very short notches. And I can also say that when I haft a point to hunt it is the best I can make. It may not be pretty and thin but it is sharp and will kill stuff.
I have a pit full of stuff that is broken also, because I still try to get my points as thin as the Newnan point unless I just run out of material before I can get the point that thin or break it.
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