Shark bait, nice work!
(now you need to make a dozen of equal weight :D)

Check out how this guy breaks down a big chunk of basalt old school style.
Almost every spall and flake that comes off is a usable knife blade.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SbMO...feature=relmfu

Haha, that would be a trick! You are quite right about the spalls. Anyone can make a very effective knife blade with just a little basic knowledge of flint knapping. The material makes for some extremely sharp edges, especially obsidian. Obsidian blades have been used for delicate eye surgery. I have heard of a video where a man cleans an entire deer with a knapped blade. I'll have to check youtube.

SharkBait....noticing your location, what type of material did you use for the point? Was it local or shipped to you from the states?

Back in the 80', I was doing a little experimental archaeology and butchered an entire deer from field gutting to the freezer using two flint flakes spalled from a core...each was about 5".

A little something I made a few months ago....

Aaahhhh....now that I've got this photo attachment figured out....

A little gift I gave to a friend last month, former Principle Chief Robert Youngdeer, Eastern Band of Cherokees (1982-1986). He was Marine during WWII, wounded on Guadalcanal, retired Army First Sargeant (Airborne).

Carl

Bill

I watched all 6 videos,, impressed is not the word,, in awl,, is still weak. :eek:

Does Jim "see" a blade in the stone or does his talents,, and a little luck "find" the blade as he shapes the stone??

Also, is there a use for a blade that big??

Nice
 

I had it shipped to me from CONUS. I have to say that your skills surpass mine by quite a bit. I have not made anything as pretty as your knife blades. Good work!

Great pics and amazing work! This is something I am going to attempt as soon as the temp drops below 125 here in Arizona...;)

Very nice. Did you use modern tools on the handle, or no?

Industrial size hacksaw blade did for me, full length tang sandwiched between hardwood which was shaped to fit... Well sort of as I'm no good at carpentry.
Sharpened both edges and even kept a little bit of the serration near the handle.
It kept a real nice edge when in use.
Just a shame I made it look good enough for somebody else to want to have it :mad:

JJ_BPK,

Not meaning to hijack this from Bill, I would like to attempt an answer to your questions.

Jim (and other knappers) see the blade or point in their "mind's eye" before taking off the first flake or spall. It is his skill (talent) that takes off everything that doesn't look like the blade within the stone. Luck only comes into play if there are no flaws within the stone to cause a break (such as hairline fractures or quartz occlusions). There is no randomness in flake removal. Each flake or spall taken off is planned and deliberately removed in the thinning process. It is a planned and controlled process of lithic reduction. Generally, the first few flakes will tell you how well the stone is going the react.

The basic rule to remember...the line of fracture thru the rock for flake removal will be at an angle of about 120 degrees from the line of force of the billet striking the surface (flat area or platform, not a sharp edge).

Use for a blade that big? During Mississippian times... they were made for ceremonial purposes only. Today...sell it for about $10-$15 an inch. For survival... I would rather travel light than carry something that large and heavy with me. Each spall and flake is a tool and weapon in itself. As we in archaeology say, "It ain't gotta be pretty to be functional"!

Damn...didn't mean to write a dissertation!

Carl

Kinda of miss the smell of the sun burning the grass :D

SKILL
 

SB...your point looks good, Sir. Keep up the good work...practice, practice, practice! Raking and abrading the edges after each pass down a side before taking another series of flakes off is important. The material appears to be obsidian or dacite. PM me if you could use some dacite.

TS...thanks for the kind words. Don't "attempt" it....DO IT! A man of your talents can master it quickly!

Barbarian....I used a Dremel tool...the lettering is a little irregular because of being a FOG with a shaky right hand. I'm not sure, but 30 plus years of knapping may have screwed-up the nerves in my right arm.

Back to the original topic of field expedient edged tools....Bone from large animal such a deer, elk, etc.,....ribs and legs (split) can be ground to an edge. Rib bones can be serrated by abrading with an angular stone. River cane or bamboo, if available, can be made into a "split cane knife". The edge will slice flesh and a fire-hardened tip will penetrate deer hide. The Southeastern Indians used split-cane knives for offensive-defensive weapon and for scalp removal.

A few more pics and I'm out...

#4 is a small Clovis, fluted both sides. #5...the miniature Danish dagger is my personal neck knife.

Carl

Once again, very impressive. I sincerely doubt I will ever reach your level of skill. I simply don't have the time to devote to it. Very nice Clovis! How did you manage the fluting?

Fluting was accomplished using a simple version of a Sollberger jig....pressure flaking that flute off.

Check out this video...paleomanjim is using a complicated jig, but at about 6:30 minutes into it, he explains how the nipple platform is isolated and set up for flake removal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAf4I...feature=relmfu

Other videos show process for free-hand percussion removal of the channel flute, and great techniques for making other points.

Save your first point to compare as you progress to "master knapper"...the first always looks like a short chunky football.

Hope this helps.

Keep up the great work!

my son made this obsidian blade the other day, he said it's all natural even the glue.