Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: gstoneberg on October 18, 2011, 12:47:06 am
-
I found a big spall in the bucket and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I've never worked a spall this big.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6255562873_b8f1be2062_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6120/6256095316_ddd9f3d4a6_z.jpg)
What should I try?
I put it back and took a smaller spall out and chipped out a 130gr point. It had nasty concrete one side and I worked to remove it but didn't get it all. I really wanted to get corner notches and they turned out pretty good for a change. One stalled a little, but overall I'm happy...didn't break off a corner.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6256097242_503a7841fb_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6102/6256099160_770374433f_z.jpg)
George
-
That point looks good, as long as you are happy with it is all that counts. If you plan on puting it on an arrow, the only thing that counts is if it will do the job and it looks as if it would do a heck of a job to me. Nice notching too, Im still trying to work on that. As far as the spall...........maybe a spear head???? What kind of material is that?
-
I agree ! Put it to use. Nothing wrong w/ a little cortex I've found points W/it on them! As for the big spall, thin it out & shape it up! It can be anything you want it to be.
-
Just throw that big spall down on a concrete slab. It will magically change into several bird point preforms.... ;D >:D
-
Thanks, but I probably have enough bird point material already. There's actually a decent chance I'll drop it and do just that anyway.
George
-
I think i see an Andice in there George :). Might be better to try something long and narrow though, would be a lot easier to work.
-
Work some on the two curved ends and the high center to flatten it out some. If you get it flat, work on thinning and shaping. I think it will make a great knife blade, if you loose too much length, just make a neck knife. Bill
-
G your doing great
-
Yikes, some of those Andice points are BIG. The odds of me doing a pair of notches that deep are close to zero unless there's a miracle. The spall is pretty thin, it'll be interesting to see how much width is left when I get it flat. So far I've broken every knife blade in half I've tried...but one, and it wasn't very long. Guess it might be time to try again, it's been awhile. Be curious to see how wide the preform ends up when I get it relatively flat. Not sure I'm good enough to drive flakes all the way across those ends. Worth a try though. Wish me luck, I'll need it...alot! :)
George
-
Where's the gusto? Try & do it ! Remember if it breaks GOD is making more rock as we speak! The only way to get better is to fail at first ,or 2nd' or 3rd etc.etc.etc! Ya have to push your skill to improve! I could be wrong but that's how I feel!
-
Yep! Like Tower said, "go for it". If it breaks you'll just have more thin rock for smaller points.
-
O I'll give it the old college try for sure. Not sure my gusto is quite what it used to be though. ;) I'm keeping my failure rate up pretty well these days. Doesn't bother me much anymore. Would like to make a nice point from this one though. The wife is calling it a day. Think I'll slip out to the shop and make a little rubble. Haven't had a chance yet tonight. Had to replace the starter in the jeep earlier. Been a long time since I last did one of those.
George
-
If it is exceptional material put it aside & come back to it at a later date.
-
Too late for that now. One of my first half dozen cracks at it was not stellar...
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/6259694354_ce044c6f93_z.jpg)
I settled down after that and cleaned it up a little bit.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6059/6259185057_6fcabb1a51_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6259168687_62607fd100_z.jpg)
That coretex on that one side is really tough. I whacked and whacked at it. Finally gave up for the night before I got frustrated and broke it in 2.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6259712632_d7f67cfb74_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6259184771_acaa195b6f_z.jpg)
I was able to knock most of it off the tip, but as soon as the point widens out it steps rather than run across. You can't see it very well, but I tried to come across from the other side and it stepped there too.Really haven't worked very hard on the good side. The coretex is so thick I'm afraid to thin it a lot on the other side. Maybe sleeping on it will help.
George
-
First ,nice point I would love to pull that off. Second that has knife writ all over it ...imo...but I don't know diddly about knapping but that is what come to mind ;)
-
Hey George: We need to meet in the middle sometime so i can give you some of these Pedernales cobbles to work on (unheated). Once you get good at spalling, bi-facing and working them in whatever ya want then you will be "stellar" ;D. That rock still does have plenty of potential - but it's gonna take a few gusto shots to get that cortex off..
-
I'm headed west later today to get a couple days of hunting in. Are you in Texas? I actually tried the northern route to the lease once and came pretty close to you. Took a lot longer, but it'd be worth it for sure to put a face with the name and get some pedernales.
I know I'm going to have to really hit this thing. That's when I snap the long ones it seems. But, there's no other way. Might take it out to the lease and work it a little.
George
-
Nope, still in MI. Will be in next weekend but as always - busy, busy. Surely i could find time to meet up with ya somewhere though, hmm.
-
I'll be in Lakeland, FL a week from tomorrow. Plan to visit Eddie while I'm there. Be back after that. Are you staying home awhile or heading back out?
-
Your edges where the cortex is henging is too high, you have got to go way below center line and you have to grind a good solid spot to hit to drive those flakes. Also, you need to flatten out your swing to get those long flat flakes, you are hitting at a downward angle. If you are holding it in your hand, your swing should almost be horizontal. If on your leg, move it to the outside of your leg and hit it straight down.
-
OK, thanks Bill. I'll try that when I get back to camp.
Thanks,
George
-
Well, I pretty much failed on this one. It turned out that there were 3 layers of rock. There was good flint, then on top of that is the same color as the flint, but it has shiny flakes of something in it. Then there was the cortex on top. I was able to get the cortex off, but never was able to knock off that other layer. I'm down to a neck filet knife size and it still isn't right. Here's the good side:
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6045/6270684364_64e64034dd_z.jpg)
it knapped very easily. Here's the other side. The edge is down to good flint, but the center is all the other stuff.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6033/6270154555_fafdc47b6f_z.jpg)
I tossed it in the bucket and thought I'd try a point. This ushered in a period of knapping I have named, my Achey Breaky time ....
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6270155275_e55b198670_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6213/6270155881_e7bcf034a9_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6217/6270687774_53572340b8_z.jpg)
I didn't take pictures of the ones I broke before they got to preforms. Frustrating as a couple of those had nice color patterns. Maybe I can only knapp in my shop???
George
-
I will guess that the light is different. That's why you broke everything. And some days, everybody breaks everything.
I would pressure flake a beveled edge on that blade and make a neck knife. It is a good shape and length for a necker. As you use it and resharpen it, you will work past the hinge, when you do, you can try to run a series of pressure flakes down the blade to thin it some but I would not, it will be be getting narrow and the thickness will strengthen the blade. Once you actually start using stone tools, you won't be quite as impressed with the super thin show pieces. There are certain things that really thin is great for like arrow points, but the thicker ones also were made deliberately. And most knives were thicker than the replicas most modern knappers make, they had to be, your life might depend on it not breaking.
One last thing, you did not fail. You made a knife blade. It may not look like what you had planned but it had a few quirks that you didn't know about when you started knapping it. You actually over came and solved some problems that you didn't know that you could. It actually made you a better knapper.
-
That last picture looks familiar. I think I got a few of those in my bucket. Keep on chippin' ' Frank
-
I keep them and make bird points or small arrowheads.
-
Thanks guys. I try to learn from mistakes, but it seems painfully slow to me. I had a beautiful point going today and tried to thin one of the corners on the base and knocked off the whole corner. From then on it was a scramble to recover. I still cannot do corner notches at all. Ended up with a little 100gr point.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6039/6274223339_6cc36c1fea_z.jpg)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6100/6274750960_f921ff682e_z.jpg)
Had one step I couldn't get out, but I think it'll hunt OK.
George