Presure flaking arrowheads?!?!

[D. Tiller]

Well, I am down right confused!?!? Here it the problem. I'm making some arrowheads to mount on my arrows for hunting in the future. I make most of my stuff out of daysite and obsidian and am having the dickens trying to even out the points where the bulb of percusion is at the tip. One person told me to raise the platform above the centerline here and then, abraid and then presure off a flake?!?! Will this work? I have also been told lower the platform bellow the centerline and then flake. Is one for sharpenning and the other for thinning? Me confused!!!!  (Oh! and place primitive grunting here and head scratching!  )

David T

[mullet]

   David,Take your abrading stone and abrade the bulb down. Then abrade the edge of your point at an angle away from the thick part.Then come back and run your flakes over the bulb. Make sense?

[jamie]

ed any chance of you doing a pictorial of setting up platforms and other tricks. its something we really need on the site? its just too hard to explain flint knapping with words. peace

[D. Tiller]

Hmmm! Kinda Mullet. Are you saying I should abraid down the bulb of percusion completly?  Seems like a bit of work to even out the bulb. Might it not be easier then to just use a blade core with thicker blades, notch the blades and then brake out a form and then flake it? If so that will be what I will do. But, I just hate wasting all this material I have laying arround from percusion flaking.

David T.

[mullet]

 It's easier David but not as good.I'm talking about rounding the bulb not erasing it.Make it smooth,then your flakes will run and not "deadend" against a ridge.Jaime,when I get home tomorrow i'll try to get the wife to take a few pictures.Or better yet;I'll go by Claude Van Orders house and I'll take pictures of him.

[D. Tiller]

I think I get it now. Thanks for the help and I look forward to seeing the picks!

David T.

[mullet]

  Well, I didn't get the pictures.I forgot I'm working off the laptop.I'm having to reformat the big one.I don't have the program on my laptop to download my camera.

[D. Tiller]

No rush! We will still be here.

[tomm]

hay dave how  ya doing? I haven't had much luck with knapping of late I got 25 pounds of naveculite the other day and have just about broke it all into little pieces. just seams that I have lost my touche but then I have been trying to get them thin. well have a good night.  tom

[D. Tiller]

Hey Tomm! Good ta hear from ya. How ya been doing? Novaculite eh! Never worked it before but I hear it is good stuff to make points from. I just have to find some other matterial to work on in the future sometime other than Obsidian. I like obsidian but it sure is cranky when it comes to percusion work. Or I'm just awfull at working it! 

Watcha been up to?

Was that you at the Higgins knapp in last weekend? I'm having such a hard time these days keeping names and faces together. My faltering memory I think. If not you should drop by his "Knapadonia" event. He puts on a nice little knapp in with vittals and everything! Also an archery field with targets is always set up ready to go.

David T

[tomm]

Doing good! No not me didn't hear a thing about it till just now I would have been there otherwise. I like naveculite I get mine from Daves wetstones this is the second order I have made and like the stone all though I think this batch could have been heat treated a little better but I can't say for sure as I didn't do the treating but I have gotten great preforms from him. I think that my trying to get them thin I may be trying for to thin and thats why I have broken so many I might have gotten ten points from 18 pounds of stone or so. I still don't know how thin is thin I usely stop when I think that I can haft them on a shaft but I have been trying to go half as much more and just snap them in half. Well thats napping. Got promotmed at work now I am responsible for all the striping of the roads here and in 3 other county's and about 8 cites. Its getting late in the season now and my striper is in the shop being repaired so it putting me behind at the rate things are going I'll still be striping in December. well have a good night tom