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Running them long

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lauderw55:
Hi i have been making primitive bows for awhile and just got into flint knapping. I currently working with a copper Billit, fine copper pressure flaker and also a long nail that I use as a pressure flaker. I mostly been using glass from beer bottle to make my point and I am doing ok at shaping them. My biggest problem is that I have trouble running my pressure flakes very long across the blade. This in turn produces a thick full point. Any advice would be greatly appericated! Have good day guys

Zuma:
Try to learn oblique flaking. This helps push the
flake through the ridge, rather than up one side
and into the air.
Zuma

Chippintuff:
Basically there are two ways to run long pressure flakes.

1. If the surface has a prominent convexity, the only way I know to run flakes across the convexity and on past the high point is to keep a soft support against the rock so the flake cannot buck and break or feather out quickly. The soft pressure from leather or cloth makes the flake keep running.

2. If the surface has little or no convexity (flat or nearly flat), the direction of the pressure determines how long the flake runs. The direction of the pressure the instant the flake starts detaching is the direction that counts. As most knappers build pressure, the rock turns so that the angle of pressure at the beginning is not the same as the pressure at the instant of detachment. On flat to slightly convex surfaces, I use a slotted pad (soft pad for more convex surfaces) so the flake has an easy place to fall into.

3. Practice holding the rock while building the pressure carefully and keeping an eye on the tilt of the rock. At first it seems impossible to make that pressure point to the other edge of the rock instead of off to the side of the rock, but practice can make it happen.

WA

lauderw55:
I know re stone moves in my hand so hat could be it. . How do u hold the stone while pressure flaking.?

Chippintuff:
I'll get some photos tomorrow and post them. I had some, but they have disappeared, so I need to do it again. I do almost all my flaking with a notched pad.

There are as many ways to direct the force as there are knappers. One of the ways I do it is put the flaker point on the platform and lean my shoulder into it till the flake pops. When doing this method, I hold the pad about flat against the inside of my L thigh with the stone edge pointing almost directly up at my face.Doing it this way, I can run them across and take the far edge off if I direct the force straight down the face of the piece.

Another way is to put my L hand holding the pad so that the pad is close to parallel to the ground and lock it against my L thigh. Then I put the flaker tip on the edge perpendicular to the plane of the face to be chipped and use my R thigh to push my R hand and flaker straight into the edge (across the face of the stone).

Most of the time I use a mix of these methods adjusting as needed without thinking about it. It becomes automatic after a lot of chipping.

Others can do a much better job of describing how to use a soft pad.  I only use it in special cases when I can't get the flake to wrap around a steep convexity, and then I don't do it very well.

WA

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