Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: JustinNC on April 03, 2011, 10:38:06 pm
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sometimes when you want results, you have to conform to the majority in order to get them. Hammer stone, antler, dogwood billet for a hammer for antler and copper punch. Not abo or rhyolite, but my confidence is greatly boosted.
#2 and #3 point made this weekend.
#2 is the top one, made from a flake of some sort of TX stuff I have, just plain old ugly. I'm going to go back and retouch it.
#3, obviously the other one. Was going to try to make a biface out of a small chunk of Texas stuff (not sure what it is, got it on ebay), and knocked a corner off the end and said well I'll try Pat's technique and see what happens.....I was pleased with the outcome. I started with a corner about the size and shape of an egg, about about 1/2' thick. Some nasty concavities in it too, but I managed to get through the ones I needed to. I thought it would be neat to leave a little cortex on it, so one of the concavities got left on there. I was doing fairly well until I went to knock out a nasty stack and had a nice overshot flake with a nice scar.....until it dove about 2/3 the way across, and took a nice bite out of the other side. Anyway, here is what I had left to work with. This stuff is a pleasure to work. I just wished I had made a grooved pad long before so I could thin it a bit more without losing the width. Oh well, I'll be ready next time and wont let my flakes terminate so soon. Didnt look that uneven at first, bit now looking back...I'll fix it later.
Will post better pictures if an when they ever go through to my email so I can photobucket them. Theyre floating in cyber space right now. This one will have to do for now.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/treednnc/newpoints.jpg)
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Well done Justin, those look good.
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So you seccumbed huh? Those look good man! keep em coming however you can make em :).
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Good job Justin.......I like good FLINT......Curt
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try the texas with the abo. after working rhyolite you'll have no problem. looks very god buddy.
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those will get the job done. Way to go Justin.
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There is no light or dark sideto knapping.
I usaly knapp with copper boppers , nail notchers, rubber handpads ext...
But i know i can pick up a large cunck of rhyolite, my large hammerstone, and my dog wood billit and i can make a nice tool.
But i mostly make art points.
Your points look good!
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Well done. Both look good.
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Thanks guys
...Curt, I figured you would get a kick out of that.
Jamie, I've tried it abo. If I had a good assortment of abo tools, I could probably work it, but I don't have any thing to abo pressure flake with. Hoping to pick up some tines at the Classic. All I can manage to make it do is step, stack, and roll out. Since working this stuff compared to rhyolite, Ive found that platform preperation, mostly abrade abrade abrade is critical or else it will crumble and leave nasty steps and stacks. I may go back at it with abo tools and see what I can do. The only abo part of this was the hammer stone used to knock the corner off that I used for the one point, and the flake for the other, and a little Jackcrafty style indirect antler work. The antler worked well, but it was too big and I was loosing width and length fast using it because of how much of a bite it took.
Jessie, I still want to be able to work rhyolite and make a usable tool. I think my biggest issue, other that just paying my dues, is my spalling. At my skill level, softball shaped spalls aren't doing anything for me. Back when I had some decent spalls, using a hammer stone to spall with, I was making some decent bifaces....which I should have left alone until later. I ran out of those and didnt have a big hammer stone to spall with because I broke em all, and used a shop hammer........that led to fractured rock and chunks rather than spalls, and leading to me getting frustrated. I need to find some hard hammer stones, everything Ive got right now are soft.
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I have 3 spallers. I have a 2.5 lb copper eeg for small spalls i have a 5lb chunk of copper for med spalls and i have a 14lb monster spaller for those huge 20'' + spalls.
Hammer stones work well but there a ticking time bomb, one day they will brake.
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I was looking to put end caps on a T fitting with a pipe or wood handle and fill it with lead to add weight but I can probably buy round stock solid copper of the same weight I could make for the price of what the end caps cost.
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Those look just fine to me! And the material is just icing on the cake. ;D
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I wish the photos my wife took would come through. The color on that narrow one is neat......and Curt, you can see light through it.....well other than where that white cortex is. I like that cortex on it if I do say so myself.
Jesse I just checked the price of some solid copper. I think Ill stick to hard hammer stones, or maybe try to rig something up with minimal copper and as much mass as I can get.
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Copper boppers are cheap & easy to build. I started Abo & went to boppers. Solid copper has really sky rocketed in the last 3 yrs.
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Justin I have a brass hammer that I like and it was cheaper than copper
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Is brass not too hard?