Hey yall, im new here, does anyone have a good link to making a tomahawk. Perhaps i just havent looked in the forums deep enough?
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Hey yall, im new here, does anyone have a good link to making a tomahawk. Perhaps i just havent looked in the forums deep enough?
There are a few threads about hawks. See if the search feature works for you. In the meantime, how about chopping on over to the Introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.
Guess I should ask if you are looking to make one from metal or stone? Here are a couple of links that may give you some help.
http://www.vividlight.com/articles/3705.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRp0BMgKZRs
Stone would be preferred. And thank you
Probably your best bet would be to get an answer from FVR (no offense to other knappers). He has made some pretty nice stuff and can probably steer you in the right direction.
Great, how do I get some more info on this FVR person?
He's on from time to time. He'll probably read this thread, but you can send him a pm if you want to make sure he finds it.
Edit: He's on line right now.
Alright, thanks
Time to make a hawk.
So, what'cha thinking about using, what kind of rock? You can make them out of obsidian, flint / chert or a river rock.
If'n your wanting to make one out of obisidian, it'll look pretty and be awsome to use on critters and people, but may not hold up to camp chores. It will however be sharper than a razor.
If ya want to use flint or chert, good choice but if you're new to knapping, you may end up with many flakes. Flint / chert will make a great ax/hawk head. You will just have to do a little research on knapping and take your time.
River rock, may not be the sharpest, but it will be the heaviest and will make a heck of a dent in someone's head. Rock, I would not pound stakes in with it.
First thing is to decide what you will be using it for. If it's a wall hanger, you can find a nice river rock as this is the easiest and a good thick sapling. Obsidian will be the prettiest though.
If you are going to actually use it, stop by paleoplanet and look for a ax head size piece of chert or flint.
If you have a stream or a river near by, you will have more ax heads than you will know what to do with.
What do you think is best or easiest for a beginner? I know next to nothing, that's why I am here.
Practice, practice, practice. Start with points, work your way up to larger things. One thing to remember...the rock knows what is supposed to be, you just have to figure it out.:)
Just remember I'm new to this, I know next to nothing, I scored a 65 on the test.
That little quiz will not help you with flint knapping. I am just learning. You can read a lot about it for some basic knowledge or watch a few videos to pick up some tips, but the best thing I found was talking with and watching and experienced knapper and the practicing. Lots of practicing. Start out with smaller pieces until you kind of get the hang of it and then move to bigger ones.
So just keep playing around with flint and eventually move on to more complicated things?
Not really what I meant. Sorry if it didn't come across clearly. Start out with small flakes and make arrow heads. Once you learn how to strike your rock with your billet to get the shape and thickness that you desire, along with pressure flaking to put the edge on it that you desire.......practice, practice, practice. Keep in mind that the pretty pieces of work that you see displayed take a lot of skill and practice. However, you can make a knife or skinning tool (they may not look pretty) in a matter of seconds. One of the sharpest pieces I have that fits comfortably in my hand was made with a single strike of my billet. It ain't pretty, but it is razor sharp. Here is some terminology that you will learn.
Quote:
• Abrading... The process of polishing the edge of a preform's platform to strengthen the it in preparation for flake removal by percussion or pressure flaking.
• Biface... A spall or piece of flint that has been flaked on both sides.
• Bulb... Often called "The bulb of percussion" it is the area very close to the edge or margin of the biface where the flake originates due to pressure or percussion work. It can sometimes be deep and cause significant concavities along the edge. The bulb should be kept at a minimum. See drawing
• Center Line...This term is used to describe the imaginary centerline of a preform as viewed from the blade edge. See drawing
• Cobble...Some flints occur in cobble form. These are irregular shaped but smooth, and are formed in various sizes averaging from one to 5 pounds and are generally covered with a cortex.
• Concave... A"cupped" area on the face of a preform or nodule. This should be avoided until the material around it has been removed thus raising this "negative" area to match the contour of the rest of the Blade or core.
• Convex... The opposite of concaved. It is a rounded raised area. A lens shape is a good example. This is the foundation for good successful flaking!
• Core... The "mother stone" or nodule which spalls are removed from. Also a carefully prepared worked piece of flint that Sharp useable blades are removed from.
• Cortex... The outer "skin" of a flint nodule or spall. Usually a chalky white or brown material ranging from 1" to 1/4" thick.
• Flake... A thin, sometimes broad and sharp piece of stone chipped from a larger biface or preform.
