Thickness of of obsidian blades and usefulness?

[D. Tiller]

Was wondering what would make a truly functional obsidian knife. Most of the points I  see these days are super thin. But is this really functional or just asking for trouble? Personaly if I wanted a functional obsidian knife I would stake my life on I would make it thicker than many of the display knives I see today. Plus, this would give me extra material to work with when sharpening the blade.

What do you guys think?

[Wolf Watcher]

Over the years hunting arrowheads from Wyoming to Oregon where obsidian is the main material used, I have found the vast majority of them to be thin.  There is a fantastic artifact museum in Klamath Falls Oregon with thousands of points and most obsidian points are thin.  Blades and tools are thicker.  I have made several blades over the years and they are thick because they break easily when skeining or dressing if used to pry sidewise as often happens when field dressing large animals!  Also used obsidian, agate, and jasper to hunt deer, elk, moose, and bear with good results and like a moderately thin point.  Watcher

[Wolf Watcher]

Forgot to mention that I have found little need to do a lot of major flakeing when sharpening a knife.  Just little reworking is all that is necessary!  Watcher

[D. Tiller]

Thats what I thought. I am making my blades for knifes a bit on the thicker side, especially in the center. Seems a bit stronger that way. Arrowheads I make thin. Dont mind if the break off at the tip since it just makes it sharper!

David T

[Hillbilly]

I think that modern knappers are hung up on the "thin" thing a lot more than the old ones were. We do it mainly for cosmetics and the "Wow, look how thin he got that point" factor. I think that if it's thin enough to haft, and the cross section allows for a sharp edge, thicker ( = stronger) is probably better for actual use.

[D. Tiller]

You got it Steve (See I remembered!). Most of the actual knife blades I see in the Archy record, that were actually used, seem thicker than what a lot of poeple use today. I think it must have something to do with how we view blades based on steal ones. Thin steal is still strong but obsidian is very delicat when made to the same thickness.

David T