Want to make an ishi stick

[ricktrojanowski]

I'm looking to make an ishi stick.  I was wondering what to use for the "copper point"  and where to get it?  Or could I substitute the copper with a steel 16D nail?

[D. Tiller]

Copper nails work good, also copper wire. Just pound on the wire with a hammer to harden it up and it should work great!

[Hillbilly]

You can order big copper nails from the internet, Mark Bracken for one sells them. #4 copper ground wire from Lowe's or Home Depot works good, too. Like Tiller said, pound it or clamp one end in a vice and twist it up with a drill.

[D. Tiller]

Tried the twisting method once untill it snapped the wire and went swinging arround and hit me twice in the leg before I could stop it.    Hammer time!

[cowboy]

Hey Rick - have never tried the hammering or twisting, but will eventually. Guess I lucked out and found some good copper on an old telephone pole - really stiff. An Ishi stick is really simple. Mine was a broom handle for the first year or two. Make it as long as ya want, just want to be able to hold it on the working end with the other end up around your armpit. Drill a hole in the end the size of your wire and a couple of set screws to hold the copper tight - your in business.

[Wolf Watcher]

You can buy nylon rod material from US Plastic Corp.  Just google them up and they sell 4' sections CHEAP. Order 3/4" or 1" depending on what the hardness of the material you are using. I used woods of all kinds for years and saw a nylon one at a knappin and have been using them ever since because you can grip them several inches above the point and the bend and recoil of the nylon will produce fantastic spalls.  I have lots of hard drawn copper in two sizes so have a different size on each end of the Ishi stick.  One is for flaking and the other is for making deep narrow nocks!  Like cowboy says, drill a hole the size of your copper and put a couple of set screws in the side to hold the copper tight.  I like the Ishi stick to be 18" long not counting the copper.  It makes pressure flaking easy!  Watcher

[ricktrojanowski]

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I'm going to try to get ground wire today.  So basically I just need to pound it, then file to a point?  Cowboy- Be carefull pullin wire off of "old telephone poles".    

[cowboy]

  , I never do it in daylight, shhh .

[D. Tiller]

They arnt always old poles are they Paul?  Now just come clean and admit it. Confesion is good for the soul! 

[uwe]

I`ve seen somewhere that even a piece of aluminium works well.

[cowboy]

uwe, I've seen aluminum boppers used for light work but have never tried it.
 OK, OK - I confess . Naw, the copper ground wire I found on an old telephone pole that had washed up at the lake - only about twenty feet of it left. The copper on it was really stiff, guess they used to alloy the ground wires way back when. Bought some the same size at HD and couldn't keep it from bending, even with fairly light flaking..

[Wolf Watcher]

If you live around oil wells they use reeder cable that has three 1/4 hard drawn copper wires inside.  They will usually give you some off an old roll and you will really like the difference!  I have access to lots of it!  The stuff we get here has one of the wires that has some alloy on the outside and makes an excellent punch for indirect flaking!  Watcher

[Justin Snyder]

I have some copper nails. I actually like the wire better, it grips the rock better. Justin

[ricktrojanowski]

I got the copper wire, gonna give it a go this weekend.  Thanks for the help guys.

[carpenter374]

i made a copper flaker a few weeks ago. i work hardened a peice of copper wire and hammered a slight curve in it. i drilled a hole in a 3/4 in dowell about 1/16 in bigger than the wire. the tension from the bend in the wire keeps it solid in place no set screws necessary. it will file down eventually where it will be too short but ill just replace the copper.