First Flintknapping Experiences

[Deadly Tao]

I have begun learning the process of flintknapping hands-on. I have done a good amount of research, and am familiar with a handful of concepts and terms within the skill, and have decided that youtube can help me no further.

I have also decided to start with glass. The bottom of beer bottles, to be exact. My neighbor's yard and the sidewalk parallel to it is a rich source of naturally occurring beer bottles (I haven't asked why...). I figured that I would get some of the basic learning out of the way by simply making an edge with glass and then reducing it and reducing it until there's hardly any glass left. It may seem like a waste, but I'm not in the business for making a trophy just yet, I am focusing on getting as much practice out of ever gram of material as possible.

Here's some pictures of the piece before I finished reducing the wall of the bottle down to the bottom; along with a picture from the side to show the flaking pattern, which is crude because this part I find to be easy and like to just get it done with. Detail and careful planning will come in when I get the 'walls' off.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/bottom.jpghttp://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/edge.jpg
The uniform bumps in the second image are from the bottle's original shape. I wish I could make my flakes that uniform...

At this very point in time, I have it reduced to just the bottom, and am trying to uniform the edge to make it easier to plan my strikes later on. I will post another picture when that's complete.

A few notes:

-Maintaining Good Form
I found that I get a little bit worse and worse as I go and a good way to fix that is to stop knapping, take a look at the piece to determine what should be done next, and most importantly, correct my grip on my billet (which is my pocket knife's back end). Just correcting the grip improves my accuracy back to where it was and seems to give me larger more uniform flakes. Perhaps not everybody has this problem, but I loosen and loosen my grip as I go subconsciously and I pay for it, so the first thing I do when it start to get difficult is check my grip, the angle of the piece, and if that's really where I should be working on it.

-Correcting Flukes and Problem Areas
I found that working on larger areas and not stopping to correct any flukes has helped a lot. I used to get frustrated at overly large flakes or difficult areas to flake at all, and I would focus on solving that area, which would break the piece or ruin the pattern I have going. It's treated me much better to do large passes even when focusing on the fluke or problem area to avoid making the edge uneven. This may prove the be different when I start to shape the actual object, for now I am just removing the edge from bottom...

[your_comforting_company]

Looks good to me! you are definately on the right track DT. The best part of this post is you are starting from knowing basically nothing. Please keep this post updated with your progress as it may help anyone else looking to get started.

Looks to me like you have begun to systematize (sp) your flaking and it sounds like you are taking breaks to study your piece. It's important that every flake you push be with intent. It's too easy to just start whittling on a piece and not stop to look at what you are doing. Good for you. It seems to be a habit I can't break. Can't seem to get out of "chess mode" where you are thinking 3 moves ahead. Every chip must be deliberate.

Keep up the good work. Looks like you got a fine start. Just don't let the glass spoil you :thumbup:

[your_comforting_company]

Also, you are correct in not worrying about shape yet. Better to practice on angles, pressure, and posture.

Again, Good Job!

[Deadly Tao]

Once the walls were removed, I started to uniform the edges by making a bevel that removes those bumps from the bottom of the bottle's original shape. I figure that they will screw up everything if I land my blows on them, so I am removing them as flakes. The first images shows the bottom where you can see some flakes I left on for the image to show what I'm talking about. The second image is the other side to demonstrate how well it's been working out in terms of making a uniform and round piece.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/bfront.jpghttp://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/bback.jpg

Notes:

-Angle of strike
I have been paying attention to what angles make what flakes, to learn how to properly hit it before I start shaping the piece. So far it's taught me that a more glancing blow, or shallower angle, creates a much larger flake. It's also wider, but I will keep in mind that it may be wider simply because of how steep the edge is. I am still hitting the original face to create a bevel, I haven't yet begun to strike onto a bevel yet. This is contradictory to what I have read and I assume it's only true for striking at square edges. But I can't deny the results, so I will have to say that, when dealing with square edges, I can make quick work of them by striking with more glancing blows. (Just to clarify, the shallow of glancing blows hit the piece at an angle that moves down and away from the center of the piece, not towards it. I am affriad that if I hit it towards the center, more parallel to the piece, I will simply break it, since I am using hard steel on fragile glass.)

