Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: Tradslinger on January 08, 2021, 07:08:46 am
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last summer, I watched a lot of videos on how to work the flint to make heads and knives etc. I had made some river cane and wanted to hunt with a stone point. I gathered up several of the things needed and made a few tools. I managed to find some flint and some thick glass to try on. But then I realized that besides not being able to see worth a flip (got a cornea transplant in Nov.) I had problems with my hands. Too many strokes and too many falls in the past had left me stronger in my left hand than the right plus my grip is like that of a girl now. Then throw in I can't feel very good with my fingers anymore and trying to hold something small is extremely challenging and frustrating. So I sidelined doing this for a while. Since I got the cornea transplant, I have hopes of seeing better so that will help with everything from vision to depth perception. When the cloudiness goes away, I hope to somehow make a few points to deer hunt with this fall. At this point, they can be glass, as long as they work. Also wanted to make a knife, that would be cool to use on a deer as well. Wish I had learned how to do this 50 years ago LOL. Oh well, it is what it is.
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I have a friend that uses a box set up for his knapping. I could maybe get you in touch with him to get some pictures of his set up. Might work for you.
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I have a friend that uses a box set up for his knapping. I could maybe get you in touch with him to get some pictures of his set up. Might work for you.
really want to and will do this sometime this summer because it is such an awesome ability. it is now a problem of recovery from covid plus having a beautiful Osage bow stave that is ready to floor tiller. I want to do it all and wish that I had been knowing this stuff years ago. When I was a kid, nobody that I knew talked about being Indian or mostly. now I am older and wish that I could have found someone tell me and teach me things back then. it would be so nice to carry a bow that I made, with arrows that I made from river cane with stone points and a stone knife. As one gets older, you have to learn to adapt and or get smarter at doing things if you want to continue. in my case, be okay with it may take a while too. thanks for the offer Ben, Jerry
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maybe try indirect percussion, it might not take care of the vision problem but swinging a mallet down is a lot easier on the hand than pressure flaking
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It sucks, but my eyesight is going downhill and I resorted to buying some maginfying shield type glasses with an led light right between the eyes. They were not expensive on amazon, came with four different magnification interchangable lenses, and they work...also provide good eye protection at the same time. I feel you...really do. I so wish I started this 30-40 years ago.
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If you keep at it you will find that “feel” is more important than seeing perfectly. Yes, you need to be able to see platforms and what’s going on but compromised vision isn’t a deal breaker.
I know, as I am blind in my left eye.
Grip and dexterity do, however, matter. But, I’d wager you can figure out other ways to get around the obstacle...if you put the time in.
No matter what, it takes a lot of broken rock to figure it out!
Hope it works out for you.
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I'm not giving up, just going to have to attack it from a different angle from I have been doing. too many people have had to make major adjustments to do things. I just had to walk away for a little while to regroup and think things better. I have some thick glass to try, I basically ruined what stone that I had manged to find. part of the learning process when no teacher to advise LOL. Jerry
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If you keep at it you will find that “feel” is more important than seeing perfectly. Yes, you need to be able to see platforms and what’s going on but compromised vision isn’t a deal breaker.
I know, as I am blind in my left eye.
Grip and dexterity do, however, matter. But, I’d wager you can figure out other ways to get around the obstacle...if you put the time in.
No matter what, it takes a lot of broken rock to figure it out!
Hope it works out for you.
Distorted vision in one eye can really affect depth perception etc. but my cornea transplant seems to be helping, just may take several more months to heal and clear up. I have macular degeneration as well.
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Just make sure you wear eye protection.
Bjrogg
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I have found that as my eyesight has deteriorated with age I have had to wear an increasing in strength reading glasses to properly see what I am doing.
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I guess it is the combination of poor eye sight and a poor sense of feel now. i am right handed and can't tell if I have a good grip or maybe even have it. so I tend to drop a lot of things. not good when trying to unzip in a hurry LOL.
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Ha! Do you have trouble using an Ishi stick? That is mostly powered with your legs...
