I understand where your coming from I musky, it’s very frustrating starting without being able to understand how the rock will break. I once made a post very similar to this one, and one of the community members decided to reach out and help me and I’m forever grateful for them. So, here’s the advice that got me out of my knapping rut, and my 2 cents
1. Look into a book called “Flintknapping - Making and Understanding Stone Tools” by John C Whittaker. This book goes through all the techniques that are commonly used and goes over understand the physics and forces that you are using. Very good for a long read, or just skimming to find something specific
2. Look for a mentor or friend to knap with. Being able to bounce ideas off of someone is worth the effort and can help you break through skill plateaus. The experience of see how someone else knaps is very useful. It taught me how to be patient, and being to ask someone “this is where I would take a flake, where would you take a flake” really helped me.
- if not possible, look into knap-ins close to you
3. (This is my tip) know when to step away. I learned that sometimes, I just am not in the mood or I’m not in the right mindset to finish a point. It’s ok to only get halfway through a point and either walk away, or start on another. I’ve learned that coming back to a point with a new perspective can really help.
Anyways… that’s my 2 cents, and sorry for the long post. Try not to get too discouraged, you’ve been doing a great job musky!