TrackersNW Flintknapping with Brian

Brian shows us the finer points of hone urban glass into an arrowhead. He really did do this in 5-10 minutes. We kept the video shorter though.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• flintknapping
• arrows
• wilderness
• trackersnw
• portland
• primitive
• skills
• arrowheads
• survival
• knapping
• scout

[trackersnw]

Brian did this 6-7 minutes. Few can.

[crasybrooke]

his classes were awesome.

[trackersnw]

Thanks, we think he does a good job.

[hermitwoof2]

I wanted to find out how to knap a nice big hunk of rock. You wasted my effing time with a bottle. I can buy an arrowhead cheaply if that's all I want. Call the video "bottle knapping" so that you don't waste other people's time.

[NicholasKelley111]

Very well put. great video :)

[mwalkingwolfm]

i saw a dude put a 1/2 '' drill bit in a bottle and shake it. the shock wave takes the bottle bottom clean off all the way around. a tip for u urbanites. i'm theorizing here but a hardwood dowel that will extend out the mouth of the bottle, when struck on the end, might give a drill bit effect, if you're n the woods. trim a stick and whack it with a stone or larger short "hammer" branch. think i'll try that masef!

[eage11744]

@zzbunch ps...look at the knives/arrowheads/arrows at the end of the clip...you think I can't make straight arrowheads? I am not trying to be antagonistic, and I'm not assuming you know nothing on the subject, but I will say I can easily make THAT point work, as is....can you?

[eage11744]

@zzbunch ...dude...for real....point A: This was as fast as I could make one. Point B: Have you ever seen snakey bows and arrows? Point C: give me a couple minutes and I can make it PERFECT in your eyes. Point D: Even an arrow with a curved tip will fly straight, it just wont penetrate well and at worst will break off sideways from the pressure. Point E: I am sick of people being so critical about the tools. Even though it is very important to make good tools, even more is how good you use them.

[zzbunch]

that thing is never gonna fly right

[eage11744]

@DiabloComanche Wood or antler. The softer the tool you are flaking with, the more it cushions the flakes and you can make them go further. It just takes more practice and understanding of flintknapping. Harder billets = more destructive shockwave, but easier to remove flakes(flakes can't travel as far though). Soft = cushioned shockwave, and flakes will travel further, with the skill behind it. This is a law. you can make points with copper, or anything else, but this rule still applies.

[eage11744]

@dlax1 Right / wrong? There is only being able to efficiently achieve your objective with what you got. Think of being able to break the bottle cleanly with ANYTHING around, including your own body. Limitations are created when you only focus on one way of achieving something.

I agree on your point about the rock, rock shatters glass. less consistent breaks. Some other ideas: wood, water, bone, antler, heat, cold, sand, etc. Use everything, not one thing, and make it work. Necessity builds this

[eage11744]

@dasdeeboot to add:

Boiled down: Thinner/concave glass = smaller *straight* arrowhead

Smaller isn't necessarily worse as they can be just as functional, if not more, than large points.

Practicality has very little to do with the tools you create, but more importantly what you can do with what you got. With practice, s small point will feed you and take less time/energy/resources to make.