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Ha! Do you have trouble using an Ishi stick? That is mostly powered with your legs...
don't know what that is but I am crippled in my right foot so balance can be challenging. I am still in process of finding stuff from a recent move. also trying to get my limited space in the garage to where I can set up a better work table. I have an 8 inch magnifier with light on a stand or arm that I will be abe to use then. a good pair of leather gloves right now LOL
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I am a newbie, but I have always been able to pick up and do new things fairly quickly. I decided to whitewater kayak, and I was styling class 5 first descents within 1.5 years; I decided that I was not going to suck at golf anymore, and I broke 80 within 1.5 years (still sucks but better than the 120s I was stuck on); I decided I wanted to play guitar, and I was in a decent band making people dance in short order. I started knapping some last year, and I will tell you that this is the most difficult, mind-warping, frustrating thing with the steepest learning curve I've ever done. EVER...BY FAR! Maybe its because I'm 53 and not 23, but still...its difficult, and it is most definitely an art. I figured out in short order that I would need to find my own rock, or getting decent was going to cost me a fortune. I'm barely better than when I started, but I have found that I can make some decent and servicible blades starting with pre-shaped slabs...sometimes. That said, I have not ruined nearly enough rock to actually get good. If anyone gets good at this without ruining a small mountain of stone, then they have to be a freak of nature with a God given gift for it.
I say this, because it might not be as much the physical limitations you mention, though that will certainly make it more challenging, but it might just be that you need to ruin a ton more rock in search of what techniques will allow you to best overcome those limitations. I have also found that having different sized (the metal) indirect percussion sticks with copper and aluminum and using indirect percussion with a belt to hold the stick (the way Jack Crafty's does it in his videos) helps a ton, because you can get the "feel" of the tool against the platforms, keep it where you want it (helps as we get older and hand eye coordination fades), and get more precise hits. When a strike does not result in what you were aiming for, there seem to be less variables to assess and tweak in trying to fix what didn't go right.
As far as holding onto the piece and not dropping it and not having it move on you when you strike it, look at some of Ryan Gill's videos...he uses direct percussion a lot, but he does most of his work holding the piece against his thigh, and he can whip out a point entirely by lap-knapping. Maybe try a combo of lap-indirect-percussion knapping. Heck, I figure I'm going to try everything I can think of or see someone else doing and in evey combination of all those techniques possible until I can figure out what works best for me in various situations...but in order to find out what works best, I know I'm going to have to ruin a lot more rock...a lot more than I already have.
Good luck, and post back on here when you figure out what is working, because you will figure it out.
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the word feel is an important one too, too many hard falls and strokes in the past has left me with fairly numb feeling in my hands, my right hand the worst. This is where and why I am looking at working the thick glass. I can if I look around hard enough, find a lot of it easier than the stone I need. I know that there has to be a lot of the stone around here in these mountains but I can't walk very well anymore. I have seen the proof in the sheer areas of old worked stone plus the worked stones (arrowheads and tools etc) that I have found over the years. I kick myself for having given away most of what I have found to others or have been relieved of them. Most all of these spots where the working of stone (flakes and broken pieces) are always near a water source, most likely a camping place for the Native Americans. I have found arrow heads in nearly all colors here from white to deep black blue, to red, to gray, to brown and almost a green color. So they used quite a variety of stone here. yes, some may have been traded for if not all. But right now, I prefer to ruin glass to learn with then go to stone if I have it. yeah, I made myself sick several times. Have watched Jack and Gill a lot and made the tools like they use other than the moose antler. Heck, I'm sure that there were totally blind people that could knap awesome work but they could at least feel and control everything. Jerry
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I have to wear reading glasses when I knap... you don't need a lot of hand strength to knap. also use a callahan pad.. pad with a notched out area when pressure flaking.. you can percussion in hand or against leg... indirect is a great way also but you need to see well to set up your point of impact.. find what works for you..gut
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Thanks Paul, got the package today. a lot of incentive for sure. Jerry
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:OK