-Follow Through
It occurred to me from the very beginning that I should follow through with my strikes. As with anything you swing or strike, it makes sense to follow through. However, I have noticed that the benefit and consistency gained from properly following through with my strikes is amplified when I am hitting it properly and at the correct angle. Therefore, I can assume that it's easier to find the correct angle and proper hit when you are following through as well. So from now on, I think I will make sure to follow through with every strike.

I have the disadvantage of being spoiled not only by the material but it's shape. I don't have to thin anything, it's already very thin. Because of this, I won't be able to experiment with striking to remove long flakes or even flutes that can travel, in some cases, all the way across the piece. I suppose I could try with the glass, but I only have one piece for tonight, so I will stick with basic techniques.

[neondog]

Cool, I hope to learn this myself. Glad you're sharing!

[Deadly Tao]

At this point in time I am confident that the edges are sharp enough to use this piece of glass as a survival tool. Being glass, and having rather crude edges and a round shape, it would probably only be good for cutting rope, skinning animals, or gutting fish. If you felt so inclined to use a piece of glass for scraping hide, the edges of this piece could easily be smoothed out and used for that, or something like that, too.

[Deadly Tao]

I managed to make it more rectangular in an attempt to remove the curve from the piece... this is where I make one key mistake... I didn't bother looking up some information to confirm if my idea was correct. This is the idea that by striking slightly inward, past perpendicular, I would get longer flakes. The pictures do the rest of the explaining.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/rectangle.jpghttp://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/broken.jpg

So only one note this time: If the information is available, find it before continuing.

I will get another bottle bottom to this step, hopefully much faster than the first time, and continue adding images of my progress along with some of my notes. That may take until the end of tomorrow, so stay tuned.

[your_comforting_company]

Progression!

I learned a few short weeks ago that you have to PROGRESSIVELY angle your blows (or pressure flakes) toward the center of the piece GRADUALLY. Too much angle and you'll snap it, as you found out.
Looks to me like you are making some really nice progress and teaching yourself along the way!
the only pointer I can give you at this stage is Keep up the good work! You are definately learning and heck, before long, you may be teaching US how to knap :D

If that were my bottle bottom, I'd continue flaking on each half. You'll need a glove to protect your hands.. I drove a flake into my hand a few weeks ago and had to have my wife dig it out with a razor. I think it's finally about to heal. Safety First!! don't be a dumb*** like me!!

[crashdive123]

In addition to gloves, I would recommend safety glasses.

[rebel]

The little shards of glass all over is what I didn't like about knapping it. It looked like trouble in the making. BTW Deadly Tao, nice work!

[Deadly Tao]

I have pricked myself in the knuckles with tiny shards of glass a few times now, because I get lazy and forget to brush off the dust and flakes after every successful couple of strikes. I am wearing fingerless gloves, which protect everything except the important parts.

I don't have safety glasses, because I don't own a pair of glasses. However, a quick trip to the hardware store earned me 3 billets for 13 dollars, made out of copper pipe caps pressure fitted onto an improvised electrical tape fitting which is on the end of a 4 inch piece of dowel rod. Some images and details on their construction will be included when I post more progress. I also used the opposite end of the smallest billet to attach a nail which may be used for pressure flaking glass, but it seems like they need a lot more leverage with a longer handle to press flake stone in all the videos. Good thing I saved a lot of dowel rod!

I guess teh hardware store trip would have been a great chance to get glasses... but that's my memory for ya'.

