|
Post by catmandewe on Apr 2, 2009 20:27:19 GMT -5
I got a surprise box from my good friend Harley (Agatemaggot) today and inside of it were these AWESOME points!! I just had to share the beauty of these! All of them together, the largest one is 5 inches long Gold sheen Obsidian Common Opal Agate Agate Looks like more Gold Sheen These are so cool, and they are very sharp!! I tried them on a piece of paper and they cut it to shreds. THANKS HARLEY!!!!! Now I have to make a box to display these in. Thanks for lookin...................Tony
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2009 21:09:29 GMT -5
Those are very beautiful. I especially like the peachy agate one.
Shannon
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,455
|
Post by Sabre52 on Apr 2, 2009 21:39:24 GMT -5
Wow! Those are awesome. Harley's knapping skills are really something. I'm still messing with the tool set he sent me a bit everyday and believe me it is not an easy skill to learn. Yet, he cranks out points that are actually jewels. That is so cool!.....Mel
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,773
|
Post by adrian65 on Apr 2, 2009 22:55:53 GMT -5
Amazing work, very accurate knapping. The shapes are ellegant and they really look sharp!
adrian
|
|
Gem'n I
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 980
|
Post by Gem'n I on Apr 3, 2009 8:58:37 GMT -5
Wow...very nice work...what a tool maker!!
|
|
Saskrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2007
Posts: 1,852
|
Post by Saskrock on Apr 3, 2009 10:56:23 GMT -5
Wow those are nice points. Its nice to finally see some of Harleys heads, I have heard great things about them and I now see that all I heard was true.
|
|
10thumbs
spending too much on rocks
I want to be reincarnated as a dog.
Member since March 2009
Posts: 480
|
Post by 10thumbs on Apr 3, 2009 11:25:44 GMT -5
Those are awesome. I would LOVE to see a progression of photographs from rough chunks of rock through finished points. I would love to try this but I just know that it would take me forever to have any results and most likely require multiple trips to the ER for stitches. Flint-knapped edges are sharp even under extreme magnification, long past the point when steel edges are rough and jagged.
|
|
agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
|
Post by agatemaggot on Apr 4, 2009 10:50:50 GMT -5
If anyone is interested in seeing how flint knapping is done, there are several hundred videos on You-Tube that show the different aspects of the process. They are on the most part informative, and you can stop the videos at any time to check what angle the rock is being held or for that matter, the tool itself. A few of the people making videos are very highly skilled and others like myself are just starting to get the hang of it. It's said that it takes a minimum of 200 lbs. of rock to get the hang of percussion flaking. I have no idea how much rock I have reduced to edible size pieces , but I think it might be enough to resurface about 2 miles of Iowa farm to market roads. I do most of my percussion flaking with various types of heat treated rock and have had what I would call moderate success with it. Raw Flint is still a fair size challenge for me. Mel has figured out how to save wear and tear on his mower blades down there in Texas, He simply boxes up the offending pieces the mower can't clear and sends them to me and another fool and when we have them properly reduced in size, I send them back. I thought my knapping skills were progressing fairly well until the first box from Mel showed up. The wife doesn't believe my skill level has improved much over the last few weeks but my vocabulary has increased ten fold. Mel , being the clever guy that he is, and also very observant, just happened to notice something while he was hunting Artifacts on the ranch there in Texas. There are quite a few places there where the native Americans were collecting Flint and roughing it down into what is called a Biface. This is simply a Flint nodule that has been worked down into a fairly flat , pancake shape and then being a bunch lighter in weight was then carried off to another place to be more carefully worked into a finished tool. The Flint nodules Mel and I were trying to work with were a dark charcoal ( Translucent with beautiful patterns ) but almost ALL of the waste flakes Mel was walking through, ankle deep sometimes, were a light tan color. I believe Mel came to the conclusion that the people that were mining the Flint there were using the larger beautiful looking Flint boulders for seating and here we were , happily sitting around, chopping up their furniture ! After some great detective work on Mel's part, we now have the proper material dialed in and are having SOME success with what we are doing. Kinda-Maybe. Thanks for the kind comments everyone, I would hope that anyone interested in this type of thing would check out some of the videos I mentioned and the tools you might need are easily made in your basement or garage. This is not a GUY type thing as you may suspect, one of the more interesting videos I have purchased was made by a (small ) size lady right here in Iowa. The name of the video ?? 90 lbs. of attitude ! Thanks again, Harley
|
|
|
Post by akansan on Apr 4, 2009 21:01:49 GMT -5
Man, that red agate point is amazing. They're all amazing, but that one just really strikes my fancy!
