knappin'

[david w.]

Can someone give me a few pointers about knapping. After seeing Hillbilly glass points i want to try some knapping.  i know there are many thing to learn and i can get alot of glass i want to start practiceing.  What things would i need to knapp. Could i get away with a rock or would i need an antler tine?

[Hillbilly]

The easiest thing to start with is usually learning pressure flaking. I would recommend that you read  up on the subject a bit to learn the fundamentals of how rock breaks (conchoidial fracture, angles, and such). DC Waldorf's The Art of Flintknapping is hard to beat. Also, check out the flintknapping videos on Youtube. You can make a good pressure flaker by getting a piece of #4 copper ground wire from Lowe's and sticking it in a wooden handle. Here is a good tutorial to get you started having fun and leaking blood: http://www.geocities.com/knappersanonymous/bottle.html

[david w.]

thanks i cant wait to beat up my hands

[Pat B]

David, I have an excellent book on knapping..."FLINTKNAPPING  Making ans Understanding Stone Tools" by John C. Whittaker.   This book goes into easy to understand details, with drawings, explaining the physics of flint knapping including what Hillbilly said. If you would like to borrow it to read and study, I can mail it to you. Just let me know.      Pat

[david w.]

hillbilly i just resd that website it is cool. i cant wait.

[david w.]

i am gonna try to make a pressure flaker. if i dont have any thick enough copper can i use a clothes hanger?

Its sort of intimidating and its gonna take me a while (probably years untill i get anything that resembles a head) but i think i can do it

[Pat B]

David, Copper is soft and will "grab" the stone so you can put the pressure where you need it. Coat hangers, even though they are soft steel, are too hard to make a good pressure flaker.(coming from another novice)   
  Percussion flaking can be done with small stones but that is in lesson 2, after a bit more experience.      Pat

[david w.]

thanks Pat.  My dad said he didnt want me working with glass because of how sharp it is. He said he would rather have me work with flint. He said youll still cut your hand up with it but i would rather have you work flint.

I dont really have any access to good knappable flint so i just have to wait a while, but maybe he will let me use glass.  He also let me cut down that tree i wanted to cut

[Hillbilly]

If you can get your hands on an old toilet tank, it's knappable and doesn't break quite as scary sharp as glass or obsidian. Any knappable stone will slice you easily, though.

[david w.]

i just remembered that my dad has a big box of chert and flint. He doesnt know where it is but i will have to find it.  There was was some cool rainbow lookin stuff in it i remember. 

Porcelin...cool i will try to find some.

[Pat B]

Let me know about the book. The author is a professor and is very safety minded in his writings....and I have some rock I can share with you. It was given to me and I don't do much knapping.     Pat

[Hillbilly]

You'd do well to take Pat up on it-the Whittaker book is a good one, I learned a lot from it. Like Pat said, Whittaker goes into the safety issue pretty thoroughly, as he severed a tendon in his finger early in his knapping career-I think it made an impression on him 

[david w.]

First i am checking the library so i dont put pat throught the trouble of shipping it.  It was a very generous offer.  If i severed a finger my parents would never let me even think of knapping again.  No i am going to scour the woods for glass or porcelin

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

i just use a hammerstone and an antler tine, always have. i have never had copper tools so its definetly do-able with just a rock and an antler. infact i am a little backwards. i started with percussion flaking and then worked on pressure flaking. i never had any nice stone so i couldnt knock off any good flakes with pressure alone.

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[david w.]

Beautiful points.

Wheni went to the woods i  found a few good peices of glass and porcelin i also collected rose shoots. I should get started soon.