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Spalling?

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Allyn T:
I have some big chunks I want to spall-out/flake, I'm really only looking to get arrowheads out of them. My question is will the hammer stone pictures be big enough to get spalls or do I need a bigger one? Any advice is appreciated.

bjrogg:
It will probably depend on your platforms and the material you are spalling. I actually haven’t done a lot of spalling. I’m not sure how much help I can give.

I prefer a nice heavy large potato shaped hammer stone. Some material will spall better with a harder stone and some a softer stone might be a little grippier.

The material you have in the picture looks like it would be a bit course and probably take a pretty hard large heavy stone.

The size you have might work, but I like a smoother rounder shape.

One way to find out. Give em a good wack.

One tip. You say you just need arrow head sized spalls. I would still try for some nice sized spalls. The points always seem to get a lot smaller than you see in your minds eye when you pick up the spall to work it. Especially when you are beginner.

Bjrogg

Allyn T:
Thanks BJ yes I meant I want the finished product to be an arrow head and I think I need as much extra material as I can get. The rock I have varies in quality but all of it is pretty darn tough, seems to take a lot of force, but it is razor sharp when I get a good flake. I bled all over my pants Saturday chipping in the creek sorting out which rocks I wanted to bring home : )

gutpile:
looks like really  tough stuff.. probably need cooking for sure to break better.. I would think you need a hard hammerstone it looks like its cracking what you got.or a spalling hammer. I would attempt the first shot on the corner too...I just bought some more treated keokuck from neolithics dot com.. craig.. he has a good deal on it... and that stuff breaks really really nice.. working on a dagger hopefully with a large piece I got now..so far so good..  gut

Allyn T:
Yeah gut it is really hard rock, burlington chert mostly I think. Some of it is real slick on the inside and super sharp and some is pure junk. I don't wanna buy any right now cause I'm way in the beginning stages so I'm trying to learn on what I can find for free. I'm gonna check some creeks around here for a few large hammer stones and see where it gets me. I'm also making some lead filled copper boppers too.

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