what did you learn on?

[JustinNC]

I give up until further notice lol

[JustinNC]

Boppin at it like a mongoose dodgin cobra strike?

[nugget]

Never give up. its just rock. Grab another piece. I have been working/learning on all kinds of diffferent types of rock. I still am a beginner in my mind. I still desrtoy more than I make and waste lots of material. Only way to learn is to keep doing it and pay attention to your mistakes

[Woodland Roamer]

Justin, can you post pics of the rhyolite you have? It varies so much and some is hardly worth picking up then some of it is great stuff. I used to try knapping way too fast and I would also have the finished point in mind before I even started. I didn't improve much until I started slowing down and just making a first stage bifaces then put it down and make another and another. Don't worry about making finished points for a while, just make bifaces. When you detach a good flake stop and put the flake back in place where it came off and study what happened and learn from it. I'm still not that good at taking these bifaces to the next stage but I'm not worried much about that right now because that is not what I'm trying to do, that will be the next stage for me. Also I have personally had really nice results with a heavy moose billet on the rhyolite that I have used. Here are some rhyolite bifaces I've done mostly with a moose billet and hammerstone and some pressure flaking to help set up platforms. Hope this helps some.

Alan

[mullet]

 Nice Bifaces, Alan. You been doing alright?

[JustinNC]

Don't be so humble alan, I've seen some of your rhyolite points before through various searches I've ran on rhyolite. I can't see the pics right now because I'm on my phone but ill check em out.

I know what you mean about different rhyolite, I've got some stuff that's awful, then I've got some that's not so awful. I've seen a lot of nasty terrible rhyolite in my short knapping experience, but I gotta say, I've got some that's very nice. Certainly not the grade of that knife that james posted last fall but pretty fair stuff.

 I shoulda kept to my word and took james advise and what you're telling me Alan, and put the first stage biface away and did another. I've ruined two nice spalls of good stuff this past weekend and last week. I should have laid it down but I got confident and went for it anyway.

I'm going to be a stubborn carolina boy and keep at it. Lord knows if I do get a point made, I'll need it to be made of rhyolite as hard as I am on things.

The moose billet seems to do well when I've used jonathan's but james said they're too hard, so I just haven't gotten one. If at all possible, I'd just as soon use what they had available here. Stubborn and makes for a hard row to hoe, I know.

[JustinNC]

Just finally saw the pics....got a little bit of that stuff down on the bottom left...and idk about you, but mine works about like a chunk of concrete. Then Ive got some that resembles that other light green thats a little more blueish that works well that I mess up out of stupid mistakes. Had a nice biface about like that bottom, second from right one, that I hit too deep and snapped, couldnt salvage it with my skills.

James told me to do the method youre talking about Alan, and go one stage at a time. I knocked out a nice biface...with the help of a nice flake to begin with and could just see that big Savannah River hiding in it....so I continued.....ooops. Think I'll just continue to do what you're doing.

[Woodland Roamer]

Thanks Eddie, yeah been doing alright, how about you?

The pic is not showing the quality of that bottom left one Justin, it is actually pretty darn good stuff. But there is some that looks similar to it that is junk. James is the one who told me what I told you and it has really helped me a lot. I ruined a lot of nice spalls by seeing a big Savannah in there too.......I still do every once in a while 

Alan

[JustinNC]

If you ever feel like headin down this way just point the truck towards mooresville and we'll beat on some rhyolite

[JustinNC]

Broke another decent biface tonight. Was literally going to take one last thinning flake then put it aside and got above center an snap.