i have been flintknapping for 9 years now. i have my good days and bad days. i have just recently made a really nice hellgap thats about 9 inches long. anyways i was just wondering if anybody does this great lost art? i would love to chitchat with ya. it would also be a great stepping stone for those survival enthusiasts.

Kalen

i tried it several years back and wasnt very good at it but it was fun! i cant seem to get the peices thin but i can get the shape done ok!i guess you just got to know what your doing!

I don't do any knapping myself but we do find alot of material suitable for knapping in our prospecting adventures.
We'd all love to see some of your knapping work pieces sometime too.

I know there at least a couple other knappers in the community who'll will hopefully stop in this thread soon to chyme in as well.

CP

Me and my brothers have done this for years. But I must admit it is easier to "Cheat" than to do all the work from scratch. The material is often in irregular shape and there is a lot of wasted bits and pieces when using traditional methods. Using a rock saw to slice the best stuff in slabs really saves a lot of time and material. The easiest stuff to work with is Obsidian. Maybe I can figure out how to post a pic on here and send you one. Take care.

I for one would really like to see your work!
If you have difficulty posting pics, I can help.... it's pretty easy.

Welcome to the forum Woody,

I'll second that, we'd love to see your work too.
Posting pictures with your posts here is very simple. Just use the attatchment editor's browse button below the text type box when replying to put in your pic file from the computer. Just give it a try and let us know if you are having difficulties, plenty of folks around here are always more than willing to help like Swizz.

CP

Well, if I can do it...

Sorry I did not get back to you sooner. The day I posted that bit was the first day using this site and kind of lost track of where it was at. So here is a pic of the last piece of work done by my older brother. "My works usually come out a bit more crude". It is Obsidian, kind of plain. But a good example of his finished product. .Other pieces are made with different, more ascetically appealing obsidian, like Mahogany or Flow. So do you have any pics of your work.

Hi Woody. Thats an amazing piece your brother did, it turned out great! Did he also make the sheath?
You know what they say, "practice makes perfect". We would love to see some of your work also Woody....even if you think your work is a bit more crude.

Nice work. I have made a couple antler handled knives myself. And i agree with your earlier posts obsidian is very easy to work with, and can bring some beautiful pieces out. Obsidian was what i first started learning with. but i really enjoy working with novaculite. obsidian is great but i love working with flint and other stones. they have a little more character, i guess what im trying to say. I do alot demonstrations and small town deals and stuff and it seems more people really like the flint arrowheads and spears better than the obsidian. Except the fiber optic slabs. i have made alot point with stuff and can never have enough of it. Have you ever tried working with it? I will try to steal my wife camera, and post some picks for everybody if i can. like you said. if i can figure out how to post the pics that is. lol!

Click to view attachment

Nice work Kalen.

Here is one made from Golden Sheen Obsidian. Difficult to capture the reflection in artificial light. In this pic it looks a lot like Mahogany Obsidian. You were asking about if we have tried any other type of flint. Tried it yes but can't get it to work the same as glass or obsidian. I use a small diameter brass drift and do kind of a pressure flake. I have used horn on other, larger material but comes out kink of lop-sided at best. I would like to learn how to work chert or the some of the other more aesthetic types of flint.

As of late I have been diggin in the hills looking for Smokie Crystals. I have found a few but mostly small and few in between. Here is also a pic of my latest find today just before dark. It was literally the last piece of rock I pulled out before I stopped for the night. The biggest is only bout three inches long and I have not cleaned them up yet. Sorry so out of focus. I failed at holding the rock in one hand and taking the pic with the other.

I will also try to get around to taking some pics of some of my work with different Obsidian. Take care, Woody.

Nice work Kalen, seems you are very practiced at flintknapping, nice shapes! What are the blue ones made from? Nice looking gold....dont think it will knapp out good though.

Sweet golden sheen Obsidian arrowhead Woody! That one is definately a keeper!

Thank you Mrs. CP. The Blue ones are made from fiber optic slabs. i sell alot of arrowheads out of that. and it come in many pretty colors. And ya i didnt the gold would knapp very well. but i thought i would show it off though.

Kalen

Sure is a pretty blue! Here is an arrow head that I won bidding on in a CP online auction raising funds for the 04' rally. This one was made by Phil(NM) out of Mahogany Obsidian.





I still have it in my collection.

Thats a nice arrowhead Mrs. CP.

Thanks Kalen. When Phil said that it was curved to get the deer hiding behind the tree, I cracked up.

Ya it kind of funny. alot of arrowheads in the later periods closer to when columbus first came and all that stuff the native americans where less into the science of making arrowheads. aka kindof sloppy. nothing like the clovis, and folsom. But still interesting non the less. Im a avid collector. lol.

Kalen

Nasty weekend so here are some pics I promised I would post when I found the time. These are some of the items that one of my brothers did. All of them are Obsidian of one form or another except the fish. It is made from colored glass and looks great in hand. It has a kind of natural curvature to it.

Great pieces Woody, he has very clean work! Sweet necklace! The fish is really cool also, does he have a project plan for it? What kind of cord does he use to wrap the arrowhead?...Sorry for all the questions.

WOW! super nice points!

Thanks guys,

I'll pass that info on to Steve and see if I can get him to join in. My other brother is very good at it as well. They have not made any this year. Seems these pieces of art are very good Keep-sakes, but not much of a market if you are trying to sell them. Woody.

a few years back, phil asked me if i could get some of the Missouri state stone (Mozerkite) i did,and found about 10 LBS of it and sent it to him. there was various colors of this stone. later on, on his website, i saw some BEAUTIFULL points and commented how much i liked them! he commented back and said," im glad you like them becayse 1 of them is in the mail to you.i received a pinkish point about 3 inchs long and it has perfect symitry!

i agree woody. i do alot demonstrations and such at some town deals like down in Limon at heritage days at stuff like that. i usually have a table with what i have already made and some arrowheads i made and put on necklaces, and i just have a really hard time selling alot of it. some of the pictures in the beginning that i posted i sell more of the fiber optic arrowheads than i do the flint and obsidian points. but i enjoy doing the demonstrations though. i use dear antler. This year is the first year i have made over $50 from my flintknapping. i made $275 this year. it dont seem like alot but when youve been doing it about ten years, and you finally start making a little money its alittle exciting. But you have some beautiful work. it looks like you use copper pressure flaker? Great Work non the less!!

Kalen