Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: gstoneberg on February 18, 2012, 01:38:08 am
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I finally sucked it up and made a point completely with pressure flaking. I used a piece of obsidian debitage that Gus left on my tarp. It went pretty well until the notching began. I knocked off both corners and had a heck of a time because the point was still a little too thick. Consequently it's not the best looking point. However, all in all I'm happy to have gotten a point at all. Most of the obsidian I've worked I have broken. Got out of it without a cut too. ;D
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7203/6894647547_eaac8ff370_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6894647565_3b7cdf4fee_z.jpg)
Tomorrow I'll try doing it with a piece of flint.
George
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Still looks good George, I too worked some obsidian today and broke most of what I started. My hands however did not fare as well as yours did, they look like I went digging in an obsidian debitage pile bare handed and then clenched my fists with a handfull of it..... ;D
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Good looking point from my angle George. I bet it could find it's way through a ribcage
Tracy
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I agree with everyone, that's a nice one! Love the flake scars .
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If I were really gonna make obsidian hunting points I'd have to learn how to sharpen them better. It was a lot sharper before I "sharpened" it. I didn't have any luck taking small flakes when I tried to even up the edge. Seemed like all I was doing was breaking off the sharp edge. Made the point look better but if I'd been primitive I would've left it ragged and sharper.
I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the obsidian flakes ran across the point, though on each side one of the edges worked way better than the other. I kept expecting it to break, but it must be easier to control the force with pressure than with indirect percussion? I might work a legitimate obsidian spall this morning (when I should be working on my trade bow). Then I'll try a flint point. :)
Thanks guys.
George
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Well done!
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I went out and took an obsidian spall (actually I grabbed 2) out of my obsidian bucket and tried more pressure flaking this morning. Started like this:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6897583683_9bd55f8f53_z.jpg)
Unfortunately I got too cute applying pressure at the fat end of the spall and snapped off a half inch there. I figured my goose was cooked then, but I did get a little point out of it. I should've weighed it early as I could have left it thicker for more weight, but never thought about it. The finished point is only 75 gr, a little light for my hunting tastes. I'm pleased with it just the same. Might sell this one at the craft store.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6897607969_dec805b800_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6897607931_c2e42189c4_z.jpg)
George
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Heck ya!!! That works. Did you use pressure flaking? It looks like you did and you did great.
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Yes John, that was pressure. I've decided this is pressure weekend...LOL. I hope to go back out in a bit and try it again with some flint. I'm pleased with how things have gone so far. I can see why people like obsidian now. With indirect percussion the shards come off with nasty velocity and stab your holding hand, legs, feet...anything uncovered. With pressure, it is a joy, I even got to the point where I got the feeling I was peeling off flakes now and then. I did have some problems setting up platforms. I over abraided sometimes, took out the convexity and made it hard to get flakes to start. Lots more to learn. Onward to try again.
Thanks for your help John. I appreciate your support (actually everybody has been so supportive), I can't think of another hobby where people you've never met are so anxious to see you succeed at something. :)
George
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Nothing shabby about that point. Nice job.Looks great.
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Well your welcome G. I just want to help others in the same way I was helped as a beginner here on PA. I think the spirit of this site is a about learning and helping other learn. I think this hobby is different because you cant buy your way in you have to earn it the old fashion way.
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That's sure true. I worked on flint this afternoon until I started to get a blister on my pressure flaker hand. I could not get long thinning flakes with pressure. It was insanely frustrating ruining a perfectly good point because I couldn't thin it. After my hand gave out on the second attempt I took the point with a big hump in the middle and quickly thinned it with indirect percussion and made a 100gr point. I actually got pretty tired, either it takes a lot more force with flint than obsidian or I'm doing it wrong (or I'm just old and wimpy ::)). Hopefully my hand will be up to trying some more tomorrow.
Thanks again,
George
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Nice points.
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George, I like that first point, love the flake scars on it.
And the second point is Fine as Heck! :)
I bet they'll both get the job done!
