A couple of somethings

[FlintWalker]

I just thought I'd post these two little "somethings" I beat out yesterday evening. I reckon you could call the blue one a Hardin and who knows about the other one.   I wasn't really out to make any certain type. I was practicing percussion and trying for as thin as I could get.  All except the notches and a little edge work, they're all percussion.
 

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[nugget]

Very nice.

[Jaeger]

very nice indeed , I hope I can get them thin like that in time .

[jreb]

Good job i really like the white one

[Timo]

Shannon the dark point has favor of the snyder/hopewell type,with a hardin base? Don't ya just hate it when the flakes stall out in the center? I hate it when that happens.

The nova piece is killer. How do you lke that rock?

[FlintWalker]

Thanks ya'll
 Yea Tim, I noticed that seems to happen to me more when I get a piece down around 1/4" thick. I suppose it's because the angle is so "straight in".  I might just be wussing out a little on the amount of force I hit it with too. 
I love that novaculite!  It does what you tell it too. Sometimes I tell it the wrong thing, but it works extremely well.

[Timo]

When the point gets thin, then the isolation of platform and following even the smallest ridge comes into the picture.

I think Woody B never hits a piece of rock until he isolates a platform,from rock, to spall,to biface,to finished point. That takes alot of self control.

[FlintWalker]

I'm not experienced enough to have known that of the top of my head. But now that I think about it, it makes good sense...I think    Is it because the flake can release easier, thus applying more energy into traveling farther?
 

[DanaM]

More nice points Shannon

[Wolf Watcher]

Mighty fine bit of rock boppin! Would be proud of them myself! 

[Timo]

You got it boy,only there is sometimes a catch...    unseen inclusions in the rock can stop travel,as well as not reading the ridge right, or coming into it at the wrong angle, When you isolate a platform make sure that you are not taking off to wide of an area, causing the flake to spread out to much thus looseing energy. Baby steps sometimes can lead to longer flake travel. By that I mean removing a smaller flake next to the one you really want gone,this relieves pressure and sets you up for some better/cleaner removal on the next flake.

I use a pencil sometimes and mark the area that I think the flake needs to travel.Then I hit it and see how right I was. By doing this it will help you learn about flake travel, and soon you will be better able to predict what and where they will travel.

One last thing....Practice accuracy on your hits. Just like shooting a bow, pick a spot and focus on it.

 The  "do as I say, not as I do" Timo 

[FlintWalker]

When you say "baby steps", do you mean removing shorter/shallower flakes on either side of the area you really need a flake to run farther across, thus making a more pronounced ridge for the main flake to follow? I'm pretty sure I follow you exactly.

 I made the blue one first and noticed on the white one that if when I made my swing, I would "push" through the swing a little farther the flakes would run all the way across better.
 I also started abrading the edges of little steps that I wanted to clean up and grinding down the tops of any little bumps that were sticking up. I didn't seem to have as many flakes stop when they came upon them and lots of times they would shoot right on under them and keep on going.
  My accuracy is terrible. I don't miss left/right much, but I bet I swing 10 times at every platform I try to hit   I have to kinda creep into it

 As much as I love making bows, this knapping stuff could get addicting!

[Timo]

 Removing those small flakes on either side of the one you really want gone, will help the main one travel.(less energy lost)When you isolate your platform,however small it may be,before you hit it,(or miss it 10 times)  grind down the areas on either side of the platform,( This doesn't take much,just a little)thus giving them  some strength.This allows the flake to release in a controlled manner and not just running out at random.

Something else to think on is, how well you control your rock at the time of contact. Sometimes we drop our hand just at the point of contact with the billet,this completely changes the angle of the hit. This will cause a flake travel to terminate early as the angle gets to flat. Try to focus on that and keeping that rock hand steady through the hit.

A little trick that sometimes helps me with hitting: Before you make your swing,push the billet into the platform a couple times lightly, Kinda just touch it,giving your muscle some memory,then take your swing.

[Stringman]

Boy if you two would keep talkin, I feel like I could learn a little! I think my biggest problem is lack of patience. I start seein good results and I just wanna keep pounding til it's done. That's usually when I make one of them handy "take down" points! Aww well, there just rocks, right!

[GregB]

Yes Shannon, I called you a perfectionist...and once again you're proving it to be the case! Those are beautiful bud!