archaic point preform

[kreative]

Posted by [Mainejman]:

Sometimes the unfinished points are interesting as well.wildo420 tells me this a point that the knapper had problems thinning.

[OnewiththewilD]

or got resharpened down to nothing? the side pics say the most, it looks like he (the native) hit a bunch of step or hinge fractures(i think thats the term)where the flake didnt travel thru the stone but stopped and broke off straight up.its happened to me while knapping on stubborn stones (or with poor whacks )

[OnewiththewilD]

heres a unfinished squibnocket stemmed point from narragansett bay that i found.next to it is a finished example.from the side view you can see where the native hit the same kinda "step" fracture and couldnt thin the stone down,so he probably gave up and chucked it (while swearing in some form of algonquin)

[kreative]

Posted by [Mainejman]:

Wow that sucks..So close......Its my understanding quartz is a tough one to work with.

[OnewiththewilD]

sure is! ive tried my hand at some choice pieces and its close to impossible at my skill level.they musta had some kinda trick! your pics are kinda fuzzy,i cant tell what yours is made outta,what kinda material is it?

[kreative]

Posted by [Mainejman]:

Sorry about the pics.Its mt.kineo rhyolitr.

[Hoss]

They usually start to stack up like that due to poor platform preparation. Sometimes just a flaw in the stone can do it but most often bad platforms. If you take a whack at a sharp edge the blow glaces off rather than travel into the stone creating a proper flake.
SOme hints for your knapping Jay, when you lay a blank flat on a surface if you imagine it like a lens convex top and bottom, draw a center line in the artifact you should always try and work below the center line. One way to get rid of a stack of Outre passe from the other side of the blank.. Another way is to use indirect percussion. Take a large flake and put the sharp edge of the flake into the stack and give it a whack!
If your new at chipping go to a knapp in and watch the seasoned knappers. You can learn a lot. I bought Erret Callahnas flash card set back in the late 80's then D.C Waldorf's book and then trial and error and watching people.  I am no pro now but back in the day when my hand eye coordination was sharp I could bang out some nice points.
Good Luck with it guys. When I say center line I mean this plane shown in the picture. Sorry about the lousy art work but you can get what I mean from this.

[Hoss]

Your gonna break a lot too. don't be afraid to break a lot it is part of the learning curve. You can also use glass to learn pressure techniques. Wear gloves and glasses when working glass. Never knapp indoors brother. Bad for your health. It wont kill you today but it is a horrible death Silicosis is akin to Black Lung Be safe
Hoss

[OnewiththewilD]

right on,thanks for all the info HOSS!