ABO KNAPPERS

[Blacktail]

I was wondering how many guys on here do mostly abo work...if you have any photos of your tools that is what i am looking for...i have some bone and want to shape them...ALSO,does any one use elk antler for billets...i can buy some from a guy..but i think elk is kind pithy for billets...just looking into some abo tools.thanks john

[Hillbilly]

I do all my percussion with stone, antler, or wood. I use copper pressure flakers pretty often. Moose and whitetail deer are my favorite antlers for billets, but elk should work if you get the base. If it's a little light, just swing it harder.

[mullet]

  Elk doesn't hold up like Whitetail and moose. You have to grind it smooth a lot more.

[billy]

I've never used elk antler billets.  I have a mule deer antler billet that is VERY pithy, but the end near the rosette (where it attached to the skull) is pretty dense.  My dad poured some lead in it and that helped beef up the weight.  If elk is all you've got then by all means use it.  I'm pretty much an abo knapper and don't use copper unless I'm stuck, and then once I get unstuck I go back to the antler. 

[D. Tiller]

Copper boppers and flakers for me! No time to fool with animal byproducts.

[piper]

Copper all the way..I let HB do it the hard way..

   Curt

[cowboy]

I learned with copper so that's what I use almost exclusively, but have been leaning on my big hammerstones for large spalling here lately. They seem to send that shock wave a lot deeper into the stone.

[Blacktail]

hey thanks guys for the info...billy,the lead in the horn might be a good way to get some weight...cowboy,last week i did four buckets of noduels(obsidian)with a good old river rock..and i learned spalling a little better plus it was fun.john

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

i use nothing but an elk antler billet and a couple different deer antler flakers, i keep them sharp normally. my elk billet doesnt wear away too quickly but the elk flaker i have does.  occasionally i will use a hammer stone if the occasion calls for it. i learned with a hammerstone so it was a big advancment to get antler..lol  - Ryan

[Keenan]

 I have a good size elk billet and like it. It's held up well and is fairly good size so the weight is there. But for big spals and big cores I will use a hammerstone. And for presure flaking mule deer tips, copper and horse shoe nails.

[JackCrafty]

I learned on abo stuff....but quickly shifted over to steel for my bopper and pressure flakers because the stone I was working was so tough (raw agate).  After that mess, I tried glass and that's mainly what I've knapped.  I used elk and deer antlers as well as sandstone hammerstones and abraders....but I used a steel nail pressure flaker when I did the notching.

I gave up on knapping some months ago because it was eating up too much of my time (and patience) but I think I'll start using copper and cooked rock now that my interest has come back.

[Bone pile]

Using copper most of the time.I have started using rock to knock apart the bigger stuff,Now I know what size/weight to look for.Have a moose billet that I use on obsidian and the like.Knotch with a horseshoe nail,have a peice of welding rod ,I've been thinkin' about making into a notcher.Do any of you use welding rods?
Roger

[flecha]

Not a metal tool in my tool kit, 30 years of knapping. Abo all the way.  I've used elk, but it isn't my FIRST choice.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

Using copper most of the time.I have started using rock to knock apart the bigger stuff,Now I know what size/weight to look for.Have a moose billet that I use on obsidian and the like.Knotch with a horseshoe nail,have a peice of welding rod ,I've been thinkin' about making into a notcher.Do any of you use welding rods?
Roger

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Brazing rods like 5/16 " me thinks....bob

[mullet]

 Copper Boppers, Lightning rod punch, moose billet, and white tail for rock like Obsidean and heat treated stuff. Copper pressure flakers, horse shoe nails , broken , sharpened ice pick and assorted small dental tools. Alligator jaw bone pressure flaker, white tail tips and moose antler slivers along with sandstone hammerstone. !0" and 4" diamond saw and 60 grit diamond grinder and four more different grit diamond grinding wheels.