[crashdive123]

Here are a few tools of the trade that I use that may give you some ideas.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii67/crashdive123/Bushcraft/010.jpg

From the left - safety glasses
Elk antler billet at the bottom and to the right. Above that -
Lead weighted wood with copper cap. Above that -
Rock that I sometimes use as a percussion device
Extra copper cap. Above that -
Small piece of automobile tire with a 1/2" wide, 1/4" deep groove cut to aid in pressure flaking.
Small piece of copper pipe with end crimped to "slice" thin edges while shaping
Dowel with copper ground wire inserted for pressure flaking
Piece of grinding wheel for abrading edges of stone
Extra ground wire (makes good pins of knives too)
Leather pads.

You can also use a good sized nail for your pressure flaking if that is all you have.

[Deadly Tao]

The tools I have:

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/tools.jpg

The billets are short pieces of dowel and copper pipe caps. I didn't know what size to get, but using my method for adding weight, the large the cap, the more weight, so I decided to get several sizes. The method I used to add weight is simple: Put some change (quarters for the large one, nickles for the medium one) on top of the dowel before fitting the cap. To keep the cap on, I simply taped over top of the change with electrical tape with enough layers that the cap wouldn't go on with my persuasion alone. Then I hammered the cap over the change and tape, and had some nice press-fitted billets. The smallest one has a nail running most of the way through it for weight, and another nail sticking out of the back for pressure flaking. Unfortunately, I found pressure flaking to be very difficult with only the force of my wrist.

The glass tool you see is what I call a thumb blade. Maybe they are really called thumb blades, I wouldn't know. Whatever the case, you simply grasp the blade's miniature handle with your thumb and index finger, and you have a broad cutting edge and a firm grip. It would only be good for cutting into flesh, or scraping things. It does NOT replace the pocket knife... not even close. However, it's a handy tool if you don't want to bloody your knife as you skin the rabbit you caught for survival dinner.

Here's how it's held:
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/grip.jpg
The left image would be for cutting, the right for scraping, and the middle is just for display of the shape. The "handle" is appropriately abraded and ground down to be nothing close to sharp.

It really seems like a suitable alternative if you happen to bust your flint knife, or can't find a rock big enough to make a full knife. As long as there aren't any heavy duty jobs you need done...

[crashdive123]

Good deal. You're getting there.

[your_comforting_company]

I'm enjoying seeing your progress. You will do much better with the softer metals I'm sure. Keep at it. you're getting there!
I started on a hawk head today.. then the wife came out to the shop and made me stop because my back is still out of whack... a project for another day. Making it out of the Serpentenite I found and posted a pic of in your other thread.
so I smoked a squirrel hide instead with pecan punk.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Thanks a lot for this post! I learned a good bit about something I was very curious about!

[your_comforting_company]

Unfortunately, I found pressure flaking to be very difficult with only the force of my wrist.
DT, pressure flaking takes the whole body. I use my legs as well as my chest and back to pop longer flakes, not that I'm all that good at it, but if you follow ridges that you make in your initial pecking, you can transfer that energy further down the ridge, and into the piece. just using your wrists alone won't do it on most materials. If you think it's hard pushing flakes on glass, wait till you get hold of some rock, lol!
I think you got the bug.. show us some more pics when you can. I bet you're out there knapping right now aren't you..


The glass tool you see is what I call a thumb blade. Maybe they are really called thumb blades, I wouldn't know.
I don't know what any of them are called either. The rock turns into whatever shape it wants to be. some knappers are in control of their rocks. I'm kinda freeform, I go with the feel of the rock. I recognize a clovis when I see one, I don't know any of the rest. I don't worry about that stuff. the important thing is making a rock in some shape that will stick in something or cut. Style is for fashion designers and interior decorators. I'm neither of those lol. if it's functional, it's perfect.

and it looks like you taught cowboy something :D

[Deadly Tao]

Yeah, I am knapping a bit more... nothing with any long term vision, though. I decided to practice some shaping and turn that blade into a rough draft of an arrow point. As I said before, I'm not in this for trophies yet, so everything is going to be made, and then unmade into something else for the sake of practice. I got the shape down, as long as a triangle has three sides. If not, I have some stuff to research.

