im a starter in need of help

[mitchman]

im new to flintknapping and in need of advice.   i live in moosehead, maine for the summers so i have amazing access to mount kineo.(wich is made of entirely flint. i am home now in pennsylvania and am trying to knap some of the flint from kineo, but it just hinges when i try to brake of a flake for an arrowhead. am i doing something wrong or is the flint just bad. should i use a different material. if so what do i have at my disposal around me.i have knapped some pretty cool arrowheads out of glass  just by pressure flaking it so i dont have alot of experience but i am trying to learn as much as i can . i have a book and have watched tons of videos on youtube.


any help would be apreciated a this point

thanks
    mitch codd

[Hillbilly]

Mitch, if I remember correctly, Mt. Kineo is not made of flint, but rhyolite. Rhyolite is knappable and good stuff (very variable as to knappability, though) but probably not a good beginner's rock. It is very tough compared to good flint or chert, but makes good hunting points if it's one of the better grades. Some types knap fairly easily, and some are almost unknappable. What tool are you using for percussion? Rhyolite works best with BIG wooden billets made from something tough like flowering dogwood or persimmon. A heavy moose billet works pretty good, too. I don't think it likes copper much. Other than tough material, some common causes of hinging are: Wrong platform angle or not abrading the platform enough; striking at the wrong angle (usually too straight in); not using big/heavy enough billet for the material; and not hitting it hard enough. The way you support the piece can also affect how far the flakes run. Hard to say without working a piece of your rhyolite whether it's the material or your technique that's causing the problems.

[jamie]

load up the truck , come down to ct. and we will break a bunch of rock and see what happens.  peace

[mitchman]

well i am using a large deer antler or a large hammer stone to take flakes off the main stone in order to make a flake for an arrow head. the flakes when i use the billet on the preform are all wimpy. they dont run along the peice they just flake like a quarter inch or a half inch and hinge. i dont get it.as to material do you knowwhat i have around me that would be good.

[Hillbilly]

If the flakes are stepping close to the edge, sounds like you need to grind your platforms more heavily and whack the crap out of it. Is there any way you can post a pic of your rock?

[mitchman]

sure i can post pics latter tonight im going to the rock store  today to get some materials. any special rocks you recommend.

[mitchman]

HERES SOME PICS. I BOUGHT SOME JASPER AND I THINK ITS A BEUTIFUL ROCK. THE ROCK STORE OWNER IS REALLY NICE AND LET ME BRAKE SOME ROCKS IN ORDER TO DECIDE WHAT I WANT I TOOK A OBSIDIAN PIECE AND SOME OTHER COOL LOOKIN JASPER LIKE ROCK. HERE ARE SOME PICS OF THE RHYOLITE AND A PIECE OF THE JASPER I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK. ITS PRETTY HARD TO BRAKE IN SOME PARTS. AND THERE ARE LOTS OF HINGES IN THE TOUGH PLACES.  BUT I LIKE WORKING WITH THIS STUFF. I WILL TRY THE OBSIDIAN LATER. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. ANY RECOMENDATIONS ON WHAT IM DOING WRONG. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME CRITISIZM AND HELP.

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[mullet]

Most Jasper you would be better off heat treating. You need to buddy up with Hillbilly.He's used to beating concrete's first cousin.

[mitchman]

thanks

[Hillbilly]

That's some pretty tough looking stuff, looks like porphyritic rhyolite (rhyolite containing phenocrysts of quartz, feldspar, pyrite and such), some of which is pretty hard to knap, and some of which isquite  knappable. From what I can find, the prehistoric people in New England used Kineo Rhyolite extensively, so it may be decent stuff.  Tell you what, if you're interested, I'll trade you a couple good chunks of obsidian or something for a couple good chunks of that stuff-that way I can beat on some of it and can give you some better advice on working it.

[mitchman]

so heres my first real arrowhead(made correctly and not out of glass.) what do ya think i know i need a lot of practice. i broke two others in the procces of trying to make this one. what is this style of arrowhead called.

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[mitchman]

by the way its made of obsidian

[mullet]

  A  Cadite ,from around South Carolina.Used alot for smashing squirrels.

[mitchman]

is cadite the name of the arrowhead. i looked on google and cant find any points called that.

[mullet]

Yea,I believe it might have been in Overstreet's Priceguide for artifacts.I think it was concentrated around the Abbeville,S.C. area and a little south around the S.C. and Ga border.