Keeping it real as a new ABO knapper

[iowabow]

Often when attempting ABO (aboriginal style knapping typically with bone stone and antler) beginning knapper have too great of an expectation for their first points. many of the points that the common native peoples made were not works of art but meant to be functional.
This video was made to give ABO knappers a realistic base line for reasonable expectations. Scott the other voice you hear in the video is aways arrowhead hunting and wanted to share his finds with you all.
http://youtu.be/rtOXl6PDITI

[JW_Halverson]

No kidding.  Virtually everything posted here on PA is finer grade knapping than any original I have came across.  I have 6 originals collected from farm fields around Presho, SD that all look like they were knapped by a blind-drunk walrus with one flipper in a cast! 

I should really dig those points out and post them here.  First I gotta get my camera back from stringstretcher and learn how to take macro photos!

[iowabow]

I am sure there were real good knappers back then but just like now it took years to learn and really how good did you really need to be to get the job done?

[bowtarist]

Cool Vid guys! Like it.  Obviously I'm not at home. dp

[Dalton Knapper]

One interesting thing is that we often don't consider that the old knappers didn't make a dozen or more point styles like we do and they didn't have access to dozens of types of rock either. They may have made one to three styles of points and worked with one primary rock source (with some variance and importation of course). They got much better than us at producing the type point they normally made and probably had a pretty much fixed process. Of course, lots of the points were by our modern standards "crude," but some were outstanding. There were also no doubt specialists that are excellent knappers by any standard - just look at the Sweetwater Biface for example. Another factor is switching tools. If you learn on copper, it will be a hard switch to stone and bone knapping and vice-versa. Which ever method you like, you would do well to stick with a given methodology and even make a certain type of point your specialty.

[ionicmuffin]

Great vid. Also, something to consider, they probably kept it thicker so as to avoid snapping and reduce time spent on the point, think about it, did they have tons of time to sit around making points? probably not, and even if they did why bother putting more effort into it than necessary?

[Bugtussle]

Thank you for posting this!  That makes me feel a lot better about my points.  I ruin a lot of perfectly adequate hunting points trying to make them "pretty"... But hopefully this coming hunting season... beauty will be in the eye of the deer holder!

[4dog]

Gonna stand real far out on this limb, but here goes, when i put my logic hat on this makes sense to me, you had specialists way back when to knock out great points, then you had the everyman that made "workables", points that werent pretty but were effective, but ya know the old guy that had a bum leg and couldnt hunt probably made the bulk of a tribes points, it kept him moving and vital to the tribes health, just my logical 2˘

[Bugtussle]

Gonna stand real far out on this limb, but here goes, when i put my logic hat on this makes sense to me, you had specialists way back when to knock out great points, then you had the everyman that made "workables", points that werent pretty but were effective, but ya know the old guy that had a bum leg and couldnt hunt probably made the bulk of a tribes points, it kept him moving and vital to the tribes health, just my logical 2˘

I betcha you are right... But I wasn't there or anything http://... But it makes sense...  My points definitely fall in the "workable" category... me trying to get thinner points is like watching a monkey with boxing gloves try to make love to a football...  A lot of effort but no results!