On a negative note... It's official: pressure flaking is impossible with the force of my wrist, considering my level of experience. As I put in one of my notes, proper technique amplifies the affect of following through with my strikes, and therefore following through can help me identify proper technique. Well that carries over here, but I lack something... proper technique amplifies the affect of proper tools, so proper tools will help me find proper technique. Time to make a real tool for pressure flaking. The nail I am using now has a flat top, because I nailed it into the rod and then cut it off at a certain length. This doesn't feel like it's helping, so I might grind it down or find a way to reverse the nail so I have a real tip.

Here's a picture of what I have so far...
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/triangle.jpg

The little nick on the bottom is my attempt at starting a notch. Unfortunately, with pressure flaking hardly grasped and no educated understanding of how to use abrasion in this application, I didn't try to go any further. If I have one complaint about the basic skills that I have learned so far, it's that the length of my flakes is too short. Also, perhaps, the consistency of their length and shape but I assume that will come in time... One thing I like about my experience is how fast I learned to 'cheat with angles'. I read an article that said to ONLY strike a platform below the center line, but later on you will learn to cheat this with angles. Well I seem to have picked up the concept of angling my strikes rather fast, and discovered that I have been cheating with angles this whole time, especially on square edges. Maybe that's not a really good thing, but it's some contrast to how slowly I have been getting the hang of pressure flaking and lengthening my flakes.

[Rick]

It looks like you're coming along quite well. Very nice!!!

[preachtheWORD]

That's about as good a first point as anyone can ask for!

This really makes we want to get back into knapping.

[your_comforting_company]

Like I said.. longer flakes come with more pressure. A copper tip will help a lot versus that hard nail. your tool needs to have a little "grip" to it. also, place your hands between your knees and lean over a bit, then squeeze with your whole body. a smaller point on your tip equals more pounds per square inch = longer flakes.
really looks like you're getting the hang of it. now you just need to get yourself some tools of the trade.
Nice work. Just be careful not to start forming bad habits!

for abrading, I have a piece of river cobble (not pictured) with rough texture to it. I hold the piece in my left hand, out in front of me and parallel to the ground. I rub the stone against the sharpened edge, up and down, perpendicular to the ground. This removes any weak and crumbly platforms and keeps your tool down in the meat of the piece. I have only recently been shown the benefit of abrading, and it makes quite a bit of difference. Like I said before, don't worry about making them pretty, yet. It's more important to get the techniques, posture, and angles correct. Forming good habits now will make it all seem like third nature when it comes time to make bigger and longer pieces, or where time is a factor.

If you have a bit of cash to spend on tools, you'll need a bitset. It's a T-handle tool with a chuck on the end. Most often used for running taps into bolt holes to clean out threads or tapping new ones. Cut off the T-handle, grind down the raised ring on that end, so the whole shaft is the same diameter, drill a hole in your handle the same size, pop it in, tighten it down on your copper, sharpen your tip, and have at it. Craig insisted I try a copper tipped tool like his. He gave me his old one, which I reluctantly accepted, but it makes a LOT of difference.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg184/your_comforting_company/Primitive%20Skills/knapping/DSCN2862.jpg

some of my other tools. notice the piece of carpet I use on my lap. Came from a closet we worked on last week. saves a lot of bruises on my leg. Keep an eye open for anyone tossing out old carpet. Nothing better than free tools. And for the record, I still prefer my horns for tools, but Craig insists that I learn the easy way first.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg184/your_comforting_company/Primitive%20Skills/knapping/DSCN2863.jpg

Oh yeah, the hawk head is made from the stone I found and posted in your other thread on finding flint.

and the rule about only striking an edge thats below the centerline is gibberish. How else are you supposed to thin out a side that is too thick? this is where angles come into play. Increasingly steeper angles will take more and more rock away from the "fat" side. Even though Craig told me the same thing about the centerline, I've watched him thin pieces the same way I do. It's all in the feel, and it sounds like you are feeling it through.
Good Job. Keep it up.

