make a cupla primitive knives

[sadiejane]

basic, very primitive, ugly but quite functional
been wanting to make a few of these since watching daniels vid on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/user/gotrocksinhead#p/u/26/BrEdJEwfcQs

still not a knapper tho i can knock off a sharp sliver pretty efficiently most days.
and thats all thats really needed for a knife like this. a sharp sliver.
my understanding of ancient native ways is that tho many were quite capable of making stone tools that were works of art,
often it was simply a matter of need at the moment.
and often these sorta tools were left behind when the task was complete.
bladesmith ed fowler tells a story about a large boulder he came across in wyoming, near his ranch, that was used thus.
many pieces had been broken off over who knows how many decades or centuries.
the flaked bits were left where they fell.
and for miles around he would find the tools made from this rock. used and discarded.

i didnt knap either of these. one is an obsidian point i did a trade for some time ago.
the other an old na native chert/flint piece found on the family farm.
both are quite sharp and capable of many tasks.
dont think there would be any problem using either to skin out an animal.
i have used just such pieces for that before.
having em hafted to a crude handle makes the job a bit easier and less likely to cut yourself while using it.
did use modern tools today sitting on the back porch.
a hawk to cut a branch of mulberry, a small blind horse knives necker to shape n whittle.
artificial sinew.
a pitch stick already on hand.
and the tea candle(which i lit with a bic)

this could all be done with no modern tools in a survival situation as long as you had some raw materials in your area.
and the basic knowledge of what you wanna do and need
once you knocked off a nice sharp piece of stone, the rest is doable.
cordage like was done for the recent contest could be used to haft the piece of stone.
if you can flake off a good sharp sliver thats all you really need,
but the handle does make working easier and safer
thanks

 

[sadiejane]

ok, so after i posted this i got to asking myself why i didnt make the second one with the first one?
and so now of course, i have to do that too. will report back later. peace out

 

[jcl-MD]

Good Stuff!!

Great job!!

 

[Ed Fowler]

Nice job: by bringing your handle forward onto the stone you have supported the fragile stone and made the tool stronger. I believe that Folsom and Clovis knives were made this way with long flutes for the very reason you so beautifully illustrate. While they would have used other adhesives the idea is the same. Thanks for posting up your work and remembering mine.

 

[sadiejane]

thanks ed. appreciate you. and love your stories.
what sorta adhesive woulda been used?
this of course is just yr basic pitch with charcoal and beeswax added.
pitch, of course, its not feasible when there are no such trees in the area.
tho possibly a common trade item??

ok so it became apparent that i needed to make one of the handle bits with a raw piece of stone.
so here's what i did after posting last nite.
used the thicker longer piece of stone to score a mulberry branch twice and just break off.
the thinnest for splitting with a small baton(thankfully mulberry splits very easily)
and the rest with each of the tools. also used a big piece of rock in the yard to "sand" with.
you will notice the red from using a piece of ok sandstone.
but i made more powder than removed wood so didnt use it long(it's great for making pigment tho).
didnt complete a knife, wanted to make this handle with the stone bits just so i knew i could.

btw these are just three bits of flaked stone found on what i believe to be a village site.
have found numerous other tools there more recognizable as such.
but i believe these "shards" were used and once again, often discarded.

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thanks ya'll

 

[Ed Fowler]

This is all theory as I have not read any scientific studies but just going on what I feel could have been used.

Hide glue was an old standby and could have been used very early in man's development. They would have had toes and hide off of game they harvested, fire and cooked food, it seems natural they would have boiled some hides and hooves down while cooking their food and the noted the adhesive qualities and used it to attach their tools to handles. Naturally your ideas of pitch and dust could have come first. another possibility was that they simply added a little hide between the handle and tool,for padding who knows? Any or all of these ideas are possible as well as other alternatives we have not thought of.

I can definitely see some secondary work has been done to the bottom tool on the right side of your handle and with a handle added to like yours would have made one nice scraper or?

I appreciate your posting these thoughts, sure opens a lot of variables to what we commonly see in stone tools.

In a recent discussion with an archeologist: he has found that the base of some stone knives were abraded on what he feels was the top to make them more friendly to the hand (thumb) that was using them. I had never noticed this before, but in looking at some of my stone knife blades noticed one that had been abraded on one edge which would have made it the top of the stone knife. Once I noticed it I looked at that stone knife with a new perception.

 

[sadiejane]

of course, having worked with hide glue making bows and arrows(applying sinew), i should have known that was what you were referring to.
likely much more widely used than pitch. there was fish bladder glue also. likely the choice of pnw natives(and other coastal peoples).
tho they certainly had an abundance of pitch available also.

and yes, i have seen many na native knives and scrapers that had one side abraded to facilitate use.
making the tool more hand/thumb friendly. the piece you pointed out may very well have been done that way for the reason you describe.
tho artifact hunters/collectors often look for that "perfect" point, these "shards" were more likely the everyday tools used by many.
its seems to me that they didn't always find it necessary to make that premium piece to get the job done
(tho many ancient craftsmen obviously took great pride in their skills).
what i find fascinating and refreshing, is that any one of us can use these same skills to readily and easily produce a similar tool.
having even the most basic knowledge of how to produce a sharp sliver of stone could prove useful today.
that's why i practice these skills. if a time ever came they could save my arse, it won't be a struggle but hopefully will come naturally.
thanks

 

[Ed Fowler]

The "perfect", "mint condition", tool will always appeal to many, but the man who faces survival will soon find that "mint condition" and "fit and finish" are only ornaments and do not always correlate positively to function. I find it amazing that these lessons come to those who want to know from many venues!

I thoroughly enjoy this discussion!

 

[New Blades]

Great thread,thank you.