Knapp time.

[BilletHead]

           It has be it  a few years since I knapped a point. Close to seven I think. So yesterday I decided to get my tools out and go. Found a spall and began to work it. Setting up platforms  and then using a piece of sandstone to grind that platform to take a strike from the moose billet driving off a thinning flake. Take off the high places and generally work the preform to a shape. Then continue this process with percussion and with a whitetail antler tip pressure off and set up more platforms. I finally got a triangular arrow point preform and put it down for the evening. 

  Picked it back up again today to attempt to finish. So much can go wrong during this process. A miss hit will break it in half. A hidden fracture in the stone can show up. So the notching can go awry too. All the work can go to rubble. After checking some of my lithic point books I decided to finish the point as a Morris point. Started notching with a flattened antler filed down about a dime thickness. Then dishing the base some with a pressure flaker. After the long hiatus I was satisfied with the point,

    Sharp and thin. If I was still able to hunt and shoot my self bows I wouldn't hesitate to haft this to a shaft and shoot a whitetail. 

        I thought I would see if I could make another? Grabbed another spall and began to thin it. Same way as above. Thinning and shaping to a preform. Again picked up a text for guidance to a point type and decided it would become a Jakie. Not a truly notched but a stemmed point. Also not a true arrow point but a blade or atlatl point. True arrow points were and are small. Again success,

  I then broke two preforms in a row. Have another preform beginning to take shape. Here is another photo so you can see somewhat the thinness. All points were not thin like these some are downright clunky actually. What most modern knappers try to do is replicate point styles. Some go all fancy too. I prefer to work with chert I find myself and replicate point types from our area,

  Mrs. BilletHead the hand model. The larger Jakie point was not held quite straight for picture. Thanks for letting me share. Felt good to hear the billet contact stone again. I have too many hobbies,

   BilletHead

 

 

[MoCarp]

ever do any clovis???

[duckydoty]

Way cool Marty!  This, I truly do envy.

[BilletHead]

3 minutes ago, duckydoty said:

Way cool Marty!  This, I truly do envy.

          As I do you and your hobbies friend. As far as that goes everyone's hobbies on this board of many talents,

 BilletHead

[BilletHead]

11 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

ever do any clovis???

        No Harry not really. Have done a couple with success. The guys that I know that can do this have taken this knapping habit to another level. So much failure for successful points made. Clovis points were very well made and thin. I have a couple casts from lithic casting lab of actual Clovis points. I don't know many that can replicate those points. Folsom are even harder. 

   BilletHead

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Marty, thanks for sharing.  As do you, I also really enjoy the hobbies mentioned and explained on this forum.   

[Quillback]

Those points are really neat.

BH, you ever been to the Pioneer museum in Golden MO?  They have thousands of points on display, maybe 10's of thousands, it's incredible how many they have.  Not only stuff from North America, but from Central America too.  Some of the Central American points are ceremonial type, I remember one spear head that's made out of Jade or some kind of dark green stone.  Works of art in some ways, you can tell the people that made them were craftsmen and had pride in their work.   

Only negative is everything is from private collections so not much narrative as to what you are looking at.  

[BilletHead]

28 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Those points are really neat.

BH, you ever been to the Pioneer museum in Golden MO?  They have thousands of points on display, maybe 10's of thousands, it's incredible how many they have.  Not only stuff from North America, but from Central America too.  Some of the Central American points are ceremonial type, I remember one spear head that's made out of Jade or some kind of dark green stone.  Works of art in some ways, you can tell the people that made them were craftsmen and had pride in their work.   

Only negative is everything is from private collections so not much narrative as to what you are looking at.  

         No I have not Quill but we need to. Did you know you have a good place down your way? 

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/flint-artifact-collections/510-museum-of-native-american-artifacts

        I have been there and it is good. If you have not I suggest you go check it out,

   BilletHead

[Quillback]

30 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

         No I have not Quill but we need to. Did you know you have a good place down your way? 

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/flint-artifact-collections/510-museum-of-native-american-artifacts

        I have been there and it is good. If you have not I suggest you go check it out,

   BilletHead

I have not been there yet, but it is on my list.  

[JestersHK]

Nice work buddy!  My late uncle was into primitive hunting, made his own recurve and such.  Truly an artform, and your work is awesome as always to see.