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Post by freedomrules3 on Apr 14, 2006 19:09:37 GMT -5
another close up of a big piece some other ones i imagine my friend with his wet saw could slice them rather neatly into 1/4 inch slabs. the bulk of the money out of the $15 is shipping, its well worth the price from some of the slab prices i've seen. once i get the hang of it (if ever) i will get some more exoctic pricier samples to make heads from.
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Post by ncboman on Apr 14, 2006 22:07:31 GMT -5
neat. Looks like you have a lot of potentially beautiful stone arrowheads. 1/4 inch may be a bit thin, I don't know. I'll ask Kyle. He made these; We keep at this and opening day may be a real smackdown.
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kyle
Fork Horn
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Post by kyle on Apr 17, 2006 9:48:58 GMT -5
1/4" will be fine. That's about what the preforms that I made those out of were. Thinner than that and you'll break more. Thicker and you've really got to make sure you reduce that thickness (which you should be doing anyway but can be tough in the beginning).
Look for width to thickness ratios of 4:1 or 5:1 being the thickest tolerable for hunting. That means if your piece is 1/4" thick at its thickest, it needs to be 1- 1 1/4" wide. that's a good target to keep in mind. Obsidian probably needs to be on the thicker side 'cause its weaker than many materials out there. Remember this "easy to make, Easy to break" I've got some local rock that can be tough to work, but its a head that can take a beating and hold up. You might only get one kill with an obsidian head but who really cares if it breaks when you bust all the way through a deer and it shatters on a rock on the other side ;D .
Remember this please. Edges on obsidian flakes are one of the sharpest edges on this planet. They are SMOOTH. Steel scalpels, when viewed microscopically still have some little grooves from the sharpening process, obsidian flakes DON'T. Please be careful, this stuff is SERIOUSLY sharp and an errant flake in the eye can be BIG trouble. I've had a flake of obsidian go THROUGH a leather glove and into my palm while I was knapping - scary stuff.
Have fun and keep making chips!
Kyle
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Post by ncboman on Apr 17, 2006 13:24:37 GMT -5
Hi Kyle, thanks for helping us along. boy, do I have some questions. ;D first, I get confused reading about knapping because I don't know what the terms used mean exactly. It would help me a good bit if you would define; slab preform chip oh, I see various types of sawn knapping material on ebay sometimes and I always wonder about various aspects of the quest, esp my rule of never wasting money. Is there any stone or material you've seen that should be avoided by the beginner? another one; I see a material called novaculite used in knapped heads for sale. In looking at the fineness of detail on these points, I would assume it easy to make. You posted 'easy to make, easy to break'. Am I correct in assuming this nocaculite isn't the most durable of material? I'll keep this short with just one more. We are fairly familiar with how easily glass breaks. How does obsidian compare? how about chert of various colors? inquiring minds ...
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kyle
Fork Horn
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Post by kyle on Apr 17, 2006 17:39:56 GMT -5
OK, lets see, where to begin. Let's just take this simple and answer them as you ask them. I'm going to give the simplest answers I can.
slab - Generally used to refer to sawn rock. Some material is formed in "slabs" but most knappers use this term to refer to raw rock that is sawn up so as to use as much material as possible. Knapping is an inherently wasteful process and "slabbing" nice sized pieces of rock allows you to get more points out of it that you would if you spalled it down. Spalling is what you do if you work a large rock down with percussion strikes.
preform - another term that can have more than one meaning. In basic terms a preform is an almost completed point. Most of the time I use it to refer to sawn material (obsidian or chert) that is cut into "point shaped" pieces.
chip - what you strike off or pressure flake off a rock to make your points. Spalls are just big chips.
oh, I see various types of sawn knapping material on ebay sometimes and I always wonder about various aspects of the quest, esp my rule of never wasting money. - I'm not big on wasting money either. Buyer beware is always the case on e-bay but I can vouch for the guy who sells lots of obsidian preforms using the pictures with the green backgrounds. I think he goes by Bamboorose. Normally you get 30-50 sawn preforms for $15-20 depending on the material. Those are the ones I buy and I think they are very much worth MY money.
Is there any stone or material you've seen that should be avoided by the beginner? - Personally I'd stay away from what folks call "johnstone" or "thunder chert". What they are talking about is breakin up the tanks off old toilets. This material WILL flake like chert but I find it frustrating to work. Its not bad if its all you've got but there are other options out there. Another is RHYOLITE. If you want to know what TOUGH is get some and try to flake it. I'd say its for experts only. I've got some and I tried it a little before putting it back (deep) in my bag to come back to later.
another one;
I see a material called novaculite used in knapped heads for sale. In looking at the fineness of detail on these points, I would assume it easy to make. You posted 'easy to make, easy to break'. Am I correct in assuming this nocaculite isn't the most durable of material? Novaculite - at least the stuff heat treated for knapping is excellent material. Good stuff to learn percussion with and it is WICKED sharp. Its a little on the pricey side. Burlington would be a better choice to learn with. Novaculite points are a little weaker than average I'd say but still more durable than obsidian. I'll keep this short with just one more.
We are fairly familiar with how easily glass breaks. How does obsidian compare? how about chert of various colors? Obsidian is volcanic glass. same stuff just naturally formed. chert ranges across the spectrum on durability depending on many many factors not the least of which is whether or not it's been heat treated. Color is no real indicator of durability for it.
Those are the short versions of the answers. Ask more if you've got more. I'll try and help where I can. If you can pick up a video by Woody Blackwell or Craig Ratzat to help you learn, it'd be well worth your money. Google "Horsefeathers" and look for the group that sells books and you should be able to find them. Neolithics.com is another good one. ALSO - google "knapper's corner" and you can find D. C. Waldorf's website which is a great resource for material and upcoming knap ins.
The North Georgia knap in is this weekend (april 22-23). It's a good one if you can make it down.
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Post by southernarcher on Aug 31, 2006 13:38:40 GMT -5
Looks like a good lot there.Looks like some black,maybe rainbow,mahogany,maybe triple flow.The piece in the last pic is called tiger stripe I think.Nice size pieces.
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