Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: Phil Rees on December 20, 2009, 06:35:27 am
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I recently completed a basic day's course in knapping and have to say enjoyed every second of it.
My dilema is ... I've been given a small amount of "Blue John". Blue John is Britains rarest mineral first discoverd at Castleton in Derbyshire by the Romans almost 2000 years ago. Castleton is the worlds only known deposits of this extremely rare and beautiful stone.
so should I
1. save this rare and precious stone untill I'm more experienced and competant ... or
2. appempt to craft an arrow head with my limited experience and skill
I look at the stone almost every day thinking should I have a go and possibly destroy a real gem or maybe I should put it in the hands of someone who'll make a much better job than me.
Help ....
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I'm a beginner and have ruined LOTS of good stone. My advice is save it for yourself until you are confident that you can get something out of it. I have bucket of stuff like that myself. Learn on cheap and plentifull rock. Also try to make preforms out of all of your material first, then go for actual finished pieces. A friend told me this and it was the best advice I got. You will not ruin as much stuff. And to keep your arrow head fix up, make some small points from waste flakes. Just a beginners opinion.
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Good advice Rick
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Blue John is a form of fluorite. The fluorite I have from the States is not knappable. I have a ton of beautiful purple fluorite, but about the only thing you can do with it is polish it up. Yours may be different from the stuff I have, though. Are you sure it is knappable?
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Ricks advice is right on. I also recently started making gravel. Unless you are some sort of gifted knapper after one day, you will most likely turn the rock into gravel. It takes time to knock a point out of rock. I would save the good stuff until you feel comfortable. Ano0ther way to look at it is this.... is it rock you can easily replace. If not, I would bust up something else.
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I,d save for later unless your like Shannon a flintknapper from day one. Flintknapping for me was a slow learning curve an ruined a lot of stone in early years. Heck I,m still ruining a lot of rock. Just my .02 worth Bob
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yup save the pretty,rare,high dollar stuff for when your skills can do it justice.
wish i would have done that with some stuff i have had the pleasure to ruin ;D
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now yer just being silly Bob ::)
I agree with the others. Save your best rock for when you can do it justice because really good rock is hard to come by. I sure wish I'd slowed down a little bit when I first started. I can remember a few pieces of rock I wish I still had ;)
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I totally agree i tried to make a knfe from Obsidian mohagany and it was a messssssssssssss. ;D
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Gentlemen
I feel a concensus arriving in your advice ... I think as this is a rare piece of rock, I have to establish as Jeff suggested wether or not it is actualy workable ... then I think I'll put it away untill I'm more confident in my abilities.
Gentleman ...as allways your comments and advice are most welcome and appreciated ...thank you all
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To take this in a different direction, some guys will also cut their pricey or rare stone into slabs to limit the amount of waste.
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To take this in a different direction, some guys will also cut their pricey or rare stone into slabs to limit the amount of waste.
Justin ... is this something you'd recommend for a novice to use?
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i have only been knapping 11 months,i learned on slabs
i love working slabs because of the less waste.i am cheap and like to get the most usable stone for my $$$
i do like working spalls too
i have turned out pretty decent points,for a newbie,from both slabs and spalls.
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Slabs will spoil ya in a hurry. Yes, I agree there is a lot less waste and you can also earn alot about setting up platforms.
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To take this in a different direction, some guys will also cut their pricey or rare stone into slabs to limit the amount of waste.
Justin ... is this something you'd recommend for a novice to use?
I recommend whatever suits your personal taste. ;D Yes, a beginner can do it. I still recommend learning on cheaper stone though, even if you slab the cheap stuff. Learning with slabs can be a handicap since it can make learning other meathods more frustrating. I wish I had learned to knap without slabs then used slabs on a more limited basis.
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Learning on slabs (plate glass, bottle bottoms, old CRT TV screens) is cheap and allows you to learn technique and control without worrying about centerline and inconvenient masses, etc. When your slabs start to look pretty good, move "up" to spalls with their new challenges. When you're comfortable with the spalls, then think about how to work your high value rock. At that point you'll have a realistic idea of what you can do. I'm sitting on a couple pounds of opal right now. It isn't going to go anywhere and I don't plan to work it until I'm pretty sure I can do it justice.
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Ditto to waiting, till your skills are up. I was eager to try some beautiful coral slabs I had. Well I have only one left. And it is staying where it is. The others are gravel. If it is knappable, just tell it when the time is right, and you are capable of releasing it, the arrowhead, will emerge. It's ok to talk to the rock. I do it all the time. You know, " You son a @#%$# !!!!I was almost finished with this side of the barb, when you decide to let the other side come off!!j You dirty little Piker! Etc. Sometimes it is amazing at the new words you can come up with, and not have the slightest idea of what they mean exactly, except to represent your anger, and disappointment. ;) I have quite a repertoire, of odd words. ;D Sometimes I will practice them on myself, as I walk by the pile of gravel made from coral ::)........I would definitely agree to wait. There are a lot things to learn yet. Shannon did seem to pull some ancestral gene out, and learned quite fast, and well. As for slabs, try em, and also get with some one to learn to spall, and percussion knapp, to thin down the spalls, and do the final finish with pressure flaking. Anyway, good luck, and don't let it be a sticky wicket in your progression to being a proficient knapper..... ;D
Wayne
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i just want to know what it looks like...john
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Gentlemen
The Blue John can wait .... as someone else quite rightly said ....it's not going anywhere
I'm going to carry on with natural rock and pre cut slabs untill ... I have a chat with the blue john as Wayne suggested and see how it feels
So ... once again gentlemen, many thanks for taking the time and for your advice.
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Best of luck in your knapping endeavors, Horace. :)
There should be a lot of that good hard flint around for you to work on.
But I'm afraid Jeff is right about fluorspar not being knappable. It doesn't
have the right fracture or cleavage to knap.
The best way for you to work the Blue John Stone would be the same way
I worked this piece of super nice Gold Fire Sheen Obsidian..............
( I know, I know, this is cheatin'! ;))
Side A
(http://www.varockhounder.com/uploads/2009122706167037.jpg)
Side B
(http://www.varockhounder.com/uploads/2009122706175121.jpg)
Best of Luck, Joe