[Deadly Tao]

Thanks for your insight. I am noticing the difference between harder materials and softer ones now that I have my billets. The larger one has so many layers of electrical tape that there's a small amount of cushioning behind it, which the others don't have. This larger one is more consistent, too, which may be the effect of either the cushioning or the fact that I use it to "whomp" (I call it the 'whomper') away large amounts of material quickly to get to the general shape. I think it may be the cushioning, since the stainless pocket knife was never so consistent, even when working on a large scale.

I am going to check out ishi sticks and see about grinding down a piece of copper. Copper is a more expensive metal, but a small length the width of a nail shouldn't need to be bought. I will try to find a place to get it for free.

The arrow heads in your pictures look quite impressive, YCC. At the very least, they would function perfectly as arrow heads. As for antler tines... we have deer around here but it's strange how we never see bucks and we never find shed antlers on the ground. Maybe I will find some during a rock or plant fiber hunt (I am trying to avoid replacing everything with flintknapping).

The reason I started flint knapping is just two things: knives and spear points. I used to think that flint could be recognized simply by looking at the stone, and be commonly found in certain types of areas. Therefore, I figured that it would be practical to use it for tools in a survival situation IF (and only if) you're confident in your ability to quickly make a tool without wasting too much time and energy. That's why I took it up. I have learned that finding flint isn't so easy, but I like the art in flintknapping and I guess if I happen to run across a piece in a survival situation, I will know what to do with it.

[your_comforting_company]

it really boils down to that split second of energy transfer. maybe the Minister of Science can be called down to explain it to us?

[Deadly Tao]

Well it's back to good ol' practice. After procuring some more bottle bottoms, and unfortunately loosing the largest (40oz bottle) bottom to the uninformed parents (I'm 19, in case you're wondering), I have begun to practice my pressure flaking and I have good news...

PROGRESS!!! Well, it might not deserve the caps. Something like SUCCESS or EUREKA would suit the caps lock key much better, but progress is good. Have a look for yourself...

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/DeadlyTao/try2pressure.jpg

That's right, those are pressure flake and they aren't ridiculously short. I found that with a little sleep and some time on youtube, I managed to conjure up the ability to make consistently longer flakes while pressure flaking. Also, this may be helped by the fact that my nail is not pointed, rather than flat on the end (and I bet that helped a LOT). Now the reason SUCCESS or EUREKA wasn't posted is because these were meant to travel across the entire piece or at least half way (cue the 'wah wahhhh'). However, these flakes used to be happy mistakes or coincidences and now they are a product of skill.

I have experienced longer flakes when I press further up on the bevel. This makes total sense and I know why this happens. To make a longer flake... perhaps I just push higher up. This also makes sense, but is scary. I don't want to break the piece, so approaching the half-way point on the bevel makes me nervous. But I have lots of pieces to practice with so what the hell! You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right?

[your_comforting_company]

that's absolutely right! You're gonna break some, but I just grab a new flake when I do and go again. It's fun like that :D

with more practice you'll find changing the angle more into the piece will help each flake travel down the ridge farther without having to bite so high up on the piece. you probably won't shoot flakes all the way across the piece until you've established the concave shape. It's kinda hard to explain, but you are definately making progress. I have only recently learned the mojo of flaking across the piece and it takes quite a bit of rock to get that sort of set-up.

Well Done!
Looks pretty consistent. I see the beginnings of hinges on the ends of the flakes, so mind your angles. Looks about 3/4" long flakes. You're getting the hang of it. Keep at it.

[Rick]

maybe the Minister of Science can be called down to explain it to us?

