Slow Progress

[budmenchaca]

Another ugly point...

This rock is wearing my tools out!

The few rocks I tried heat treating definitely weren't effected as shown in the pics below:


Tough as nails side 01


Tough as nails side 02


Tough as nails side-shot  --  Way too thick

The surface is dull and grainy and the rock is still tough as all hell. If I keep beating on it, I'll have to spend the weekend making more tools than points. I may leave the rock alone until I have another shot at heat treating.

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Here's an obsidian birdpoint I finished while on break at work:





I was happy with this little guy. I manage to get it thinner than most of my points and the flaking pattern wasn't hideous. 

You may notice that one of the ears got knocked off. Well I told you that I finished it at work. As I was leaving for the day...I reached into my pocket to pull out my keys and as I was walking across the parking lot and I heard something hit the ground. I stopped in my tracks, turned around and -

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  Heartbreak...especially becuase it's one of my better points. Oh well, it happens.

I've enjoyed working with obsidian. It's a great learning tool. You can get your flakes to run farther and practice oveshots - lots of advantages to working obsidian.

One of the biggest disadvantages of working obsidian - at least for me - has been how incredibly sharp it is. This is for sure, if you work obsidian you can bet on bleeding before it's all over and if you emerge unscathed - Consider yourself lucky!

Thanks for looking and looking forward to your comments and feedback. Have a great weekend!

[Stringman]

Ouch!! That hurts. Nice point though. That woulda been a deer killer for sure! 

[bowtarist]

Put a little super glue on it and call it done.  I made a nice heart shaped one for my wife the other night and she set it on her lap, well...you know the rest.  three pieces.  I glued it back and it looks OK.  As for the sharpness of obs, Will taught me to lightly abrade the whole thing while still shooting the bigger flakes then as you begin to finish, you can just abrade the platforms.  Does that make sence?  Nice point and the first one you pictured, I've found several similar to that, still kinda looks like a biface to me.  When they get tough, set it aside and come back to it later.  i like to keep several points going @ the same time for that reason.  Keep it up, lookin good, dp

[Sparrow]

You must shoot big birds ( Ostrich ? )  That was a nice point. I broke a big biface I had been working on for a few hours yesterday. Yep, one stupid whack, I get excited when they are doing good and make a mistake,or I drop them and break them in the debitage heap. Obsidian has rules. Keep on chippin '    '  Frank

[budmenchaca]

@ bowtarist: I superglued that sucker back together right after I shot these pics.  !  Lightly abrading at first and then only abrading the platforms as I begin to finish does make sense. I'll be sure and use that tip next time I get a chance to bust up some obsid.  I have a few ugly rejects that I've stuffed away for a rainy day. I will start putting all my uncooperative points in a "Save for Later" pile.

@ Sparrow: The buzzards in Texas are the size of emus...gotta have a corresponding sized birdpoint  !  I stand corrected...it's an obsidian hunting point. Deer killer as Stringman so aptly put - not a birdpoint. I feel ya on the excitement deal. When flakes start doing what I want them to do, I get overjoyed. (probably a little too happy - The wife thinks I'm a nut-job.) I have to remember to calm down and think clearly for the next step...otherwise, like you, I'll break it before I even know what happened.

[JackCrafty]

Better to be thought a nut-job and be happy than suave and miserable!    Nice work!

[budmenchaca]

Thanks Patrick. you know...I watched your Beginner Notching Flintknapping video on Youtube twice before I notched this obsidian point. I must say...that was a very helpful video. It's helped me with my notches more so than any other video so thanks for posting!

[JackCrafty]

You're welcome.  Very glad it helped.

[TRACY]

Bummer on the heat treat Looks like you faired real well on the obsidian Bud! Supe glue should hold it together as said. Keep em coming!

Tracy

[iowabow]

That was a fantastic point!

[cowboy]

Nice obs point, or was . That tough tx rock is the reason i went to solid copper, got tired of swedging caps and melting lead. Next time ya heat, put em around 2 1/2 to 3 inches under packed sand and keep a fire going on em all day. Betcha they'll slick up then .