Week One - Planning

Making arrowheads was chosen as my project because my father has made arrowheads in the past as a hobby.  As such, he will not only be able to give me hands-on demonstrations, he will be able to supply me with the tools and the materials needed.  Consequently, he will make learning this unique skill far easier than it would be on my own.  Furthermore, my father has a selection of books that can give me helpful insight and inspiration.  It will also be a chance for father-son bonding.

For the first several weeks of my project, I will mainly be trying to learn how to use the tools necessary to make an arrowhead as well as getting a feel for how the material flakes and breaks.  Glass is, from what I have heard and read, the easiest material to flintknap with.  Due to this, and glass's relative abundance and cheap cost, I will try to learn the skills needed on the glass.  I hope to be able to use these skills to make a variety of arrowheads from stone at the end of the eight week period and have some finished arrowheads I am proud to show off.

The specific method I plan on using is referred to as pressure flaking.  This is when a hard point, like a dowel with a copper rod in it or the tine of an antler, is pressed forcefully against the side of the material.  This causes the material to flake, which can form a conchoidal fracture with a razor edge only a few molecules thick!  At about 1:50, this technique is shown in the video.

My plans could very well change, though.  If pressure flaking is more difficult than I thought, I may not be able to try making an arrowhead from stone, or it will be of poor quality.  I doubt I will master this skill in an eight week period, but I hope to at least make something that looks good and functions.  Thankfully, my father should be able to help me along the way.

The following pictures are some of my father's arrowheads.  The first image is of glass arrowheads and the second of stone arrowheads.  Pardon the glare.