• Flake Scar... This is the "scar" left behind where a flake has been removed.
• Flute Flake... A special flake removed from the base of a blade or preform that travels up the face towards the tip. The purpose of this flake was to create a concaved channel to aid in the special hafting technique of Paleo era points.
• Heat Treating... Flint was often heat treated by North American peoples. Things are no different today! The flint is very slowly heated and cooled to temperatures ranging from 350-700 F, depending on the material quality and type. Not all flints benefit from heat treating. Heat treating gives the flint a glass like attribute making it easier to chip.
• Hinge Fracture... This is an undesirable flake that falls short of it's mark by " rolling" out. See image.
• Isolated Platform... This is a platform that has been "isolated" from the material around it. This is done by carefully chipping the stone away from either side of it. This leaves the platform sticking out a bit. The energy is transfered much farther "down range" using isolations.
• Knapping... The skillful act of chipping flint or making gun flints.
• Margin... The edge or circumference of the biface or preform.
• Nodule... A large to very large smooth or irregular piece of flint.
• Overshot Flake... The affect of a flake that travels from one margin to the other and "clipping" the opposite edge.
• Platform... A platform has 3 main components, this is discussed in "platforms". A carefully prepared area on the edge of a preform to be struck to create the desired flake. Or A naturally occurring area on a rough spall or nodule that would produce a desired flake or spall. Platforms are the key to good knapping.
• Platform Bevel... This is the part of the platform that is actually struck.
• Platform Support... This is the underside of the "bevel". It gives support to the platform at the time of strike.
• Platform deltas... These are the results of flake removal. See drawing
• Preform... A bifaced blade in various stages of reduction.
• Pressure Flaking... The act of removing flakes by pressure using an "Ishi Stick" or flaker.
• Percussion Flaking... Removing flakes by directly striking the stone with a billet.
• Raking and Shearing... Raking is the action of carefully dragging a course abrader or other device to remove "micro" flakes from the edge of a biface or preform to change it's shape or give support to an edge before actual abrading is done prior to percussion or pressure work.
• Spalling... The act of breaking up a nodule or cobble into workable and desirable sized pieces.
• Spalls... The finished untrimmed large flake removed from a larger "mother" stone.
• Stack... Another BAD thing. A series flakes that fall short of a single specific objective. Resulting in multiple failed attempts to remove a specific problem area. Read"Platforms" for preventative measures.
• Step Fracture... A single flake falling short of it's mark by creating a "step" on the surface of the Blade. The thinner you get the more this demon haunts you.
Alright, thank you very much, that is helpful. So where exactly is flint most often found and how do I know it when I see it?
I normally don't us flint, so I'll let others that have tell you the best places to find it. There may be a thread on it someplace. When you get good at it you can make something that looks like these. (I did not make these, a friend did)
Thanks for the pictures Crashdive, I enjoyed looking at them. That sure is some beautiful handiwork there isn't it? That friend of yours sure is talented.
Crash,
Wow, like those knives. Your skill is awsome.
If I was going to make my first ax, I'd go down to the river, pick me out a rock that looks like an ax head and go to town.
I would not try making an ax or hawk head first time at knapping. May end up with many, many little pieces.
Here are a few of my knives, not as purty as Crash's.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...flintknife.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...V/MVC-030S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...V/MVC-027S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/FrankV/56298.jpg
Missing are Caveman Kabar #2, #3. The first pic is Caveman Kabar #1 and the antler handle with the little obsidian knife is Caveman Kabar #4.
I keep saying that I am going to keep one, Ahhh...I kept the little obsidian knife, everything else has been given away.
What? It's just rock.
FVR - I didn't make them, a friend and customer did. I'll send you a PM, you may have met him - he is fairly well known.
here's a question, since you sait tomahawk. are you looking for a tradtional stone hawk [essentially a stone warclub] or a stone axe?
i'm planning a new project of various styles of warclub, since i haven't worked on them much. don't know when i'll get to it, i've got a lot on my plate.
Umm im not sure, im pretty sure axe
With a stone axe, you dont really even have to flintknapp. It is much easier to get an axe shaped rock and grind it. I used my driveway. It is not as sharp but it holds a good edge.
but you can certainly have fun knapping one. as below, it dosen't have to come out great, it is for rough work afterall.
Alright, that is certainly helpful. Sorry for annoying yall with my inexperience.
If anybody was annoyed they would tell you or ignore you. You're still getting answers, so you're doing fine.
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