novice question..

[aero86]

hello all, im new to this site.  i started primitive ways when i was 13 or 14.  building bow and arrows and flintknapping.  with success, but nothing great.  anyways, its now 13 years later, and being away from it for the same amount of time.  i wanna start doing it right.  my problem is, when im knapping, it breaks off short.  no long flakes.  i really dont want to post pictures of things ive done, because its kinda embarrassing.. but could it also be from rock quality, and it not being fired?

[StevenT]

Welcome to PA.  If you have been making bows and flint knapping, then you have come to the right place. First thing I would tell you is not to be afraid to show your work. Posting pictures of what your doing is the best way to get great advice. What you said is a good intro, but way to many variables to really help you a lot. I was new to PA this summer myself and have gotten some really good help here. One thing you can do is to take some time to go back through the threads in the Flintknapping section. There is all kinds of great threads on how to start out. After that, show us your work so we can see what tools your using, what material you are working on, etc. It really makes a difference what you are woking on as to how we can help you out. Main thing is not to worry about what your skill levels are because truthfully, it doesn't matter here. Everyone will be willing to help no matter what your abilities are. Again, welcome.... and show us some pics.

[aero86]

thank you very much!  i just was looking through the different sections and came upon a post where someone had found some old points in a field, and they look a bit like me!  so i dont feel so bad.  but i would like to make them nice.  anyways, i use copper to flake with.  as for my stone, im not sure what kind it is, as some of it came in a "kit" i got, and some i found in central texas at some home lots.  so some of its decent quality, and some is straight from nature, no heat treating. 

i like to try and do things the way i would have to do them if i were stuck in the wild. 

[aero86]

here are some of the primitive points have had the time to flake out in the past month.  thats my arrow shaft harvesting saw.  i just use it to cut a notch all around a shoot, and break off!  the points are rather small, and ill probably never hunt anything bigger than a rabbit with them, but i dont even know if you can make out any detail as its a cell phone picture, since i cant upload pics from my camera to my computer..

[nugget]

Aint nothin wrong with those points. With practice they will get better. The key to getting long flakes is setting up a good platform.

[Hillbilly]

What Nugget said. Platforms are everything in knapping. Make sure you're flaking from below the centerline of the piece. And you need to have more inward than downward pressure on your pressure flaker to get long flakes.

[gutpile]

I can get longer flakes holding the rock in my hand than I do knapping on my leg also...platform prep..is the key and hitting at the right angle with the correct power stroke.....gut

[StevenT]

What they said... and one other thing that may help. When you are setting up your platform, take your pressure flaker and on both sides of your platform, take a small flake off on the opposite side you are going to be striking from. This will make your platform a little bit stronger and help channel the energy of the strike. As you are learning, it really doesn't hurt to make your platforms a little larger. It will give you a slightly bigger target to strike reducing miss hits. Also, abrade the top of the platform back just a little bit further so that if your strike is ever so slightly high, you still get a good hit. It may go a bit deeper than you intended, but with time and practice, it will start to be easier. And the truth is that even though I may sound like I know what I am doing, I am still practicing what I'm suggesting and still learning.

Look at the results of each hit. Put the flake back after it is removed and really check out how well you did in setting things up and if you got the results you wanted.

One other thing I might suggest. Looking at your pictures, that looks like it might be some pretty tough flint or chert. The harder the material, the harder it is for a novice to get the hang of taking good thinning flakes off. At least it was that way for me. I would suggest getting your hands on some flint that isn't quite as hard. It will make the learning curve a bit easier. There is a world of difference between the different types of stones.

[aero86]

i believe thats part of what im doing wrong, is too much downward pressure.  and also, like i said, its just some stone i found in a field in central texas.  around the temple/belton/killeen area.  i have some obsidian and some other flint i may work on now.  i was saving those pieces for when i got a little better!  guess i should use them to get better with!  haha

[JackCrafty]

Long flakes are everyone's dream.  Getting a flake to travel more than half way across the stone is what is needed to thin down a point...and I spent months trying to perfect the technique.

That was my problem.  It's not the technique, it's the shape, size and properties of the stone you are working with along with the shape, size and properties of the tool you are using to knap the stone.

You'll never get long flakes until you learn that long flakes travel along ridges.  Yes, a good platform is essential, but the flake will never travel very far if the surface is flat, concave, or any other shape than a ridge.

Here's an excellent video on the subject:

---http://www.youtube.com/user/paleomanjim#p/u/0/5aMCGe1X7nM

[aero86]

heres a thicker piece of obsidian that i had, hopefully you can see the flakes.  they actually came off better than before.  all i did for now was keep from using downward pressure.