Questions about obsidian

[osage outlaw]

I picked this up at a flea market last week.  The guy told me it was mahogany obsidian.  He had some more of this, so if it is good stuff, should I go back and get it?  I also picked up 3 big chunks of leather and a big roll of rawhide for $2.  It was a good day for gathering PA stuff.  I am wanting to learn to flint knap, so I don't know much.  Do I need to heat treat this, or is it good to go.  What would be the best way to get some chunks off of it to start working?  Thanks for the help.

[ricktrojanowski]

Thats obsidian.  No need to heat treat it, work it as is.  Just be aware that it is the sharpest stuff you can knap,  you might lose a little blood, but thats part of the fun.   Start with the thicker parts trying to get it thinned down.

[sailordad]

yup mahogony,looks like nice stuff to
to get a spall first you need to find an area that has a natural platform or a good spot to set one up
look for a ridge line that doesnt bend inward to the rock
flakes and spalls dont like to trave lalong concavities,they like convexity
then you need that platform to below centerline,in other wards you want it to be closer to the of the rock your gonna take the spall from
then abraid abraid abraid abraid,then when you are ready to hit it abraid again
obsidion doesnt like a poor platform,it WILL crush and then you got steps and such
bandaids and safety glasses are or atleast should be a prerequisite when working with obsidion,cant remember how many times i had the wife picking flakes from my peepers

good luck,and i would go get more,cause your gonna get the rock addiction
all kinds of rock addicts here,now we gotta another one

[osage outlaw]

Thanks for the answers.  I paid $6 for that rock, was that a good deal?  That picture doesn't show it, but it is as thick as it is wide.  There was a piece about twice this size still for sale.  I have my work shop just about finished, so this winter, I want to learn to knap and make some arrows.

[JackCrafty]

Yep, that's obsidian.  It knaps like glass....in fact, you might try knapping some glass before you try the obsidian.

Watch some youtube videos and try to get some one-on-one instruction from someone who knows how to knap that stuff.  Obsidian is VERY delicate.

[osage outlaw]

I have been working on some rootbeer bottle bottoms.  I am starting to figure it out, I guess.  I can't seem to make any flakes longer than 1/4".  I will keep at it though.

[cowboy]

You would generally want to spall that piece out trying to get big enough flakes for points while bi-facing the core for a bigger blade or something. I would take Patricks advice though and work with glass until you figure it out before possibly ruining your chunk of obs . Yutubes are a great tool for learning but nothing beats some one-on-one with somebody who can show you as already mentioned..

[warhawk]

Its the easy to knapp and they are all right in telling you to practice on glass. I started like you so when i ordered a kit from on line i also ordered 20 Pd's of obsidian flakes so i could practice to my hearts content without worrying about it being expensive. If you go to the website Flintknappingtools.com or Neolithic you can see the items and order what you want.

[StevenT]

Osage, that looks like a really nice piece of obsidian. My recommendation since it is such a nice piece, would be to save it till later. Practice up on less expensive stuff and get the basics down. Then you will be able to make something form this other than glass flakes. That is really pretty rock and not really all that easy to come by, at least not way out here in VA. I would grab the other piece you mentioned and hang on to it for down the road knapping.

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

nice buy on the other stuff but $6 is pretty pricey for one rock in my opinion. i usually find deals where i wont pay more than $2 a pound for obsidian and that includes shipping! look around there are deals out there.