You want me to explain napping? Okay. It is primarily driven by a chemical called Adenosine. The chemical builds up in your body causing you to become drowsy. It's broken down while you sleep so the body can keep track of how long you sleep by the amount of Adenosine remaining in your blood. Naps are an important component of the body's natural clock. Yaaaaaaaawn. I think I have a bit of Adenosine in me right now.

[Deadly Tao]

I see the beginnings of hinges on the ends of the flakes, so mind your angles.

What you actually see is the annoying habit glass has to not hinge, but flake (however strange this sound) underneath itself, leaving two separated layers of glass. I can't explain how in heck this happens, but the flakes travel into the glass piece sometimes creating a hinge with a shelf overhanging. More practice with angles will hopefully solve this recurring problem.

[Ted]

This is a great thread! Looking PFG there Toa!

[FVR]

Now why did ya'll have to go and post all these great pics. Now I'm going to get the bug and start knapping again. Just when two more staves showed up at the door. All these projects and such little time.

[your_comforting_company]

..but the flakes travel into the glass piece sometimes creating a hinge with a shelf overhanging...

That's what I said. Hinged :innocent:

[your_comforting_company]

Now why did ya'll have to go and post all these great pics. Now I'm going to get the bug and start knapping again. Just when two more staves showed up at the door. All these projects and such little time.

I was hoping someone with more experience would chime in and give us some tips.. What observations and recommendations would you make FVR?

[preachtheWORD]

I think it is great that you are learning flintknapping at 19. When I was 19 I had the chance, but I was too busy to take it. But now I am learning it.

[Batch]

Good job, DT!!

I tried the bottle thing and gave up pretty quick. I might just give it a second run after seeing what you accomplished.

Thanks, to YCC and others for posting the other helpful info here. For those of us with out good rocks to try. Glass is our only option.

[Deadly Tao]

Thanks for the support for the thread. I made it for two reasons: The first is that I can look back to find out what I was doing differently before, in case I start to slip up or form bad habits in the future, and the second is so I can share my thoughts with other people trying to catch on.

Ironically, I find the best source of tips and information for a newbie at any skill comes from another newbie who just figured it out. When I look up tips from pros, they start to get into terminology, details, and theory which a newbie doesn't need nor understand. So hopefully my information will be naturally dumbed down and digestible for other new knappers simply because I am not capable of clouding it with terms, details, or theories.

On a side note: glass is a $*%&#! At the same time that it's physically easy to break glass, I am finding that pressure flaking is difficult because you break the flake of very easily (relative to stone) and have a smaller window to perfect the direction of your force. I have only managed to get 2 real flakes rather than chips off of the concave face of the bottle bottom (that's the outside part of the bottle bottom while it's still in tact). I assume this is because the convex opposite side acts like a ridge, providing more material in the way of the force, and a longer flake. The concave side is the opposite. The material recedes away from the path of the shock as it continues.

There I go applying theories after I just said it's an advantage that I don't do that...

[flintknappingbeginner]

im an ultra beginner at this and was just looking for some tips?
im in Oregon (sandy area) and i was looking for tips on tools and may
be some places that i could find some chert or obsidian

[kyratshooter]

It is said that the area around Glass Buttes has enough obsidian to last every knapper in the country a millennium.

Oregon also has quartz, jasper and opel as well as various forms of chert.

Some say Oregon has more suitable natural stone for knapping that any other region in the U.S.

As far as telling you where you can drive up, park your car, look at your feet and pick up suitable stone,,,sorry you will have to hunt some creek beds, road cuts and talus slopes.

You should also check with the museums that specialize in native American culture in your area. They often have demonstrators flaking points during special events called knap-ins.

A long time ago I went to a knap-in, bought a kit from a fellow and he sat down and showed me how to flake points. My main interest was being able to make my own flints for my flintlock rifles, but shaping blades and points was a handy skill too.