-gus
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G I learned to thin real good from sawfiler but it wore my hands out doing it all the time (I was probably doing it more than sawfiler was) so I started following a Tower type approach. He thins the preform almost to completion then shapes and pressure flakes to finish. I find that my hands are not a wore out with this technique. Both achieve the same end.
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Great lookin point George! Obsidian is definately some good material to get the hang of pressure work on :) Well done!
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Made an obsidian preform this afternoon while I was waiting for my trade bow to cool off from another heat bending session,. Almost all indirect percussion.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6905011207_f18447cd86_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6905011251_90a1715dfa_z.jpg)
There's a little hump right in the center I couldn't knock off. There's a little valley next to it I can't get flakes to run through. I hope I can get it pressure flaking. Not sure what style point to make.
George
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Looks good george! Remember obsidian likes heavy platforms. Grind, grind the grind some more ;)
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Uh Oh George.. Looks like by the time we get together your not going to need any instruction's - them are slick!
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I still haven't decided what to make with that one. I did decide to let my hand rest a little more before too intense a session of pressure flaking. Not to worry Paul, it's the flint that is giving me fits. That obsidian works pretty easily, I'll be happy when I feel that way about flint.
Another thing I need to learn is how to thin a round nodule. Cipriano got me a bunch of rock that has been in water so it's very smooth and round. I had a terrible time knocking the edges off it so I could thin it. I was able to flatten one side, but the other fought me all the way. I finally got a platform on the base end and knocked a bunch off the top side, but I'm not sure I have enough left for a point. Drove me crazy, and it's beautiful brown stone. Should've tried something easier.
George
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Another thing I need to learn is how to thin a round nodule.
When you find out, let me know!! :o
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O that doesn't leave me warm and fuzzy. You taught me everything I know. :) I sure have a lot of baseball sized rocks that look to have pretty colors in them. Need to make a friend with a rock saw. Then we could slice a couple slabs out of the middle and I could make jewelry out of the edges. I've been making hearts for the granddaughters whenever I break a point and don't have enough left. This one came out of your stuff but the end was real narrow and deep and I broke it off before it was down to point thickness. The coretex was blood red. I was hoping the color would go down into the stone, but even after it came off it had such a cool pattern in it that I went ahead and made a heart.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6910898559_48069d7de1.jpg)
Need to figure out how to glue a mount on it so I can make it a necklace pendant. I tried wire, but it looked so hokey that I stopped doing it.
George
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Cool. You're a better man than I am... my daughters keep asking for "heart rocks" like that but I don't make them very often. :-\
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@ George - try placing a nodule on top of a larger round cobble and hit it square on top to try and split it down the middle - if it works then you will have a flat side to start with. For wire on those hearts use finer wire. Try an art goo call E6000 it work on all kinds of stuff, or super glue and jewlery findings.
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George, I`ve been told in the past that a thicher point will do the same job as a paper thin piece, & also have the advantage of being a little tougher to break if you should happen to hit a bone on penetration... There are really only 3 "gotta`s" to an abo point... gotta have a sharp point to initiate the cut, gotta have sharp edges to complete the cut, & gotta be thin enough in the hafting area to be mounted, whether an arrowhead, spear point, or knife blade. Pretty is an option, not a nessessity, unless you`re making jewlery that is. (Pretty sells faster than thick clunky points after all). Don`t go crazy trying to get off that little hinge or stack away from the edge, it`ll make ya goofy & you`ll break more points going for perfection than it`s worth, & it doesn`t make any real difference in the usability of the piece as long as the "problem area" isn`t right on the cutting edge.
Thin enough to read a newspaper thru , purty flake scars, museum grade G10 fanfreakintastic points don`t seem to have been a major priority with the Old Ones back in the day. I know there were exceptions, but if you look at the "normal" points found in the field, you`ll see what I mean. Get the 3 gottas covered & go make ya some meat with those points. Nice work by the way.
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Thanks for the tips. I may have to go out and try to break a cobble in half later tonight. My OCD tendencies make it hard for me to ease up on the point finish Lobo69ss, but I intellectually understand. I'm not good enough to worry much about flake scars and my thinning often results in smaller points, sometimes much smaller. Such is life. :)
George