Flintknapping a Lookingbill point from Knife River Flint
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- In this video I flintknap a Lookingbill point from some North Dakota Knife River Flint. It was an interesting project working through some issues in the flint as well as working with a new material.
Special shoutout to Jared for bringing this pice of flint back for me to work!
Beautiful work… as usual!!
Never seen flintknapping done before.. Looks interesting!
Awesome! It's a really fun hobby to zone out and just chill with. If you are interested you should definitely give it a try!
I have been desperately seeking knife river flint. I have only found 1 guy selling it. I have called and talked to him seberal times about trying to get some and he says he would look to find what i want in his stash, but he doesnt call back. Do you know of someone who would actually sell me some?
I'm sorry, I don't know anyone who sells. I got this piece from my brother when he went on a trip to North Dakota.
If you do find someone who sells, please let me know, I would love to get some more myself.
Despite the usuall unpleasant surprises in that rock, you managed to make an absolutely stunning looking bull arrowhead.
Thank you. It was a good challenge!
めっちゃ綺麗な形の矢尻！すごい！
I really enjoy the "talkie" format - quite informative. It is extremely interesting to see very old technology and skills being transferred in this medium! Where I live there is simply no flint - so I'll wait untill my next trip to US to try my hand
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Try using a quartzite or basalt hammer stone. Knife river when taken from the earth or a deposit is much easier to work. The reason why that peice survived rolling down the river is because deposits do vary. However, deposits in the earth have been absorbing alot of moisture & microscopic plant & mold that expands the molecular structure of the chert. Heat treating or reburying the Flint in rich plant infused dirt will make a great difference. That Flint looks alot like Texas root beer that I have found to sometimes be very tough. However, nice job even if you have not used abo tools. Beautiful point. Hope this information helps you. Also, antler pressure flakers that form the tip can be burnished in fine sand dust & become as hard as copper. They need more attention to re-burnishing and without saying require more attention if one wants to apply an abo pre-Neolithic approach. So far the Archeological record indicates that copper was highly prized for ornamental use. However, when North American people began to smelt copper perhaps an abundance of it caused it to be used for other things as it became more abundant. I wonder if big nuggets of it could have even been used for Billets? So far, to my knowledge, I don't think we have found any used as such. Archeological findings have dated pressure flakers found in caves in New York State that were around 15 hundred years BP. Based on the oxidation levels of the copper. Henceforth, there is still much that we don't know. Archaeology is a discipline, not an exact science. Thank you for sharing your knowledge & knapping skills. Vincent James Ajello (Lithic Technologist/Researcher)
I wanted to also indicate that the antler used in pressure flaking is even harder when the work end or tip is formed from part of the skull. Then, if desired it can be hardened further by burnishing in ground sand dust. Once again this requires more attention than using copper. However, in tests I have done it does impregnate the antler & the antler does become harder & does an efficient job at grabbing the biface platform edge. Jim
Thank you so much for the info! I am slowly starting to incorporate abo tools into my work out of interest. I'm using a granite hammer stone and some white tail deer tine. The white tail antlers are a bit soft but it's all I've got here in TX.
I might melt down some copper and try making some Billets.
I haven't heard of heat treatment in plant rich soil, I will try to heat treat next time I get my hands on some of this flint!
its astonishing how you always come out with something cool - in spite of those little setbacks. Awesom job!
Just curious - if you heated (i.e. anneal) this hard stone, would it make it better?
Thank you!
Heat treatment may soften it a bit and make it easier to work but I'll need to try it out to know for sure. Next time I get some I will definitely try
Great video....Thanks
Thank you, my pleasure!
