Posted 5 years ago
hotairfan
(388 items)
A few years ago, at the Pioneer Early American festival, I talked to a native American who was demonstrating how to flint knap native American flint tools. I found it interesting and decided to give it a try.
before I started this new venture, I bought books on the subject and watched countless You-Tube videos by experienced flint knappers.
I went to a nearby rock shop and bought some chert (flint), obsidian (volcanic glass) and jasper rocks, made my tools as directed, and I was ready to knap.
Well guess what, It is not at all easy to do, in fact, it is quite difficult to do, so, two yrs. later, I made this novice attempt at knapping.
Here are some of my first points.
Photo #1 shows a jasper point, Photo #2 & #3 show all of the different material choices, and #4 shows the tools that I made to use for knapping.
It is a very interesting art form and the experienced knappers demonstrating on the internet make it look easy. It is by no means easy. It is going to take me a few more years to make points that I can be proud of.
You're right at that bobby. The shards that come off of the point while knapping are as sharp as a scalpel. Scratches and nicks go with the program. So, holding the point properly is very important when striking a platform. ( a platform is a point on the stone that offers the best flake removal)