|
|
|
Post by mohs on Apr 4, 2009 21:15:48 GMT -5
stealth skill!
|
|
agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
|
Post by agatemaggot on Apr 5, 2009 13:00:11 GMT -5
Forgot to mention a video on U-tube that was made in Calif. by a Knapper that calls himself Paleoman Jim. He is WAAAAY GOOD. He shows a step by step process where he makes a 22 inch long Dance blade out of a 200 lb. slab of Basalt I believe he called it. It shows him trimming the darn thing while it is laying in the sand where they found it and then stepping it down to a finished blade. The last part of the 6 part series shows the finished blade and several wheel barrows full of chips graded into various sizes.
I just tried to put the link in here but I couldn't get it to work for me after I clicked on the darn thing.
Harley
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,676
|
Post by Fossilman on Apr 6, 2009 7:01:58 GMT -5
Oh my God,those are of museum quality!!!!
|
|
mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
|
Post by mossyrockhound on Apr 7, 2009 17:14:09 GMT -5
Wow! What a present! Looks like a knapper's dream. My favorite is the black and white agate. Harley's definitely got the procedure down! Garry
|
|
lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
|
Post by lparker on May 2, 2009 20:18:51 GMT -5
Yup, Harley....Angela Parker is quite remarkable..(90 lbs. of attitude !) Lee
|
|
jcinpc
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2009
Posts: 722
|
Post by jcinpc on May 2, 2009 22:35:08 GMT -5
this is one of my best friends.His name is Steve Holloway aka bohunter.He has only been knapping for 2 years now and is an awesome knapper. He uses alot of my coral since he has no rocks in North Fl. Alot of newbies to knapping learn alot from his videos.Hes plain and simple
|
|
agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
|
Post by agatemaggot on May 3, 2009 5:57:46 GMT -5
JC' I have watched all of Steve's videos. He is awesome, I have been one of his admirers for quite some time. It would be very hard to beat his percussion work. Not many guy's have developed the skill as fast as Steve has. I would like to sit and work with him for a few days just to find out how it is supposed to be done . Harley
|
|
|
Post by MyNewHobby on May 3, 2009 19:15:38 GMT -5
These points are rockin!!!
I got two of them and they are beautiful. One (peachy pink) is about 4" long and the other blue one is about 5" long.
Very Sweet!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Tonyterner on May 7, 2009 8:06:11 GMT -5
I've watched some of those videos in the past and am just amazed by the whole process. Harley you might consider yourself a beginner but those are awesome points you made. I didn't even know you could do that with agate. Is it harder to work than obsidian and flint? Someday I'd like to give it a try, after all one can never have enough leg bruises. lol
|
|
agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
|
Post by agatemaggot on May 7, 2009 16:29:01 GMT -5
Agate is quite a bit tougher to work , but, it's doable if heat treated. It's one of those things that you can, but you REALLY have to want to ! It is a good idea to start with some salvage glass or obsidian to help build up some of the muscles in the hands and wrists as the Agate WILL mess with your head when you first pick it up. RED agate is one to stay away from , as it has Iron in it and is about the MOST HATEFUL stuff you could ever try to deal with ! I have several pieces here that I am NOT gonna mess with and will probably wind up sendin them to somebody just to watch em go crazy ! The last 4 or 5 times I called Mel, I tried to get him in an argument about one thing or another but he is much to clever and won't take the bait.
Maybe I'll try him again in a week or so !
Harley
|
|
lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
|
Post by lparker on May 8, 2009 8:10:41 GMT -5
Tony ---- schedule yourself to NOT be working August 28-30 and get your butt up to the Letchworth knap-in. I'll help you break some rocks! If that don't work, then the next weekend at Flint Ridge near brownsville, OH. Lee
|
|