I live in northeastern Montana and have been knapping Knife River flint for about 30 years. This stuff is tough and hard, and the best pieces are recently dug up or surfaced by farm equipment. When fresh from the soil it will have more moisture in it and not be fractured as surface finds will be. The premium pieces will be very dark with some red and a bit translucent as KRF was formed from prehistoric peat bogs and there is a lot of fossil material on the cortex and sometimes inside the poorer quality material. Heat treating does produce in some cases, a much better and workable flint. The premium, or best grade KNF is wonderful when doing percussion work, but very tough when flaking. For this reason I like to make large blades for knives or big Agate Basin Points, Clovis or corner notch knives and such that use more percussion work. I prefer this material for arrowheads as they hold an edge better than any other material I have knapped, and they hold up better than any others when striking bone, but this only goes for the best quality! It is getting much harder to find premium KRF because so many flintknappers have heard of this material and have come looking for it in the last 20 years. Still, if you find the premium pieces that are not fractured or layered, and you are good enough flintknapper to work this incredibly tough material, you will be rewarded with very beautiful and very durable points or blades!
P.S.
Nice job on the point you made, especially since it was your first using Knife River Flint, very impressive!
This is some awesome information! Thank you so much for sharing! I keep hearing people mention that allot of chert and flint works itself better when it's wet. It is also interesting that KRF formed from peat bogs, that explains the abundance of fossils in the cortex.
I can see why knappers speak highly of its quality, I've make a small unhafted blade for general cutting and it does hold an edge really well.
Thank you again! This was a very interesting project and I can't wait to get some more KRF to work!
I would like to purchase some KRF. Anyway you can help me out with that?
Nice point,i enjoyed watching.
Fascinating
I am glad you enjoyed it!
HI---is every rock there in that creek flint-------are you kidding me--------
Hey, There is a lot of flint in that creek. there is a natural exposure up river which washes down some nice material.
Beautiful. I'm in, roughly, that neighborhood, as things go in the west, and don't think I've ever seen one yet. Are they typically that large? (WxH)
Thank you!
They range from 35-70mm long and 18-26mm wide at the base.
SICK
Was there a lot of knife river in that creek
I knapped this point in TX but I got the material from my step brother who brought if back from North Dakota. I belive he said there was quite a bit there.
Nice job.
Thanks!
You made that rock look nice. Here in Northern Indiana, we don’t have lots of indigenous flint. Except that in some places along some streams it is possible to find some deposits among the layers of limestone.
Thank you!
Most of the flint I've knapped I pulled out of rivers or creeks in my area as well. I only rarely buy materials from other areas to try my hand at, for example obsidian. I plan to take a vacation soon and pick up some stuff along the way as well.
@@rocksnthings8689 I like Novaculite. I also enjoy knapping glass slabs. However, whenever I find a nice piece of local flint, I always pick it up and give it a try. I cut myself more with Obsidian than with glass at least so far.
@@phillockwood8414 I am not familiar with novaculite. I'll keep my eyes open for some, I'd love to give it try. I also started knapping with glass. Between obsidian and glass I cut myself all the same, it just depends on how carefull I am at the time...
@@rocksnthings8689 Lu Arkansas Hot Springs, bring a unique set of circumstances to silica formation. Novaculite is unique in that it is a sedimentary rock yet it is easier to Knapp than most chert. It cooks up nicely and is the most forgiving rock I know of - the only thing that is problematic about it is that all sediment contain layers. You just need to expect those kind of issues but at least the layering is visible when there’s an issue, so you can work “around” it.
@@phillockwood8414 awesome, thank you for the advice! I will keep that in mind when I get some!
Very nice
Thnak you!
Do you collect all your debitage when you knap out in the river? Great video
Thank you!
I don't collect all of it, just the larger pices or usable flakes. I try to knap out where people don't walk for that reason.
Just wondering if someone barefooted walks on any of those chips. You are throwing down? Will you be responsible? St. Paul Minnesota.
As far as I know no. I walk out there barefoot and if you do your feet are tough enough to handle it and you look where you step. I also only knap where people normally don't walk.
@@rocksnthings8689 Nice of you to reply, I will stay away,and keep my boots on. Thanks from St. Paul Minnesota.