My first homemade pressure flaker

[Sleep Junkie]

Hey all!  I have some Thunderchert that I found in a dump, so now I am working on making my knapping tools so I can start practicing.  The following pictures are of a pressure flaker/ pressure notcher that I made yesterday.  I have a few questions about wither I made it correctly.  First, is the point on the flaker done right?  It is rounded like a bullet into a very sharp point.  Is that how they are supposed to be, or should they be angled to a point, more like a nail?  Second, on the end for notching I took a hammer and smashed the copper wire flat.  Now that it is flat, should it be filed off like a screwdriver or should it be sharpened like a knife?  How long should the flaker be from the end of the wood to the very tip of the point?  Same question for the notcher.  How long should it be from the end of the wood to the very end of the copper.  Now, keep in mind that I have never knapped, so if these questions sound ignorant, it is because they are! LOL  I gotta learn somehow though!  If you all notice anything I should change other than the things I have specifically asked about, don't be afraid to mention it.  Oh and one more thing, the notcher is not as rough as it looks in the pictures.  It really is filed pretty flat, although I am going to work on it some more.  I just wanted your opinion before I started removing more metal.  Thanks guys.

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[billy]

Hey SJ,

Those look great man!  The pointed copper flaker will tend to wear down a bit when it is made really sharp, but then you don't want them super sharp anyway.  Don't worry though, the sharp tip will wear quickly until it becomes slightly blunt, then it is perfect (at least in my opinion).  If you want to make really fine serrations, then you want your copper flaker to be quite sharp and you may have to redress it regularly.  Notching tool looks great too.  Just a suggestion is to watch the edges of that notcher when your using it.  Some times I've got to re-dress the edge once or twice just while notching one point because the copper gets dented from pressing flakes off.  When that happens, edge crushing and platform failures will be much more common.  Just like you can't cut wood with a dull saw, the same holds true for your flintknapping tools.  Keep them in good working order and you'll have better results.  Now get to making some points!!!

[TreyNC]

The rounded end of your flaker is wrong. It will work, but you will notice it will start to bend easy. Take that point off and hammer it into a square shape. You can hammer the end a little extra to start a point. Then I usually use a file to flatly file a four sided point. This will give your flaker much needed strength to resist bending. I touch mine up regularly with a file trying to keep that square shape. Hope this helps.

Trey

[Sleep Junkie]

Thanks for the advice guys.  I really do appreciate it.  I can't wait until I get all the tools done and ready to go.  So far I have the thunderchert, pressure flaker, the notcher, a file to sharpen them, a thick leather pad for my lap, a hammer stone from the creek, an old emery wheel from a grinder that was broken into quarters for an abrading tool and tonight I am going to work on finishing up the 3/4  inch and a 1 inch copper boppers.  Can anyone thing of anything that I am going to need in the way of tools that I have not mentioned?  I cannot wait to get started.

[Outbackbob48]

Sleep Junkie, You will need a hand pad for pressure flaking(leather folded over a few times or   a rubber pad with a slot works well). Your tools look great, now you need a ton of stone. Obsidian seemed awful brittle when I first started , I had better luck with dacite seemed to be a little stronger yet not real hard like some materials.I never worked to much thunder chert but I seen guys struggle with it a thunder chert competion. Have Fun an hope to see ya at a knapin. Later Bob               

[recurve shooter]

yup. yer gunna need some leather. im just starting out with this to man.

all i have knapped is glass from beer bottle bottoms and a tv screen. if your thunder rock dont work out, try that.

good luck! let us know how it works out for you.

[square shooter]

.  Hello, thanks for the pressure flaker/notcher pics. Now i see that i shouldn't have j b welded my handle /copper, ha ha. But i have more copper and 1" teak old rubrail to make another when this one is worn down. Now I see to put setscrews in the handle. |

[Stoker]

I'd like to make one to. What size of wire did you use?
I found this it's a small 1/8th of a inch do i need bigger?
Have a look
Thanks Leroy

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[nugget]

That will work. Hammer the end to compress it, then file it to your preferred shape.

[mullet]

 It looks like it will do a great job. I have to differ with Trey. I use a flattened round edge quite a bit. If you beat them flat it hardens it at the same time. It works real good for removing large pressure flakes. I can just about duplicate percussion flakes on smal points.

[Stoker]

Thanks for the info I'm going to try both and see were it goes .can't hurt
I've been using a hilti pin jb welded in a small piece of antler just to start with
worked ok but always room for improvement.
Thanks Leroy