G notching demo

[iowabow]

Well notching was the last thing I learned last year when making points.  I made a lot of points and did not notch them.  I used scrap flakes to practice on then notched my points.  My hunting points are fast notched using the same basic moves but with wider tools.   I am not careful when making hunting points.  If I want to make a nice notch this is how I do it.  The following is very time consuming but makes amazing notches.  By the way some of the best notching on this website is done by Tower.   If you want to see amazing notch work and are new you really should read his post. 

[iowabow]

First thing I do is make a plan.  So how are you going to notch the point you just made.  If you are new I would side notch because it is the easies way to notch. There many ways to notch but I will only cover one.   I think if you are new you are making points to hunt with and the side notch design is strong if you don't make the notch to deep. So begin by penciling in your idea (taught to me by sawfiler) by drawing a line across the stone where your notches are going to be.  NOTE I work both notches at the same time all the time but don't during this demo because it would be too confusing to do so. I work on both because it help to keep them lined up. 

[iowabow]

The picture above is where I am going to begin but I am going to remove very very small flakes at first because the platfrom is small and because I want to remove a small amount of material. If the notch is to be small then a small amount needs to be removed.  Look closely and you can see a very small flake then in the next photo you can see that I removed the corner of the notch that I have started.  Things are very small at this point and you can not see me removing corners until my last few post where the image is large enough to see what  am talking about.

[iowabow]

I am not abrading as I go.  I abrade only if things don't look right.  The follow photo will be grouped be individual post.  Each post will be a flip of the stone as I am working it. I hope that is not confussing.

[iowabow]

  I continue flipping and removing three flake but at times the flake removal if kinda like grinding because the flake breaks into many part in the beginning.  As I start moving into the stone I add more pressure to remove larger flakes.

[iowabow]

Now things are going good so watch out that you don't knock off the sides of the notch with the tool's edge. 

[iowabow]

If you have made it this far your doing great.  Start looking at the platform very closely.  You may need to remove two flakes in order to set the flatform right (I did not need to do this while working the stone but it is not uncommon). Do not remove a flake from this point forward without taking the corners out or checking the platform or looking at your tool.   Look at the tool before you apply pressure to check that it is not going to hit the edge of the work. 

[iowabow]

When good things are happening

[iowabow]

It is nice to see the notch as wide as the tool and clean removal of material.  These flake are coming off nice because the corner are knocked out and that prevents mistakes and directs the flake to the inside not the edges.

[iowabow]

Repeat what works and don't get creative. 

[iowabow]

Good to see this!

[iowabow]

This was what I wanted to show  you because now the cornor notches can be seen clearly.  In the second and third photo.



In this photo you can see two lines leaving the notch in a Y shape.  These need to be removed or they will contribute to the ear and tabs damage.  Now more than ever go slow the tool will do damage.  If you just made the point you should not be notching because you are tired and it is easy to make mistakes and get in a hurry.  Set the stone down and take a break before you continue.  When you start again remind yourself of the three goals 1 platform 2 cornors 3 watch that tool. 





Now this photo show the corners removed.

[iowabow]

Ok I am taking a break and this should work to explain how to notch.  Folks let me know it this helps or if you need more photos of something. 

[Elktracker]

Looking good thanks for posting, your notching tool looks interesting

Josh

[iowabow]

I saw one this on this website and made one.