Help with point material decision

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Those are some awesome points. It definitely looks like something worth a try. I bet the scouts loved those arrows.

Kyle

[penderbender]

DK Did you shape/sharpen with hand tools? Files etc? Thanks- brendan

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Those first ones I cheated for expediency and used a drum sander. I just gt done roughing out a new batch with my knife and will clean them up with sand paper. This time I left the outer layer on and am going to see how this does. Hopefully they will get sharp enough to cut after I temper them. It they only get reasonably sharp then they will still be good for pas shooting geese this winter.

Kyle

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Here's what I have roughed out so far.

Kyle

[Dakota Kid]

I roughed them out using a 1" belt sander and a coping saw. Next I sanded increasing the grit until I hit 2000. I buffed them with a jewelers wheel and a dremel after that. They were pretty sharp at that point, but I wasn't sure of the angle on the edge, so I just ran them over my sharpening stones like I would any other blade. They didn't need as many passes though because they aren't quite as hard as steel. After that they'd take hair off my arm, so I figured I wasn't gonna get them much sharper than that.

A word to the wise, don't breathe the dust from shells!!! There is a specific allergy that about half of the population has that is caused by inhaling shell dust. Unfortunately I found out I have it the hard way. I was deathly ill for three days, with constant coughing/mucus, fever, chills/shivers, and horrible joint pain. It was worse than any flu I've ever had.  I'm really cautious now and won't even work on shell in the house and never w/o a mask on.

[sleek]

I have no intention of going through that kind of sickness.... wanna make me some shell points?   

Seriously though,  what type shell did you use?

[Dakota Kid]

These were made from a freshwater mussel called a giant floater. (don't google that!!!... without the word mussel)

I gathered a bunch from a semi-local creek after I saw how thick they were. I'd never seen shells that heavy. They were way more substantial than the normal lake mussels I've been finding since childhood. Some were almost a 1/2" thick. I'm saving the larger ones for knife scales, but have made all sorts of stuff from some of the smaller ones. I've made arrow passes, nock overlays, ear rings, arrow heads, pendants and some buttons so far. Some of them have some remarkable color swirled throughout, like the point on the left in my pic. The only draw back is how hard the stuff is. I'm surprised the Native Americans were able to work it at all considering it's a PITA even with a belt sander and rotary tool. 

[Dakota Kid]

As far as that illness... it was pretty awful.  From what I read it was first discovered in a banjo factory. They use mother of pearl on the fret boards.  Half the factory workers were using up sick days like crazy. I guess it didn't take very long to determine the dust was the culprit. I'm glad I was able to figure out the cause or I would have made an unnecessary trip the the ER.

[penderbender]

Awesome thanks Dakota kid! I'm gonna try some she'll points. Cheers- Brendan

[SGTKaveman]

I see you are using silk thread & modern tools, etc so I will ask:

Have you considered using modern metals for arrowheads?
Heavy bandsaw blade is near perfect for trade points, if you can shape it.  Large nails hammered flat & sharpened also make dandy broadheads.  Some people use spoons hammered flat.  Just about any tough thin steel will make a decent trade point head.

Slate floor tiles will also do.  Many are 1/4" - 3/8" thick, which are thin enough to file or grind into shape.  A 12" square tile will provide material for many many arrowheads.  Slate is soft enough to work with hand tools but hard enough to hold up for one time use & takes a fair edge.  Comparable to bone or wood.  Bamboo can get pretty sharp!

Plate glass would be my easy go-to material if I was to start knapping again.  I learned pressure flaking on plate glass so knapping your own heads is not out of the question.