Flintknapping - Beginners Part 2

http://www.flintknappers.com/store.php?sid=Ng%3D%3D
This video series is available on DVD at the above link.
Part 2 shows how to make a modern copper bopper billet to use for percussion flaking. Parts 3 and 4 will follow in a few days....

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• spearhead
• clovis

[kyletango]

I was wondering if you could use the round part of a ball peen hammer to create the dome of the copper cap and for the larger 1 1/2 and 2 inch copper caps maybe a ball trailer hitch for your billet?

[paleomanjim]

@kyletango I have not tried it, but yes I think it will work...jim

[hilocomtoot]

Boy, it took me a while to find your series but this is so damn interesting, know nothing about what you're doing but quite interested. Some friends parents have about 8K acres near Austin and when a kid we use to go into a cave there that had all kinds of Indian & Civil War stuff in it. Just always wanted to know how they made these old weapons. Thanks a lot Jim for the great shows!!! Sure hope somewhere in the videos you show how to attach an arrowhead to a shaft. Many thanks, Mike

[paleomanjim]

@hilocomtoot Austin, awesome! You are close to the center of flint heaven. I go there almost yearly to visit family and usually load up on flint!

[SaltRock0000]

hey jim, really new knapper here. Im having some issues with hinges forming on many of my pieces. Is that due to my strikeing angle being wrong or the tools i am using. Tools are just random pieces of rock i have found. Definatly thinking of making a bopper when i get a chance tho. Another question, are boppers/hitty things ment to be of a material which with grip the flint as struck, so as to kind of pull off flakes. Any help or advise will be awsome

[paleomanjim]

@SaltRock0000 Hinges can result from many things, including poor support of the biface, wrong angle of the blow or incorrect angle of the biface, a weak hit, poor platform, etc. Cant really say for sure without seeing it. The boppers grab the edge of the platform and pull the flake off. Good hammerstones will be stong but gritty which also gives them a good pull on the platform upon impact to nrelease the flake. Antler billets are also great and I highly reccomend them, especially large bifaces

[bomaite1]

I saw you smooth out that epoxy with your finger. That is really not kosher. Read up on epoxy allergic reactions. They seem to be cumulative, so that you might not experience anything now, but one day you could get an extremely nasty reaction. Check it out, man. It will scare the bejezes out of you. Use a latex glove or something, and don't breath in the sanding dust either. (I know you didn't sand it here. Just so you know.) Just concerned for your health. And thanks for the vid.

[Abnerben1]

Do you think you could show how to make a pressure flacker too?

[RivardMatthew]

Leatherman? Nice.

[paleomanjim]

@master3573 I got my copper rod for pressure flaking at a knapp-in back in the 80's, a few pieces will last for decades! You can buy copper grounding wire at Lowes or home Depot, it comes on a round spool and you can buy it by the foot. It is too flexible, so to make it stiff you can place one end in a vise and the other in a drill and twist it with the drill until it becomes very stiff. All my large solid copper billets have come from trading but can also be bought at metal shops. good luck.

[aishchee]

how do you make an ishi stick?

[kennygtexas]

Thank you

[firebug0001]

or you could use jb weld.

[MrVoiceofreason123]

I don't have a propane torch but since the melting point of lead is so low compared to copper, I think I may just make a small wood fire in my outdoor fireplace and just roast some lead weights in a copper cap.